{"id":12782,"date":"2013-08-08T12:42:51","date_gmt":"2013-08-08T16:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=12782"},"modified":"2013-09-10T20:45:12","modified_gmt":"2013-09-11T00:45:12","slug":"uni-classical%e2%80%94dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=12782","title":{"rendered":"Uni Classical\u2014Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sedgwick Clark <\/strong><\/p>\n

Is there anything new under the sun?<\/p>\n

Last week I wrote in this space about Deutsche Grammophon\u2019s new 13-CD release of Pierre Boulez\u2019s complete works: \u201cTo the college student who discovered the Frenchman\u2019s artistry soon after his classical-music \u2018Eureka!\u2019 moment with Stravinsky\u2019s Le Sacre du printemps<\/em>, this set comes as a shining example of the currently embattled recording industry\u2019s good works.\u201d \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After a vantage point both in and out of the record business for over four decades, I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised by the piece on Musical America<\/em>\u2019s website Tuesday (8\/6) about the latest marketing scheme of DG\u2019s sister label, Decca, under the Universal Music umbrella. Decca, you will recall, was the creator of the industry\u2019s all-time best seller, \u201cThe Three Tenors,\u201d as classy a crossover notion as ever conceived. It\u2019s now about to be succeeded by releases of \u201cClassical Music for Your Gay Wedding,\u201d with a separate cover targeted for lesbians as well, \u201cClassical Music for Dogs,\u201d and \u201cClassical Music for Driving,\u201d with uptempo cuts such as \u201cRide of the Valkyries\u201d aimed specifically at truck drivers and sold at truck stops.<\/p>\n

The Gay Wedding CD got me thinking, and I e-mailed my old friend Kevin Copps, Senior V-P at Atlantic Classics back in the gay-90s, who recalled his company\u2019s own best-selling effort: \u201chey, what a great idea\u2014i wish we had thought of something like that.\u00a0oh, wait, we did\u201420 years ago.\u00a0today\u00a0we\u2019d probably be a bit,\u00a0shall we say, ballsier, and call it something like, \u2018my big queer gay wedding,\u2019 but\u00a0so-called gay marketing seems so pass\u00e9 now that\u00a0it probably wouldn’t kindle our\u00a0imaginations.\u00a0the\u00a0cover\u2019s a yawn, btw,\u00a0such a\u00a0dated and nigh-straight\u00a0aesthetic,\u00a0though i suppose\u00a0the \u2018mainstreaming\u2019 of gay weddings is a progressive indicator.\u00a0in any case,\u00a0our models were way hotter.\u201d<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t seen the playlists of these soon-to-be-released gems, but I figure that truckers will be treated to such hi-test butch blockbusters as Glinka\u2019s Ruslan and Ludmilla <\/em>Overture (only the Solti\/LSO recording would do), the Death of Tybalt from Prokofiev\u2019s Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, Khachaturian\u2019s Sabre Dance, Shostakovich\u2019s Festive Overture<\/em>, Mars from Holst\u2019s Planets<\/em>, the finales of Beethoven\u2019s Seventh and Tchaikovsky\u2019s Fourth symphonies . . . the list is endless. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

My suggestion: Keep your eyes on the road\u2014and on the sidewalk. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Bard\u2019s Stravinsky Festival Starts This Weekend<\/strong>
\nFor those who missed seeing the delicious programs for Bard\u2019s \u201cStravinsky and His World\u201d festival in this space two weeks ago, I repeat the first week\u2019s offerings as a public service. It begins this weekend, August 9-11, in Annandale-on-Hudson\u2014don\u2019t miss it!<\/p>\n

Program details of Bard Music Festival, \u201cStravinsky and His World\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

WEEKEND ONE: Becoming Stravinsky: From St. Petersburg to Paris<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday, August 9<\/strong><\/p>\n

PROGRAM ONE<\/strong>
\nThe 20th<\/sup> Century\u2019s Most Celebrated Composer<\/strong>
\nSosnoff Theater
\n7:30 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pre-concert Talk: Leon Botstein
\n8 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Performance:\u00a0 Alessio Bax, piano; Andrey Borisenko, bass; Lucille Chung, piano; Kiera Duffy, soprano; Gustav Djupsj\u00f6backa, piano; John Hancock, baritone; Melis Jaatinen, mezzo-soprano; Anna Polonsky, piano; Mikhail Vekua, tenor; Orion Weiss, piano; Bard Festival Chorale, James Bagwell, choral director; members of the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, music directorIgor Stravinsky (1882\u20131971)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Les Noces <\/em>(1914\u201317)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Symphonies of Wind Instruments<\/em> (1920, rev. 1947)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Symphony of Psalms<\/em> (1930)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Concerto for Two Pianos (1935)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Abraham and Isaac<\/em> (1962\u201363)<\/p>\n

Tickets: $25, $35, $50, $60<\/p>\n

Saturday, August 10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Panel One<\/strong>
\nWho Was Stravinsky?<\/strong>
\nOlin Hall
\n10 am\u2013noon
\nChristopher H. Gibbs, moderator; Leon Botstein; Marina Frolova-Walker; Olga Manulkina; Stephen Walsh
\nFree and open to the public<\/p>\n

Program Two<\/strong>
\nThe Russian Context<\/strong>
\nOlin Hall
\n1 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pre-concert Talk: Marina Frolova-Walker
\n1:30 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Performance: Matthew Burns, bass-baritone; Dover Quartet; Gustav Djupsj\u00f6backa, piano; Laura Flax, clarinet; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Melis Jaatinen, mezzo-soprano; Piers Lane, piano; Orion Weiss, piano<\/p>\n

Igor Stravinsky (1882\u20131971)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Faun<\/em> and<\/em> Shepherdess<\/em>, Op. 2 (1906\u201307)
\n\u00a0 From Four Studies, for piano, Op. 7 (1908)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Three Movements from Petrushka<\/em>, for piano solo (1921)
\nMikhail Glinka (1804\u201357)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Trio Path\u00e9tique<\/em> in D minor (1832)
\nAlexander Glazunov (1865\u20131936)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Five Novelettes<\/em>, for string quartet, Op. 15 (1886)
\nAlexander Scriabin (1872\u20131915)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Vers la flamme<\/em>, Op. 72 (1914)
\nSergey Rachmaninoff (1873\u20131943)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Preludes, Op. 23, Nos. 8 & 9 (1901\u201303)
\nSongs and piano works by Modest Mussorgsky (1839\u201381), Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840\u201393), Nikolai Medtner (1880\u20131951), and Mikhail Gnesin (1883\u20131957)<\/p>\n

Tickets: $35<\/p>\n

SPECIAL EVENT<\/strong>
\nFilm: The Soldier\u2019s Tale<\/em> <\/strong>
\nL\u00e1szlo Z. Bit\u00f3 \u201960 Conservatory Building<\/strong>
\nA film by R. O. Blechman, with live musical accompaniment<\/strong>
\nTickets: $12<\/strong><\/p>\n

Program Three<\/strong>
\n1913: Breakthrough to Fame and Notoriety<\/strong>
\nSosnoff Theater
\n7 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pre-concert Talk: Richard Taruskin
\n8 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Performance: American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, music director<\/p>\n

Igor Stravinsky (1882\u20131971)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Fireworks<\/em> (1908)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 The<\/em> Rite of Spring<\/em> (1913)
\nNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844\u20131908)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Suite from The Legend of the Invisible City of<\/em> Kitezh <\/em>(c. 1907)
\nAnatoly Liadov (1855\u20131914)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 From the Apocalypse<\/em>, Op. 66 (1910\u201312)
\nMaximilian Steinberg (1883\u20131946)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Les M\u00e9tamorphoses<\/em>, Op. 10 <\/em>(1913)Tickets: $30, $50, $60, $75<\/p>\n

Sunday, August 11<\/strong><\/p>\n

Panel Two<\/strong>
\nThe Ballets Russes and Beyond: Stravinsky and Dance<\/strong>
\nOlin Hall
\n10 am\u2013noon
\nKenneth Archer; Lynn Garafola; Millicent Hodson
\nFree and open to the public<\/p>\n

Program Four<\/strong>
\nModernist Conversations<\/strong>
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nOlin Hall
\n1 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pre-concert Talk: Byron Adams
\n1:30 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Performance: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano; Gustav Djupsj\u00f6backa, piano; Kiera Duffy, soprano; Benjamin Fingland, clarinet; Judith Gordon, piano; John Hancock, baritone; Melis Jaatinen, mezzo-soprano; Sharon Roffman, violin; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Lance Suzuki, flute; Benjamin Verdery, guitar; Lei Xu, soprano; Bard Festival Chamber Players<\/p>\n

Igor Stravinsky (1882\u20131971)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Three Japanese Lyrics<\/em> (1912)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Pribaoutki<\/em> (1914)
\nClaude Debussy (1862-1918)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 En blanc et noir<\/em> (1915)
\nArnold Schoenberg (1874\u20131951)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Pierrot lunaire<\/em> (1912)
\nMaurice Ravel (1875\u20131937)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Trois po\u00e8mes de St\u00e9phane Mallarm\u00e9<\/em> (1913)
\nMaurice Delage (1879\u20131961)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Quatre po\u00e8mes hindous<\/em> (1912\u201313)
\nWorks by Erik Satie<\/strong> (1866\u20131925); Manuel de Falla<\/strong> (1876\u20131946); and B\u00e9la Bart\u00f3k<\/strong> (1881\u20131945)<\/p>\n

Tickets: $35<\/p>\n

Program Five<\/strong>
\nSight and Sound: From Abstraction to Surrealism<\/strong>
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nSosnoff Theater\ufffd
\n5 pm\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pre-concert Talk: Mary E. Davis
\n5:30 pm\u00a0\u00a0 Performance: Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano; John Hancock, baritone; Melis Jaatinen, mezzo-soprano; Nicholas Phan, tenor; Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano; Anna Polonsky, piano; Orion Weiss, piano; members of the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, music director; designed and directed by Anne Patterson; projection design by Adam Larson; choreography by Janice Lancaster<\/p>\n

Igor Stravinsky (1882\u20131971)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Ragtime <\/em>(1918)\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Mavra<\/em> (1921\u201322)
\nErik Satie (1866\u20131925)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Parade<\/em> (1916\u201317; arr. piano four-hands)
\nFrancis Poulenc (1899\u20131963)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Le travail du peintre<\/em>, song cycle for voice and piano (1956)
\nGeorges Auric (1899\u20131983), Arthur Honegger (1892\u20131955), Darius Milhaud (1892\u20131974), Francis Poulenc, and Germaine Tailleferre (1892\u20131983)
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Les mari\u00e9s de la tour Eiffel <\/em>(1921)
\nAndr\u00e9 Souris (1899\u20131970)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Choral, marche, et galop<\/em> (1925)<\/p>\n

Looking Forward<\/strong>
\nMy week\u2019s scheduled concerts (8:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted):
\n8\/9-11 (various times). Bard Music Festival. Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. \u201cStravinsky and His World.\u201d See schedule above.<\/p>\n

8\/12. Ozawa Hall. Tanglewood Music Festival, Lenox, Mass. Tanglewood Music Center Fellows\/George Benjamin. Lauren Snouffer (Agn\u00e8s); Evan Hughes (Protector); Augustine Mercante (Angel 1\/Boy); Tammy Coil (Angel 2\/Marie); Isaiah Bell (Angel 3\/John). George Benjamin: Written on Skin <\/em>(concert performance).<\/p>\n

8\/13 at 7:30. Clark Studio Theater. Mostly Mozart Festival. International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). David Lang: Whisper Opera<\/em>.<\/p>\n

8\/15 at 7:00. Rose Theatre. Mostly Mozart Festival. Budapest Festival Orchestra\/Ivan Fischer. Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro<\/em>.<\/p>\n