Anthony McGill performing at the Linton Music Series recently/ photo by Tina Gutierrez
Something good has come out of all the turmoil this summer. Arts organizations are programming music and even entire seasons devoted to the music of African American composers. It is music long neglected in our country. From the King of Ragtime Scott Joplin, whose “Maple Leaf Rag” appears on the Pops’ digital program on Oct. 3, to Florence Price, whose elegant symphonies, concertos and piano pieces are enjoying a revival, it is wonderful music that deserves study by scholars and performances by our major institutions. And now, that is happening at the Cincinnati Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops, the Cincinnati Song Initiative and others.
The Cincinnati Symphony and Pops are programming a free “digital season,” seven livestreamed concerts recorded in Music Hall, kicking off at 8 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 26.Read More »
Cincinnati Song Initiative participants around the piano from a previous season (L-R): Alex Hurd, Ahyoung Jung, Samuel Martin, Ivy Walz, Kenneth Griffiths, Marie Marquis
I’ve enjoyed some of the most engaging programs in memory by Cincinnati Song Initiative, a series of programs devoted to art song. Founded five years ago by Sam Martin, it features rising stars — many of them CCM alumni — and CCM faculty in impeccable performances of music we don’t often hear.
This year, it’s all digital, thanks to Covid-19. That doesn’t mean that it’s programs aren’t just as compelling. Concerts can be streamed through CSI’s new online platform, CSI Digital. You can
access the concerts as they stream live and re-watch them as many times as you wish. You’ll also have access to extras, such as Composers & Cocktails happy hour chats, Beyond the Song webinars, Coffee Convos roundtable discussions, and CSI’s complete video concert archives.
Elena Villalón appears in January
The season includes its largest commissioning project to date. Cincinnati Song Initiative will commission a single song from ten composers for its grand finale in May.
Atarah Jablonsky is remembered as a dedicated piano teacher who was beloved by several generations of students, and an accomplished musician.
“She was not only a music educator but a life educator. She was wonderfully open minded, an optimist, and accepting of others,” said Roxanne Engle, who taught with her at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center and Evendale Cultural Arts Center. “Atarah was inspirational in developing her own unique way to bring musicality and expression into playing the piano. Teaching and performing were in her thoughts up to the end. She was looking at the score of the Beethoven Pastorale Sonata in her last few weeks and asked me, ‘When will we teach piano again?'”
Mrs. Jablonsky, a longtime resident of Wyoming, OH, died on July 14 at Wellspring Health Care Center. She was 92.
A noteworthy teacher, she was adjunct assistant professor of music at the College of Mount St. Joseph from 1970 to 2001. She taught piano from 1958-70 at the University Cincinnati, where she was also an adjudicator from 1970 to 2001. She also was a lecturer at Edgecliff College (1972-74).Read More »
In recent years, Cincinnati Opera has kicked off its season with a free concert in Washington Park, OTR
Cincinnati Opera and CET have announced plans for “Cincinnati Opera at 100,” an hour-long televised program commemorating Cincinnati Opera’s centennial. Featuring
insights from local and national opera experts and performances by artists from across the country, “Cincinnati Opera at 100” will premiere on CET 48.1 on Friday, July 3 at 9 p.m. EST.
Additional airings will follow on CET Arts 48.3 through Tuesday, July 7.
The nation’s second-oldest opera company, Cincinnati Opera presented its first performance on June 27, 1920, at Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, and its annual Summer Festival has become a Cincinnati arts-going tradition.
Lisa Daltirus in “Aida” at Cincinnati Opera in Music Hall.
Though the company’s 100th Anniversary Season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, “Cincinnati Opera at 100” transports the opera-going experience into viewers’ homes, including performances by much-loved singers from recent Cincinnati Opera productions and historical highlights from opera experts.Read More »
The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) have selected five accomplished musicians for their next class of CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows.
The performance fellowship program was launched in 2015 out of a desire to help American orchestras be more inclusive and to better represent the communities they serve. The mission is to eliminate obstacles that can prevent musicians of color from achieving their full potential. It is funded with a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Through the collaborative program, CCM and the CSO provide graduate level academic study
and professional development and performance opportunities for the Diversity Fellows.
“The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra exists to serve our community. Our entire community,”
said CSO President Jonathan Martin. “But how can we authentically serve our entire community
if a significant part of that community doesn’t see themselves reflected in our organization? The
CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship is one of many steps we are taking to address this disparity. By
providing professional opportunities to a more diverse group of outstanding musicians, we hope
to cultivate—and begin changing —the next generation of American orchestral musicians.”
Cincinnati Opera’s 2013 production of Aida Photo provided
This Saturday, June 27, marks the 100th anniversary of Cincinnati Opera’s first performance at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Cincinnati’s classical public radio station, 90.9 WGUC, celebrates the company’s centenary with a series of special encore performances every Saturday at 1 p.m. through July. Tune in to 90.9 WGUC or wguc.org to listen.
This Saturday, June 27, artistic director Evans Mirageas will regale you with the rich—and sometimes hilarious—history of opera in the Queen City and the events that led to the creation of Cincinnati Opera in 1920.
That’s followed at 2 p.m. by a broadcast of the 2002 production of Strauss’ “Elektra.” If I recall, that electrifying production directed by Nic Muni starred Deborah Polaski in the title role (a Metropolitan Opera star and CCM grad) in one of the great performances of this era.
July 4: Puccini’s most celebrated opera, La Bohème, performed in 2017 and conducted by CSO Music Director Louis Langrée. He was the first CSO music director to guest-conduct the opera since Max Rudolf.
July 11: The Tales of Hoffman, originally performed in 2006 at Music Hall.
July 18: World premiere of Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears; libretto by Greg Pierce.
July 25: Aida, originally performed in 2013 at Music Hall
Awadagin Pratt established Art of the Piano 10 years ago at CCM
It comes as no surprise that Art of the Piano, the festival of pianists and piano music founded by Awadagin Pratt, will be virtual — or “Onlive!” — this year-of-the-covid.
The festival will begin at 6 p.m. June 23 with a live-streamed concert by a superstar pianist to be named “once the ink is dry on the corona-revised contract,” Pratt says. The festival runs through July 27 with weekly concerts and lectures by both distinguished and emerging artists.
The website is under construction in preparation, so check back for news at artofthepiano.org.
Here is Awadagin’s statement regarding diversity with his announcement:Read More »
The CSO and Pops are making recordings available online. Mark Lyons, photo
Here’s a list of things to do, thanks to ArtWave and other sources:
ArtsWave’s daily Mindful Music Moments This free online series offers 10 weeks of daily doses of guided meditation set to music by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Opera.
• Cincinnati Opera’s podcast with Evans Mirageas. You’ll learn about the life and work of everyone who brings opera to life, from performers and seasoned stage directors to rising contemporary composers.
• Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Home Safaris Facebook Live events
• Classics for Kids. Click here to find podcasts, activity sheets, lesson plans and more. The 6-minute episodes are produced by Cincinnati Public Radio.
• Musical Mornings with Linton Chamber Music Peanut Butter and Jam
Sessions
• Sound Discoveries: Liz Wu instructs in musical instruments you can make at home.
• Virtual story times from the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton
County — including “Fiona’s Feelings”
Starling Chamber Orchestra: See Boyun Li play the Bruch Violin Concerto. Live recording from Starling Showcase of amazingly talented young students, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, conducted by François López-Ferrer. Recorded live on February 22, 2020 in Werner Recital Hall at CCM.
Tonight’s free On Demand from the Met is a 2008 production of La Bohème. The scene shown is Act II from the production of this season. Photo Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera
Not surprisingly, an unprecedented surge of opera lovers across America tried to tune in to the Metropolitan Opera’s Free On Demand streaming of “Carmen” last night — only to experience difficulty. This morning, I contacted the Met to see what we need to do. The website is working now — but the best way to access On Demand is to download the app to your device.
Here is their statement:
Due to overwhelming, unprecedented demand and traffic for the Met’s first free opera stream last evening, our web site experienced intermittent outages, with users having to wait to access the site or receiving a message that the service was unavailable.
The Met’s IT and On Demand team have been working through the night and this morning to come up with fixes and solutions to make this a smoother user experience.
We urge users, if they can, to go directly to the Met Opera on Demand apps for Apple, Amazon, and Roku devices and Samsung Smart TV. From there, the user should click on the “Explore the App” option which will take them directly to opera stream page.
Kasey Shao, 16, a rising star pianist and a junior at Walnut Hills High School, is a finalist in the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. You can hear her perform the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 for the Final Round with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Morris Russell at 7 p.m. tonight (March 14).
Kasey studies with Ran Dank at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
The last time I interviewed her, she was preparing for the Van Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition. You can read about her previous performances and competitions in that article.
Anthony McGill performing at the Linton Music Series recently/ photo by Tina Gutierrez
