The American composer Christopher Rouse has died. Rouse was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1993 for his Trombone Concerto. His final work, his Symphony No. 6, will be given its world premiere by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on October 18-19. A life-long Baltimore resident, Rouse was 70 years-old.
Jasmine Choi plays Rouse’s Flute Concerto:
Conductor Michael Gielen has died. Gielen passed on Friday, at the age of 91.
Best known as one-time music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (1980-86), and, especially, the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra (1986-99), he was also a composer, which perhaps explains his special talent for deciphering complex and contemporary scores. He also provided interesting interpretive insights into music of the Romantic era.
This afternoon on The Classical Network, we’ll remember Gielen through some of his recordings, including that of a Chamber Symphony for 23 Solo Instruments by fin-de-siècle master Franz Schreker.
We’ll also observe the birthdays today of Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge, maestro del tango Astor Piazzolla, Irish composer of Victorian opera William Vincent Wallace, American originals Carl Ruggles, Henry Cowell, and Anthony Philip Heinrich, and vocal artist Bobby McFarren.
Don’t worry, be happy! It may be the first Monday following a time change, and great artists come and go, but the music will remain vibrant, from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Very sorry to learn of the passing of conductor Jesús López-Cobos. His high profile in the United States came with the music directorship of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 2001 (he was later its Conductor Emeritus) and a recording contract with Telarc records. I can’t believe he was already 78 years-old. Time is ruthless.
His obituary in Gramophone:
An interview with Bruce Duffie:
http://www.bruceduffie.com/lopez-cobos.html
Conducting Richard Strauss’ “An Alpine Symphony” in Galicia:
I hope you’ll join me this morning for music by Zhou Tian. Zhou was my guest on Classic Ross Amico when his work, “Broken Ink,” was performed by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra last season. Zhou’s brilliantly orchestrated Concerto for Orchestra has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of “Best Contemporary Classical Composition.” A recording, with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, will provide the capstone to today’s survey of concertos for orchestra and genre-bending symphonies featuring solo instruments, which will continue until 11:00 EST on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com.
It’s Black History Month. Rather than wait for the Passover season, I thought this would be an excellent excuse to unveil a recent recording, on the Bridge Records, Inc. label, of R. Nathaniel Dett’s “The Ordering of Moses.”
Dett, the grandson of fugitive slaves, was born on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. He studied all over the place, including Oberlin, the Eastman School, Harvard, and the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France. He taught all over the place, too. He made influential contacts and brought increased visibility to Black concert music. His was an important voice in the history of American art.
“The Ordering of Moses” was composed in 1932. The recording, which documents a live 2014 concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and May Festival Chorus conducted by James Conlon, is electrifying.
Hear it today. It’s one of our featured works between noon and 4:00 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.
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