Mozart

Whose opinion is more valued than mine?

RHETORICAL QUESTION. But as a loyal reader, you totally want to know all about my picks from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming season, right? Especially since I, personally, found that you have to wade through an unexciting beginning. Don’t be put off – there’s a gold streak running all the way from January to June!

• Alexander Nevsky (January 11 – 13) – Um, full Prokofiev score live, set to the film? Yes please.
• Hairspray (January 24 – 27) GOOD MORNING BALTIMORE! A concert opera version narrated by – wait for it – none other than John Waters himself.
• Pictures at an Exhibition (January 31 – February 2) – I said PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION. Why aren’t you buying your tickets right now?
• Mozart’s Requiem (February 28; March 2 & 3) – Everyone knows I’m not Mozart’s greatest fan, but no one can deny theRequiem.
• Mahler’s Titan (March 7 – 9) – Oh, Mahler, I love your “Titan” so. Nothing can take that away from us.
• Saint-Saen’s Thundering Organ Symphony (March 14 & 17) – A friend recently informed me that this was the theme from Babe. My understanding of pop culture is weak; my love for this piece is strong.
• Wagner: A Composer Fit for a King (April 19 & 20) – Neuschwannstein! Mad King Ludwig! Obsession! Insanity! Fun!
• Time for Three (May 2 & 4) – I saw them premiere Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto Four-Three, and it was awesome. Let’s do it again.
• Romeo and Juliet (May 23 – 25) – PROKOFIEV version. Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, I’m terribly sorry, but you’re going to have to clear out.
• West Side Story (June 13 – 16) – Um, full Bernstein score live, set to the film? Yes please.

So those are my picks. Check out the concert calendar – anything striking your fancy?

Fanfare for the Concert Roundup

Buh buh baaaaah… buh bah baaaaaah… baaaah baaaah buuuuuuuh… BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH. (I speak fluent onomatopoeia.)

• Get ready to [insert alcohol joke here], because this week’s Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert is “Tchaikovsky’s Fifth.” Colin Currie will leave my apartment long enough to solo on your two favorite fanfares: Copland‘s Fanfare for the Common Man and Tower‘s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, plus the premier of a Higdon percussion concerto. And then you purists can have your eponymous Tchaik. March 22 at Strathmore; March 23 & 24 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• Not concerts in the strictest sense, but of note: the BSO‘s subscription packages for next season are now available. They’re also accepting applications to audition in the 2012 O Say Can You Sing? national anthem competition, and if you don’t sing, maybe you play? The BSO Academy is still taking applications.
• The National Symphony Orchestra believes you should hear Dvorak‘s Stabat Mater and ONLY Dvorak’s Stabat Mater. You may do so on March 22 – 24. [ See it! ]
• No, wait! The NSO is just kidding. The NSO believes that sometimes your Dvorak should be fortified with some vitamin Janacek. Get your weekly allowance with Dvorak serenades in D minor and E major; then add a Janacek concertina and capriccio. March 23. [ See it! ]
• This Week at Strathmore! Piano prodigy Ethan Bortnick (if you come to that one, stop by the concierge desk and say hi!), a heavy metal cello ensemble that isn’t Apocalyptica, an all-Mozart program (blehhh), a soul electric guitarist, a Russian military and folk song and dance troupe. [ See the calendar! ]

Telling criminals to give it a rest

But wait — doesn’t a bit of the old Ludwig Van cause violence?

see more So Much Pun

Concert Roundup Part Eleventy

No, seriously, I have no idea how many of these I’ve done and checking is cheating. Here are some concerts happening this week. You should go to one. Several, even.

• For example, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has something interesting going on — a Richard Einhorn vocal piece called The Passion of Joan of Arc that scores a 1928 silent film of the same name. This is movie music of a different kind. March 3 at Strathmore; March 2 & 4 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• Oh, man. First the BSO tries to convince me of Mozart’s genius; now the National Symphony Orchestra is corrupting the children with “The Mozart Experience” and the Magical Circle Mime Company. They’ve resorted to mimes, people. Mimes! You know who else was a mime? Salieri in a face mask. But fine, fine, go ahead and broaden your kid’s cultural horizons. See if I care. March 4. [ See it! ]
• Or if you prefer your music of the chamber persuasion, NSO music director and in this case pianist Christoph Eschenbach gets his Schubert on with the assistance of baritone Matthias Goerne in the song cycle Winterreise on March 5. [ See it! ]
• A smattering of upcoming Strathmore performances: a Weimar Cabaret singer and orchestra; a solo pianist; a solo violinist. [ See the calendar! ]

If you’d like your concert included in next week’s roundup, leave a comment or drop me a line.

The Greatest

Note: By the end of this post I will ask you to create your own list of the top ten composers. I’m ruining the ending for you because I think it might be neat if you do it now, before you’re corrupted by my list or the NYT list or your grocery list or what have you. Just a thought. Thank you; good morning!

Hey, remember how I said the lynchpin of the Composer Cagematch! is not who you feel is the better composer but rather who you love more? Well, put a pin in it. We’re playing a new game now.

A couple weeks ago while at my grandmother’s house my family got into a discussion about who the greatest composers of all time were — greatest, not our favorites. (Yeah, my family has random chats about classical composers — just wait until I tell you about the great Dvorak’s Origins Argument of Thanksgiving 2011. That one still resurfaces from time to time.) My mom pulled up a list from The New York Times music critic to get his top 10. Take a gander here.

His list began with the traditional top three but then had me ducking a few curveballs — Brahms? Really? Then he said in his article he would expect such skepticism — and it got me thinking as to what MY top ten would be. Naturally I don’t mean to say I’m a completely impartial judge (I’d say the immediately preceding sentence already knocked me out of contention for that title), but in making such a list I think one would have to look at quality over blind adoration. You’ll see what I mean.*

So… for now, here’s my top ten. I betcha my list could change as early as tomorrow, but in this moment, here are what I call The Greatest:

1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Mozart
4. Stravinsky
5. Schubert
6. Bartok
7. Shostakovich
8. Handel
9. Haydn
10. Prokofiev

What I find most interesting about this exercise is less about who made it but who didn’t — or rather, which sorts of composers didn’t. I didn’t name a single composer outside the Austro-Hungarian or Soviet area; nary an opera composer to be found. This is the hole in my classical understanding; this teaches me where I need to go next to expand my repertoire — and maybe revise my list once I have.

Well? How do you feel about my list? I expect some fightin’ words as opinions must always create. And what about you? For bonus points, how has your list evolved? If I can remember, I want to make this list up again next year and see if it’s changed. Someone remind me in 11.5 months, okay?

* Do you SEE that? Do you SEE how I put Mozart at number 3, even though he makes me want to sic a fictionalized Salieri on him? He’s there because he was a genius, and even if I don’t dig most of his works, I can recognize that. Incidentally, this is also how I feel about Faulkner.

Also known as The Day of Madness

Okay, this video is a week late. I thought a clip from the 1995 version (which is to say the only version that counts) of Pride and Prejudice would be quite thematically appropriate for the week of Valentine’s Day, and then I promptly forgot it was the week of Valentine’s Day. Today is, of course, President’s Day, but the vibe isn’t quite the same.

Well, I suppose they can’t all be winners. Here’s a vaguely romantic video for no reason at all, in which Miss Elizabeth Bennet sings Mozart’s “Voi che sapete” and then explains the importance of faking it. Truly advice for all seasons.

Concert Roundup: A Letter

Dear BSO,

I refuse to speak to you until next week. Here’s why:

• This week the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs a program entitled “The Genius of Mozart.” They tried to distract me from the truth with Brahms, a Wagner overture, and Strauss, R., but you can’t hide Mozart and his big ol’ piano concerto from me. Especially when you put it right in the title. At least make an effort, sheesh. February 16 at Strathmore; February 17 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• Perhaps you’re wondering if I love your siblings more than you. Well, the National Symphony Orchestra is rolling out Beethoven‘s fourth symphony, so clearly the answer is yes until you shape up. Also Strauss, R., but as a welcome accompaniment this time instead of a sin-covering condiment. Maybe you should try following your brother’s example. February 16 – 19. [ See it! ]
• And Strathmore is offering a whole day of free Duke Ellington stuff! Come visit me at Strathmore’s free open house on President’s Day from 11 am to 4 pm.  There’ll be gratis concerts, lectures, and more surrounding the life and works of Duke Ellington. I’ll be there; come visit me! [ See it! ]

Don’t be too downcast, BSO. I still love you. I just don’t like you very much right now.

Love (see?),
Jenn

P.S. If you’d like me to include your upcoming concert in next week’s concert roundup, leave a comment or drop me a line.

Concert Roundup: Ascension

I can’t help but feel that my titles for these posts are rapidly losing touch with any kind of reality. Is there even a movie sequel subtitled “The Ascension”? Is the collective consciousness leading me on? Someone help! Or, y’know, attend a concert. Whichever.

• The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra goes super duper classical this week. Bach! Rameau! Haydn! Mozart! Doesn’t get much more solid than that. February 2 at Strathmore. February 4 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• The National Symphony Orchestra takes a similar approach: Strauss! Beethoven! Beethoven’s Eroica, for crying out loud! February 2 – 4. [ See it! ]
• Strathmore offers so many concerts every week that I’m afraid I don’t get paid enough to cover them all here (blogging nets me $0/hr, which is pretty crappy until you consider that I get a 100% raise every year). I do want to call out highlights, however, especially those I’ll be attending personally. Inaugural highlight: Strathmore’s Discover Duke Ellington festival kicks off February 3 — three weeks of Duke Ellington concerts and lectures. [ Check it out! ]

If you’d like me to include your upcoming concert in next week’s roundup, leave a comment or drop me a line.

EDITED TO ADD: Hey students! Benevolent Dictator Jamie just sent me the following exciting news.

$10 Student Rush Tickets Available!

Looking for something to do on a Sunday night? Enjoy a nice break from school work and come hear the nine-time Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet’s:

Lawrence Dutton
Baird Auditorium
Natural History Museum
February 12 at 6 PM

This concert offers an exclusive opportunity to hear the quartet
perform in an intimate setting with excellent acoustics.

Metro Stop: Federal Triangle
Walk south on 12th Street, and cross Constitution Avenue to the Natural History Museum on the left. (NOT on the National Mall side.)

Ticket prices for students: $10*
Rush tickets are available for purchase starting at
5:30 p.m. on February 12th at the door.

*Valid student ID required when purchasing and redeeming tickets.  Two tickets per student ID, per concert.  No refunds or exchanges available.  Subject to availability.

Concert Roundup: Next Generation

Hello! I have exciting news!

Yesterday was my last day at my old job. Monday I start a new job — as a marketing manager at the Strathmore arts center! Ba-DOW! Baltimore Symphony Orchestra! National Philharmonic! Washington Performing Arts Society! CityDance! The mansion! Galleries! High tea! Do you have any idea how much I LOVE high tea?

I will be positively drowning in the arts and I am so totally okay with that. Care to join me? Try dunking your head in one of these this week:

• This week at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, it’s “LIFE: A Journey Through Time.” This is the title of a Philip Glass piece they’re performing, which will be accompanied by shots from National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting. Which sounds pretty neat, but not as neat as Beethoven‘s sixth symphony, the “Pastoral.” Not could compare to that. January 27 & 29 at the Meyerhoff; January 28 at Strathmore. [ See it! ]
• This week’s National Symphony Orchestra concert features the harmonica. I promise you it does. It’s got some piece by Widmann named Armonica and everything. Also a Mozart clarinet concerto and Schubert‘s ninth symphony, but come on. Harmonica. In a concert hall. How awesome is that? And afterward there’ll be a free discussion with soloist Christoph Eschenbach and the NSO Director of Planning. January 26 through 29. [ See it! ]

Also Sprach Concert Roundup

The people be sprachin’ all over the place.

• Ooh! Ooh! This week at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra it’s Tchaikovsky‘s first piano concerto! Haters gonna hate (HI MOM!), but this piece nestled into my heart like a worm into an eight-year-old apple the moment it opened Tchaikovsky Discovers America. And! Ravel‘s Bolero (won’t he be thrilled?) and Strauss‘s Also Sprach Zarathustra. He certainly did. January 19 & 22 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• Did I say Also Sprach Zarathustra? I meant also sprach conductor Marin Alsop, who has much to say on the subject of what is arguably Strauss‘s most famous piece. The BSO presents another concert in the popular Off the Cuff series, which intersperses the music with fun facts from Alsop herself. January 20 at Strathmore and January 21 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• Meanwhile, over in National Symphony Orchestraland (which is kind of like Never Neverland only Metro-accessible), Jim Gaffigan conducts. No, wait, that’s not right — James Gaffigan conducts, and as far as I’m aware he’s not a stand-up comic on the side (although that would be AWESOME). Who is he conducting? Why, Ingrid Fliter on the piano, in such works as Mozart‘s Divertimento in D major, Schumann‘s Piano Concerto in a minor, a piece by Glanert I can’t spell, and — wait for it — Mozart‘s symphony no. 41, the “Jupiter” symphony! Holy guacamole, guys, even I like the “Jupiter”! January 19 – 21. [ See it! ]