Archives - Spring 2020
Mar 24 The Wearing of the Green
One week past St. Patrick’s Day, a celebration of Irish singers - especially Irish tenors - especially the greatest of them all, Count John McCormack.
Mar 31 Beethoven: The First Quarter-Millennium
Here we are at another anniversary year, with sonata, symphony, and quartet cycles in progress every week. No composer so embodies the concept of good music as moral uplift. Has that become a burden? Is Ludwig holding up or rolling over?
Apr 7 Looking at Singing (New Vistas)
The original topic should wait for the next time we have performances to anticipate. So instead I will take advantage of the way we can share visual elements in our "remote" classes, and show you some of the new ways technology (especially spectrography) can help us understand the human voice. It's been fascinating and fun to discover - and oddly beautiful to "see" great vocalism in action.
Apr 14 Special discussion section
Who knows what the fast-changing Covid-19 situation will be by April 14? But meanwhile, the conflict that would have kept me away has been canceled, and there will be a lot to discuss about how the arts world is affected, the different responses that have emerged and will keep emerging, and....what, if anything, each of us can do!
Apr 21 The Art of Accompaniment
Today, top pianists routinely take a turn at song recitals (Kissin with Renee Fleming; Thibaudet with Gerald Finley, just to name a few from this season). The unlikely career of Gerald Moore (1899-1987) paved their way.
Apr 28 Forgotten Greats
Again the original topic should wait for performances. Instead: a handful of truly great singers who, for extra musical reasons, have never become "household names." The reasons vary - geographical isolation, premature demise, neglect by record companies, career change - or in two cases, marriage (one happy, one not). But the voices are worth remembering alongside the legendary celebrities.
May 5 Cinco de Mayo
Mexico in music’s history and music in Mexico’s - with some beautiful surprises and super-rare recordings.
May 12 The Two Mélisandes
Among the most curious stories in all of opera: not one but two natives of the British Isles won the hearts of the Parisian public in Debussy's controversial masterpiece when it was new. The first was Mary Garden, who went on to run the Chicago Opera, star in silent movies, and serve as a talent scout for Hollywood in the golden days of the 1930s. The second was Maggie Tate (she changed it to Teyte so that the French would pronounce it correctly), who ranged from West End musicals to the modern French mélodie. Both were mavericks, to say the least, and both left a wealth of delicious recordings.
May 19 Song Birds
It's the long line of "song-birds" (a.k.a. coloratura sopranos) that have kept Bel Canto popular even in the days when it was out of fashion among opinion-leaders. From Nellie Melba and Luisa Tetrazzini (who had dishes named after them), down through Sills and Sutherland, and finally a couple of the brightest lights on the current scene. There's an element of sheer athletic fun here, and some of the most delightful and surprising records ever made come from these vocal nightingales.
One week past St. Patrick’s Day, a celebration of Irish singers - especially Irish tenors - especially the greatest of them all, Count John McCormack.
Mar 31 Beethoven: The First Quarter-Millennium
Here we are at another anniversary year, with sonata, symphony, and quartet cycles in progress every week. No composer so embodies the concept of good music as moral uplift. Has that become a burden? Is Ludwig holding up or rolling over?
Apr 7 Looking at Singing (New Vistas)
The original topic should wait for the next time we have performances to anticipate. So instead I will take advantage of the way we can share visual elements in our "remote" classes, and show you some of the new ways technology (especially spectrography) can help us understand the human voice. It's been fascinating and fun to discover - and oddly beautiful to "see" great vocalism in action.
Apr 14 Special discussion section
Who knows what the fast-changing Covid-19 situation will be by April 14? But meanwhile, the conflict that would have kept me away has been canceled, and there will be a lot to discuss about how the arts world is affected, the different responses that have emerged and will keep emerging, and....what, if anything, each of us can do!
Apr 21 The Art of Accompaniment
Today, top pianists routinely take a turn at song recitals (Kissin with Renee Fleming; Thibaudet with Gerald Finley, just to name a few from this season). The unlikely career of Gerald Moore (1899-1987) paved their way.
Apr 28 Forgotten Greats
Again the original topic should wait for performances. Instead: a handful of truly great singers who, for extra musical reasons, have never become "household names." The reasons vary - geographical isolation, premature demise, neglect by record companies, career change - or in two cases, marriage (one happy, one not). But the voices are worth remembering alongside the legendary celebrities.
May 5 Cinco de Mayo
Mexico in music’s history and music in Mexico’s - with some beautiful surprises and super-rare recordings.
May 12 The Two Mélisandes
Among the most curious stories in all of opera: not one but two natives of the British Isles won the hearts of the Parisian public in Debussy's controversial masterpiece when it was new. The first was Mary Garden, who went on to run the Chicago Opera, star in silent movies, and serve as a talent scout for Hollywood in the golden days of the 1930s. The second was Maggie Tate (she changed it to Teyte so that the French would pronounce it correctly), who ranged from West End musicals to the modern French mélodie. Both were mavericks, to say the least, and both left a wealth of delicious recordings.
May 19 Song Birds
It's the long line of "song-birds" (a.k.a. coloratura sopranos) that have kept Bel Canto popular even in the days when it was out of fashion among opinion-leaders. From Nellie Melba and Luisa Tetrazzini (who had dishes named after them), down through Sills and Sutherland, and finally a couple of the brightest lights on the current scene. There's an element of sheer athletic fun here, and some of the most delightful and surprising records ever made come from these vocal nightingales.