It’s International Dog Day. I know this is far, far from comprehensive, but here’s a gallery I’ve slapped together of famous musicians and their best friends. Perhaps I’ll add some more throughout the day. The subjects of the photos are identified when you click through the gallery.
Category: Daily Dispatch
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Bernstein Conducts Sibelius Birthday Tribute
On his birthday anniversary, here’s Leonard Bernstein in 1966 to conduct probably my favorite symphony, the Symphony No. 5 by Jean Sibelius. I once heard him lead this glorious music at Carnegie Hall, around the time he made his Deutsche Grammophon recording with the Vienna Philharmonic. I’m happy to say, I never got over it. By 1987, Bernstein learned to really savor the nobility of the climactic “swan theme.”
Later, I nearly heard him conduct the Sibelius 1st in Philadelphia, with the student orchestra of the Curtis Institute of Music, but it was toward the end of his life, and sadly he had to cancel due to illness.
I’ve lost track of the Carnegie program, but I’m sure I’ve got it somewhere. Here’s a record of what else was on the concert.
Needless to say, the performance linked above, with the London Symphony Orchestra, is excellent.
BONUS: Glimpse into a Bernstein masterclass on the Sibelius 5th:
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Leonard Bernstein Genius Conductor and More
Leonard Bernstein did so much so well.
Even if we were to restrict ourselves to his achievements as a conductor, he was one of the very top interpreters of American music, Haydn, Schumann, Mahler, Nielsen, Shostakovich – on the evidence of his recordings, too many others to catalogue.
Here’s just an example of his artistry: in London, from 1966, Lenny captured in his prime, conducting Stravinsky’s primal “Le Sacre du printemps” (“The Rite of Spring”) – without a score.
At the end of the performance, the musicians refuse to rise, but only continue to applaud him from their seats.
An appropriately orgiastic salute to Leonard Bernstein on his birthday!
PHOTO: Bernstein’s magic elevator only goes in one direction: up!
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Errollyn Wallen: New Master of the King’s Music
Errollyn Wallen is the new Master of the King’s Music.
Wallen, born in Belize, moved to London with her parents at the age of 2. She trained as a dancer, traveling to New York in her late teens to study with Dance Theater of Harlem. She then returned to the U.K. to pursue music at Goldsmiths, King’s College London, and King’s College, Cambridge. Wallen was the first Black woman to have her music performed at the Proms. At 66, she succeeds Dame Judith Weir, who was appointed to the post by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014. Wallen has been on the royal radar for some time, having been commissioned to compose works to mark the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees.
The appointment of Master (and yes, the title applies for both men and women) used to be one for life; however, that was changed following the death of Malcom Williamson in 2003. Williamson, also born abroad (in his case, in Sydney, Australia), caused some displeasure at Buckingham Palace when he failed to meet important deadlines. The position was modified to encompass ten years. Williamson was succeeded by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, an unusual choice, given the composer’s avant-garde and anti-establishment tendencies. But he seemed to get along well with the Queen. Weir was made Master in 2014.
Wallen, the second woman to hold the post (and consecutively at that) will be expected to provide music for official and ceremonial occasions. King Charles is known to hold rather conservative musical tastes. Wallen’s compositions are very much of our time, which is to say, she often employs a broader palette, although she has also shown she has the ability to keep her music accessible and popular. Her works have been turning up more and more frequently on orchestral and chamber music programs even in this country. The Kansas City Symphony gave the U.S. premiere of her Violin Concerto in March. It will be played by the North Carolina Symphony in October. I’ve caught her “Concerto Grosso” on the radio a few times. Last year, Wallen was ranked as one of the top 20 most performed living classical music composers.
In 2007, for her services to music, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). In 2020, she became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
Her arrangement of Hubert Parry’s sacred cow, “Jerusalem” for the 2020 Proms, for which she added a line to Blake’s text to acknowledge the Commonwealth, stirred controversy.
Other composers to hold the post of Master of the King’s/Queen’s Music over the past century include Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Walford Davies, Sir Arnold Bax, and Sir Arthur Bliss.
Congratulations to Errollyn Wallen!
Concerto Grosso
Cello Concerto, with introductory interview with the composer. The music itself begins at 16 minutes in.
Controversial take on Parry’s “Jerusalem”
Her website
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English Pastoral Piano Music Folk Song Spirit
According to a certain school of thought, folk music – music of the land – embodies the spirit of a nation. And no nation’s composers milked that cow quite as soulfully as the English.
This week on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll have an hour of bucolic reflections for the keyboard of a time lost to technology and industrialization.
We’ll begin with Gerald Finzi’s “Eclogue” for piano and string orchestra. Originally drafted in the mid-‘20s as the projected slow movement of a piano concerto, the material was later reshaped by the composer, who was content to let it stand on its own. In case you’re not familiar with the term, an eclogue is a short pastoral poem.
If you find yourself transported by this, I think you will also really enjoy Cyril Rootham’s “Miniature Suite” of 1921. Rootham, better known for his choral music, was a friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. His work at Cambridge University exerted a significant influence over English musical life. Like the “Eclogue,” the “Miniature Suite” is scored for piano and strings.
In between, I’ll provide a palate cleanser in the form of E.J. Moeran’s “Summer Valley.” Moeran was one of the last composers to really thrive on English folk music. “Summer Valley,” composed for solo piano in 1925, was dedicated to Frederick Delius.
Finally, we’ll engage in a bit of musical time travel. In addition to the whole folk song perspective, England is justifiably proud of its formal musical past. The legacy of the Tudors was a particular influence on works such as Benjamin Britten’s “Gloriana,” Gordon Jacob’s “William Byrd Suite,” and Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.”
In the case Herbert Howells – like Rootham, a composer better recognized for his choral endeavors – he fell under the spell of the clavichord, after he was lent one by one Herbert Lambert, a photographer with a passion for building replicas of early keyboard instruments.
The fortuitous encounter led to the composition of three suites, written in different periods of Howells’ life, which hark back to the glory days of the “Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.” All three sets are characterized by an inventive blend of Tudor and English folk influences. Each of the individual movements are dedicated to a friend or colleague of the composer. We’ll hear the first set, titled “Lambert’s Clavichord,” written in 1927, which was sanctioned for performance on the modern piano.
I hope you’ll join me for an hour of musical escapes to the countryside and the golden musical past. That’s “Idyll Thoughts,” pastoral English works for piano, on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT
Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!
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