Category: music

When the Pittsburgh Symphony announced that Manfred Honeck would be its next music director, the reaction from much of the music world was, “Who?” But Pittsburgh is getting to know it’s new chief conductor quickly, and “Honeck and the orchestra hit it off instantaneously at their first rehearsal for his debut in May 2006.”

A new oratorio to be premiered this week by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra commemorates the two seminal events of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency: the campaign for the passage of the Voting Rights Act, and the initial bombing of North Vietnam based on fraudulent reports from the Gulf of Tonkin.

“Why do we keep insisting there can be such a thing as American classical music, as opposed to classical music that happens to be made in America? Viewed from numerous perspectives, classical music doesn’t fit an American mold.”

The Canadian Opera Company has announced a $2 million anonymous gift endowing its series of free daytime concerts. “The programming covers a wide range of musical tastes and styles, from opera and classical, to jazz, world music, hip hop, dance and even some specialized lectures related to the main opera and ballet programming.”

The Richmond Symphony’s search for a new music director goes public this week, as one of the candidates takes the podium with the orchestra. The RSO intends to have a replacement for Mark Russell Smith by the end of the current season, and most of the candidates have some characteristics in common…

The Louisville Orchestra was very nearly shut down a few years ago in response to financial problems. But Jeremy Podgursky senses “a new excitement” in the orchestra’s programming, and “the organization has regrouped with some fresh faces wielding the proverbial baton in ways that recall its more daring era.”

The musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony will meet today to vote on a contract proposal. “Issues include salaries, pension and personnel,” although details have not been released. The current contract, which has been extended already, expires at the end of this weekend.

Jorja Fleezanis, 56, has been the orchestra’s concertmaster for 20 years. She “played a key role in the orchestra’s history. She was its first woman concertmaster, a promoter of contemporary music and articulate ambassador in the community.”

Scottish Opera’s bold (or crazy) idea of staging five brand-new works, each shorter than your average TV sitcom, was such a hit that they’re trying it again this season.

The widely-liked James Undercofler will depart next summer after three very eventful years – a period which saw the resignation of music director Christoph Eschenbach, the appointment of Charles Dutoit as chief conductor, new ticketing packages and outdoor venues, and a major endowment campaign.