Inclement weather got you down? As long as the power holds, there’s no reason to be glum.
In recent days, my inbox has been a logjam of press releases for streamed concerts. It’s still a big, wide, wonderful world of music out there, and there’s something for just about every taste.
My pick for the weekend – and I realize it may not be everyone’s cup of cocoa – is a FREE stream of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s most opulent opera, “Das Wunder der Heliane” (“The Miracle of Heliane”). Korngold was a celebrated child prodigy and an opera composer well before he came to Hollywood to write music for Errol Flynn and Bette Davis. “Heliane” is a heady blend of eroticism, pathos, and redemption. I can’t speak for the production, but the music is guaranteed to be transporting. The opera is being offered on-demand, from Deutsche Oper Berlin, now through Sunday at 9 am EST (assuming the times on the website are German). Visit https://www.deutscheoperberlin.de/de_DE/das-wunder-der-heliane-als-video-on-demand?fbclid=IwAR0gsLk8oT5GFsq5q_73iwq6K9IVVBhOc9e7W5jYxn8ZwOvuKXvcKqbmx14
Closer to home, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra has posted the first of a four-part series devoted to Johann Sebastian Bach’s “The Musical Offering.” The installments, which include illuminating commentary by PSO assistant conductor Nell Flanders, will be released weekly over the coming month and can be viewed FREE. Part One is posted now at https://princetonsymphony.org/
Whether because of the political zeitgeist, for Black History Month, or the natural result of cumulative exposure to the repertoire, there has been a really nice representation of music by Black composers recently. And the development is a welcome one. This weekend, The Philadelphia Orchestra will present Florence Price’s Piano Concerto, alongside works by Rossini and Schubert. The on-demand concert will be available starting tonight at 8 pm and will stream through next Thursday at 11 pm EST. Tickets available at https://philorch.org/
Pianists Danny Driver and Piers Lane will offer an elegant recital of French classics by Franck, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, and Lili Boulanger, courtesy of the Fisher Center at Bard. On-demand access will be available from Friday at 10 am through next Thursday at 5 pm EST. For tickets, visit https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/driver-lane?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021-02-17-Driver-Lane-TON-AFAIG-Dev&utm_content=version_A
If new music is more your thing, Bang on a Can will present a marathon of 16 world premieres by living composers, including avant-garde icon Alvin Lucier and Princeton’s own Bora Yoon. Streaming of the four-hour event will begin this Sunday at 1 pm EST. The marathon is FREE and can be viewed at https://live.bangonacan.org/
As always, free may be free, but donations are welcome – indeed encouraged – and help support the performers and organizations.
Snowbound? ‘S no problem! There’s still plenty to munch on. Classical music is like grilled cheese for the soul, and it’s a lot easier on the arteries.