Two iconic images from Lebrecht Music and Arts
The city of Syracuse, New York, will commemorate on Thursday the visit exactly 100 years ago by Gustav Mahler and his orchestra, with the consecration of a Mahler monument and a daylong Mahler broadcast on WCNY. It will include the program of his original concert.It might also serve as a reminder to the next manager of the NY Phil that it’s 100 years since they last ventured upstate.
The commemoration was the idea of Mr. Hamilton Armstrong, who is from the Syracuse suburb of Fayetteville. Mr. Armstrong loves the music of Mahler, and he brought it to the attention of our program director, Peter McElvein, that Gustav Mahler did a concert in Syracuse while touring with the New York Philharmonic on 9 December 1910. It was in the Wieting Opera House, which stood from 1897 to 1932. In its day, the Wieting featured famous performers from all parts of the world, including many classical musicians. An office building called the Atrium is now on the site, on the south edge of Clinton Square, in the center of downtown Syracuse. Mr Armstrong commissioned the creation of a permanent memorial bench in stone to be made by the Karl Lutz Monument Company of Syracuse and placed on the site of the Wieting Opera House.
To mark this important anniversary, WCNY-FM is doing a broadcast on Thursday, 9 December 2010. It will start with Norman Lebrecht’s interview about his book Why Mahler?, which is hosted by Bill Baker. We were originally going to start airing the interview at 12:15 P.M. Eastern time (1715 GMT). However, the complete interview ran to around 25 minutes, and frankly, we cannot bring ourselves to cut it down.
Thus, it will probably start airing at either 12:04 or 12:06 P.M., since there are two points where we can cut out of NPR top-of-the-hour news. The interview will run until just before 12:30 P.M., when we will cut to live coverage of the ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony in Clinton Square. At 1:00 P.M. (1800 GMT), we will broadcast a re-creation of the program from the original Mahler concert. Henry Fogel will be the host. Mr. Fogel has a Syracuse connection as the owner and manager for many years of the former WONO-FM, a commercial classical station that was the predecessor of WCNY-FM. Mr. Fogel has chosen recordings of the pieces that were played back in 1910. They were:
1) Suite arranged by Gustav Mahler from J.S. Bach’s Second Suite in B minor and Third Suite in D Major
2) Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major
3) Wagner: Prelude and Liebestod from “Tristan und Isolde”
4) Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
5) Wagner: Prelude to Act I of “Die Meistersinger”
I believe Mr. Fogel will use the Los Angeles Philharmonic recording of the Bach-Mahler suite, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. I don’t yet know which recording of the Beethoven 6th he plans to use. However, for the Wagner pieces, he plans recordings with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg, who was a director of the New York Philharmonic in the 1920s and, thus, would have worked with many of the same musicians who toured with Mahler in 1910. Also, according to Mr. Fogel, Mengelberg and Mahler had some similarities in conducting style, and so the Mengelberg recordings might give listeners some idea how those pieces actually sounded on that night in Syracuse in 1910.
For people in Central New York State, our broadcast may be heard in the Syracuse area on WCNY 91.3 FM; in the Utica/Rome area on WUNY 89.5 FM; and in Watertown, New York and the Kingston, ON/1000 Islands region of Canada on WJNY 90.9 FM. The program is also available in Windows Media streaming audio at this URL:
http://www.wcny.org/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,128/
People who are not WCNY members may listen by scrolling down to the link that says “Lawn Seating.”
The city of Syracuse, New York, will commemorate on Thursday the visit exactly 100 years ago by Gustav Mahler and his orchestra, with the consecration of a Mahler monument and a daylong Mahler broadcast on WCNY. It will include the program of his original concert.It might also serve as a reminder to the next manager of the NY Phil that it’s 100 years since they last ventured upstate.
The commemoration was the idea of Mr. Hamilton Armstrong, who is from the Syracuse suburb of Fayetteville. Mr. Armstrong loves the music of Mahler, and he brought it to the attention of our program director, Peter McElvein, that Gustav Mahler did a concert in Syracuse while touring with the New York Philharmonic on 9 December 1910. It was in the Wieting Opera House, which stood from 1897 to 1932. In its day, the Wieting featured famous performers from all parts of the world, including many classical musicians. An office building called the Atrium is now on the site, on the south edge of Clinton Square, in the center of downtown Syracuse. Mr Armstrong commissioned the creation of a permanent memorial bench in stone to be made by the Karl Lutz Monument Company of Syracuse and placed on the site of the Wieting Opera House.
To mark this important anniversary, WCNY-FM is doing a broadcast on Thursday, 9 December 2010. It will start with Norman Lebrecht’s interview about his book Why Mahler?, which is hosted by Bill Baker. We were originally going to start airing the interview at 12:15 P.M. Eastern time (1715 GMT). However, the complete interview ran to around 25 minutes, and frankly, we cannot bring ourselves to cut it down.
Thus, it will probably start airing at either 12:04 or 12:06 P.M., since there are two points where we can cut out of NPR top-of-the-hour news. The interview will run until just before 12:30 P.M., when we will cut to live coverage of the ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony in Clinton Square. At 1:00 P.M. (1800 GMT), we will broadcast a re-creation of the program from the original Mahler concert. Henry Fogel will be the host. Mr. Fogel has a Syracuse connection as the owner and manager for many years of the former WONO-FM, a commercial classical station that was the predecessor of WCNY-FM. Mr. Fogel has chosen recordings of the pieces that were played back in 1910. They were:
1) Suite arranged by Gustav Mahler from J.S. Bach’s Second Suite in B minor and Third Suite in D Major
2) Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major
3) Wagner: Prelude and Liebestod from “Tristan und Isolde”
4) Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
5) Wagner: Prelude to Act I of “Die Meistersinger”
I believe Mr. Fogel will use the Los Angeles Philharmonic recording of the Bach-Mahler suite, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. I don’t yet know which recording of the Beethoven 6th he plans to use. However, for the Wagner pieces, he plans recordings with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg, who was a director of the New York Philharmonic in the 1920s and, thus, would have worked with many of the same musicians who toured with Mahler in 1910. Also, according to Mr. Fogel, Mengelberg and Mahler had some similarities in conducting style, and so the Mengelberg recordings might give listeners some idea how those pieces actually sounded on that night in Syracuse in 1910.
For people in Central New York State, our broadcast may be heard in the Syracuse area on WCNY 91.3 FM; in the Utica/Rome area on WUNY 89.5 FM; and in Watertown, New York and the Kingston, ON/1000 Islands region of Canada on WJNY 90.9 FM. The program is also available in Windows Media streaming audio at this URL:
http://www.wcny.org/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,128/
People who are not WCNY members may listen by scrolling down to the link that says “Lawn Seating.”
Ruth Mackenzie has done a remarkable job in pulling together an all-star cultural programme for the London 2012 Olympics. The preliminary music list is particularly intriguing.
Ruth Mackenzie has done a remarkable job in pulling together an all-star cultural programme for the London 2012 Olympics. The preliminary music list is particularly intriguing.
Hugues Cuénod, who sang professionally for 66 years, had died in Switzerland, aged 108. He was part of the original 1951 cast of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and was a perennial at Glyndebourne for many years. He will probably remain unbeaten as the oldest tenor ever to make a Metropolitan Opera debut, appearing there as the Emperor in Puccini’s Turandot at 84.
Hugues Cuénod, who sang professionally for 66 years, had died in Switzerland, aged 108. He was part of the original 1951 cast of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and was a perennial at Glyndebourne for many years. He will probably remain unbeaten as the oldest tenor ever to make a Metropolitan Opera debut, appearing there as the Emperor in Puccini’s Turandot at 84.
I heard Mahler’s first symphony last night with the discarded Blumine movement re-inserted as the original second movement. It is not attempted often, and with good reason. Mahler dropped it after three unhappy performances, it was never published with the symphony and was not heard of again until it turned up in an auction room in 1959.
I heard Mahler’s first symphony last night with the discarded Blumine movement re-inserted as the original second movement. It is not attempted often, and with good reason. Mahler dropped it after three unhappy performances, it was never published with the symphony and was not heard of again until it turned up in an auction room in 1959.
The authorities in Thailand have dropped all proceedings against the Russian conductor and pianist, Mikhail Pletnev, who had been accused of procuring under-age boys for sexual purposes and one instance of alleged rape. Pletnev, founder and conductor of the Russian National Orchestra denied the accusations, but was forced to cancel international engagements during the second half of this year while living on bail in his Thai home. He was never formally charged.
without
founder and music director of the Russian National Orchestra, Mr Mikhail
Pletnev, was terminated on September 28 2010 and no charges were made to the
Thai Court. Mr. Pletnev?s bail was lifted in October, and returned to him in
late November.
been fully cooperative during Thai authorities? investigations. Under the
conditions of his bail he returned to the Thai beach resort of Pattaya (where
Mr. Pletnev has owned a property for over a decade) numerous times since early
July, to show his presence as instructed by the Pattaya District
Court.
the Russian National Orchestra celebrated its 20th anniversary with a gala
concert in Moscow, conducted by Kent Nagano and Mikhail Pletnev. This December
the RNO embarks on a large tour of Europe under the baton of Mikhail Pletnev,
and with soloist Gidon Kremer. The tour will take the orchestra to Budapest,
Baden-Baden, Paris, Essen, K?ln, Brussels and other European
cities.
soloists and is recognised as being amongst the world?s top orchestras. About
half of the orchestra?s annual concerts are performed by accomplished conductors
such as Kent Nagano, Ingo Metzmacher, Charles Dutoit, Semyon Bychkov,
Vladimir Jurowski, Vasily Petrenko or Vassily Sinaisky. For further information
please visit the RNO?s official website (www.rno.ru).
The authorities in Thailand have dropped all proceedings against the Russian conductor and pianist, Mikhail Pletnev, who had been accused of procuring under-age boys for sexual purposes and one instance of alleged rape. Pletnev, founder and conductor of the Russian National Orchestra denied the accusations, but was forced to cancel international engagements during the second half of this year while living on bail in his Thai home. He was never formally charged.
without
founder and music director of the Russian National Orchestra, Mr Mikhail
Pletnev, was terminated on September 28 2010 and no charges were made to the
Thai Court. Mr. Pletnev?s bail was lifted in October, and returned to him in
late November.
been fully cooperative during Thai authorities? investigations. Under the
conditions of his bail he returned to the Thai beach resort of Pattaya (where
Mr. Pletnev has owned a property for over a decade) numerous times since early
July, to show his presence as instructed by the Pattaya District
Court.
the Russian National Orchestra celebrated its 20th anniversary with a gala
concert in Moscow, conducted by Kent Nagano and Mikhail Pletnev. This December
the RNO embarks on a large tour of Europe under the baton of Mikhail Pletnev,
and with soloist Gidon Kremer. The tour will take the orchestra to Budapest,
Baden-Baden, Paris, Essen, K?ln, Brussels and other European
cities.
soloists and is recognised as being amongst the world?s top orchestras. About
half of the orchestra?s annual concerts are performed by accomplished conductors
such as Kent Nagano, Ingo Metzmacher, Charles Dutoit, Semyon Bychkov,
Vladimir Jurowski, Vasily Petrenko or Vassily Sinaisky. For further information
please visit the RNO?s official website (www.rno.ru).
The mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly has opened a new line of defence for Alma Mahler in today’s Guardian newspaper.