#classical-music

#classical-music

When did you last read a good news story about classical music? Think of the stories that have made the headlines in recent years: funding cuts to national opera companies, closure threats to university music departments, councils axing local provision, classroom music-making in decline. Successes reported only tend to be reprieves or salvages in the face of such crises, fought for by a sector running out of fuel to keep defending itself.

Imagine, if you will, taking a seat at the piano before a full house of 2,000 music lovers ready to hear Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor - and, more importantly, on stage with an orchestra and conductor more than ready to play it. That would be difficult enough, but now imagine that you thought you were supposed to play the Piano Concerto No.23 in A major, another piece of music entirely. This is the stuff of nightmares, and indeed, the very situation in which pianist Maria João Pires found herself in 2013, after she'd been recruited to fill in for another player at an open rehearsal held at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw.

When Eugene Jones founded the Berkeley Community Chorus & Orchestra in 1966, he may never have imagined the chorus continuing for 60 years. Jones, who died in 2003, was the first African American conductor of a large Bay Area chorus and orchestra drawn from its local community. Devoted to presenting great works from the choral canon, Jones was a charismatic leader and often lent his glorious bass voice to the choir.

The award-wining film-maker and director, who revolutionised classical music programming, died at home with his family by his side. His daughter, Clare Dibble, posted on X on Wednesday: It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my father, Sir Humphrey Burton 25.3.31-17.12.25 at 05:15 this morning at home with family by his side. A huge influence on several generations of arts programme makers, he will be missed beyond word. [SIC]

It's a remarkable occasion whenever a teenager gets the chance to perform a concerto with a symphony orchestra, but the Portland Youth Philharmonic took that to a higher level during the opening concert of its 102 nd season at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (November 8). That's when Lucy Joo, a 15-year-old phenom at the keyboard, delivered a dynamic performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 5, "Emperor" with the PYP.

Music trains our theory of mind -our cognitive ability to infer and attribute mental states (beliefs, desires, emotions) to others. In a live performance, we are challenged to figure out the state of mind of the composer, his characters, the performers, and ourselves, the listeners. In this contemporary time of increasing censorship and decreasing funding, of processed news and embedded marketing, conscious listening to classical music is a way to revive our "theory of mind" defense.

FRI/31: KRONOS QUARTET & TIMO ANDRES: SPOOKY Who else but our own Kronos (along with celebrated pianist Andres) could mix the haunting score Philip Glass created for the classic film Dracula, plus music from Bernard Herrmann's iconic score for Psycho, selections from George Crumb's wild Black Angels, and the world premiere of a new Edward Gorey-inspired piano work by Gabriel Kahane, along with other works perfectly suited for a thrilling Halloween. 8pm, Herbst Theater, SF. More info here.

Lovers of classical music and ballet are in luck this weekend. Peter Jaffe conducts Symphony San Jose's annual Symphonic Spooktacular, featuring selections from Stephen Schwartz's Wicked, Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde, Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, Alan Menken's Little Shop of Horrors and Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd. Dress up in a costume or just enjoy the festive Halloween parade. $35-$115. Oct 25, 7:30pm; Oct 26, 2:30pm. California Theatre, 345 S 1st St, San Jose. symphonysanjose.org

Uncle Klaus is planning to come tomorrow. Hopefully, it will happen. Then the family will be back together again comfortably. Except sadly it's not quite complete. But that too will come about. And then the long-awaited celebration will also come. One must just wait patiently. Sometime that day will come for certain. The lovely fruit season is over now. The last apple dropped from our tree yesterday.

What I've been looking to do with these characters is to illuminate the context of what people do not know, he said. Even if you talk to musicians and pianists, they know a lot about the rhetoric, how to play something, and what is the accepted style, but in general, they don't tend to study historical context. What I'm looking for, really, is to set these guys in context, so that when we hear the music, we understand where this music came from.

When young musicians from Nigeria and Germany took to the stage at a Beethovenfest concert in Bonn on September 11, it was clear that the audience was witnessing the culmination of an incredible journey. Afrobeat rhythms pulsed alongside clarinets and violins, Nigerian protest songs merged with Beethoven's"Egmont." The concert, with its musical mix of influences, was the culmination of Campus Project 2025 a collaboration between BeethovenfestBonn, the German Youth Orchestra and DW that's been running for over two decades.

In "The History of Sound," a new romantic drama set during and after the First World War, passion is an intensely private thing, and in more ways than you might expect. Love and desire are not simply expressed in the sweaty vigor of bodies in bed; the two central characters are turned on, and brought together, by moments of quietly harmonious convergence, rooted in shared qualities of heightened perception, cultivated taste, and specialized knowledge.

Cupertino Poet Laureate Keiko O'Leary will lead a Teen Poetry Workshop on Sept. 7, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Cupertino Library. Topics will be based on participant interest, but may include getting ideas, finishing projects, being true to yourself as a poet and technical poetry skills such as rhyme and meter. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/47QqbCO. Community Coffee Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens will join Cupertino Mayor Liang Chao on Sept. 6 for a Community Coffee, where they'll discuss state and local matters with community members.

In the mid-1960s, the Beatles engaged with classical music's most audacious composers, which helped cement their status as influential artists.

Nina Bernat has transformed the perception of the double bass in classical music, showcasing her talent across various performances and compositions on prestigious platforms.

Hunter Noack has embarked on an unusual journey, transporting a thousand-pound 1912 Steinway concert grand piano to unlikely outdoor locations for his In A Landscape project.

Andrew Davis returned to his first love of music by making orchestral versions of JS Bach's organ works in the final two years of his life.

Fantasia is a lavishly animated visual masterpiece that overflows with thought and intention, presenting hand-drawn imagery that is painstakingly crafted and gorgeous.

Roger Norrington, a significant figure in early music revival, played a major role in redefining performance practices for historical music, influencing orchestras worldwide.

Hurwitz's YouTube channel received almost ten million visits last year, showcasing his rapid and voluminous reviews and opinions about classical music recordings and musicians.

Sir Roger Norrington's mission was to make us hear classical repertoire through the prism of historical techniques and styles, breaking away from later traditions.

Longplayer, begun on 31 December 1999, is a millennium-long work for Tibetan singing bowls, designed to last 1,000 years and survive as an artificial life form.