Category: WVXU

Paul Stanbery, conductor and composer, contributed to the arts and culture of SW Ohio

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A few years ago, Paul John Stanbery, conductor of the Butler Philharmonic, endured chemotherapy, radiation and finally, proton therapy to tackle what began as a sore in his mouth that wouldn’t heal. The cancer was eradicated. An elated Stanbery was going to Carnegie Hall.

“Conducting your own music in Carnegie Hall after having beaten cancer – it just doesn’t get any better than that,” Stanbery told the Cincinnati Business Courier in 2018.

Unfortunately, cancer doesn’t always cooperate, and it returned. Mr. Stanbery died at his home on Feb. 6. He was 66.

He did get to Carnegie Hall to conduct his own “Music for Mass” in June, 2018. The performing forces included the Butler Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus in the choir of 200 singers from around the country and the New England Symphonic Ensemble. It was, for him, a personal and artistic triumph.

Christopher Scott Wyatt, who performed as tenor soloist in the Mass and is now director of the Butler Philharmonic Chorus, recalled, “We got a standing ovation and people were yelling. It was a wonderful climax and the audience loved it.”

As a result, the presenters, MidAmerica Productions, commissioned Mr. Stanbery to compose a new work to be premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2022, Wyatt said. “They wanted a patriotic work, in the powerful sense of people coming to America trying to fulfill the American dream.”Read More »

Film to tell story of ‘Blind Injustice’ exoneree profiled in book, opera

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Mark Godsey joined six people who won release from prison by the Ohio Innocence Project for crimes they did not commit: Rickey Jackson, Laurese Glover, Derrick Wheatt, Eugene Johnson, Nancy Smith, and Clarence Elkins. They were profiled in his book, “Blind Injustice” and the subsequent opera premiered by Cincinnati Opera at Music Hall in 2019. Jackson is now to be the subject of a film/documentary. Photo by Space Cabin Studios/provided by Cincinnati Opera

You may have read Mark Godsey’s book, “Blind Injustice,” or seen Cincinnati Opera’s production of the opera, based on the book — if you were lucky enough to get a ticket in the sold-out run. Now one of the Ohio Innocence Project’s exonerees, Rickey Jackson, who at the time of his release was the longest-serving person in U.S. history to be exonerated, is the subject of a film being produced by Cleveland-based Zodiac Features.

Portions of the film were shot at UC College of Law in the mock courtroom, the law library and inside the OIP offices.

“I have a fantasy of Rickey Jackson in a tuxedo with his family on a red carpet in France,” said producer Matt Waldeck, in my article today in the Cincinnati Business Courier.

A recording of the opera written by Scott Davenport Richards and David Cote and premiered by Cincinnati Opera is set for release in February. Watch for more news about that soon.

Eiji Hashimoto was a virtuoso and scholar of the harpsichord

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Eiji Hashimoto

Eiji Hashimoto is remembered by his students and colleagues as as a brilliant performer, a distinguished scholar of baroque music and a dedicated teacher of the harpsichord.

Mr. Hashimoto died in Cincinnati on Jan. 14 at the age of 89.

“His legacy is great,” said Michael Unger, associate professor of organ and harpsichord at CCM. “He had a strong reputation in the harpsichord world, and he leaves behind a rich legacy among his former colleagues and students at CCM. His name is still remembered well for his long and distinguished work at CCM as a teacher, harpsichordist and director of ensembles dedicated to eighteenth-century music.”

In 1968, while on a concert tour of the United States, Mr. Hashimoto, a native of Japan, was invited by the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music to establish a harpsichord program at the school. He served for 33 years on the faculty until 2001, when he became professor emeritus.

Quiet and unassuming, Mr. Hashimoto built a distinguished academic and performing career over three decades. As a soloist, he dazzled audiences in more than 50 international tours, and made numerous recordings in the U.S. and Japan. His own editions of baroque music for the keyboard are highly regarded.

Between 1968 and 1986, Mr. Hashimoto performed many times with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as a guest artist and soloist. In the ’80s, he was the orchestra’s official harpsichordist under the tenure of music director Michael Gielen, and performed J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with him in Music Hall.

Mr. Hashimoto also performed under maestros Max Rudolf and Thomas Schippers, as well as at the Cincinnati May Festival under the legendary Robert Shaw. He recalled to me in an interview that Schippers loved 18th-century music and “needed me all the time” for Handel and Bach oratorios and concerti grossi. He also performed a contemporary harpsichord work by Ned Rorem during that time.Read More »

Inauguration music to feature fanfare with CSO ties

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Don’t forget to stream the inauguration orchestral fanfares at noon today, featuring 14 musicians from across the nation, including one from Cincinnati. You’ll find the livestream on social media and at cincinnatisymphony.org …

In the meantime:

Composer Peter Boyer — well known to the CSO and Pops — announces that the United States Marine Band has commissioned him to compose a new piece of music to be premiered at the Inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. His new work, “Fanfare for Tomorrow,” will be performed as part of the one-hour Prelude music of the Inauguration ceremony, conducted by the Marine Band’s director, Colonel Jason Fettig, at the U.S. Capitol on January 20. The Inaugural Prelude takes place from 10 am to 11 am EST.

“Fanfare for Tomorrow” began as a brief piece for solo French horn, originally commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra last year, as part of their Fanfare Project in response to the pandemic.

“I have significantly expanded and developed that music for a full concert band for this commission (and I will be preparing an orchestral version also),” Boyer says.

Here’s the link to the CSO version– performed by the CSO’s Elizabeth Freimuth.

The Prelude program also includes music by American composers Kimberly Archer, Adolphus Hailstork, Jim Stephenson and John Williams. Boyer says that CSPAN will include complete coverage of this early event.

The U.S. Marine Band will also accompany Lady Gaga in the National Anthem during the ceremony.

Uncommon music for an inauguration

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CSO principal horn Elizabeth Freimuth

In what is the strangest year any of us can remember, one musical tribute to the incoming president and vice president will also be unusual.

In an effort to promote some badly needed “hope and harmony,” conductor Marin Alsop and Classical Movements, a concert tour company for classical orchestras and choirs, have come together to honor the inauguration next week of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They will present a livestream performance by the Hope & Harmony Ensemble comprised of 14 musicians from 14 American orchestras. Principal hornist Elizabeth Freimuth will represent the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

The livestream over social media and orchestra websites will be at noon EST on Jan. 19 — the day before the inauguration. The music will feature Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man (which Copland wrote for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as a wartime fanfare) and Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, composed by American composer Joan Tower, the first woman to win the Grawemeyer Award in music. Tower’s Fanfare is often viewed as a response to Copland.

Marin Alsop/photo by Grant Leighton

The works to be conducted by Alsop will honor Joe Biden with Copland’s Fanfare. Tower’s Fanfare honors Kamala Harris as the nation’s first female vice-president.

There is unifying symbolism in the coming together of 14 musicians from across the nation, from sea to shining sea.Read More »

Cincinnati Opera panel to discuss diversity in the arts

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Participants in a previous Cincinnati Opera performance of “Opera Goes to Church”

This is a no-miss:

Cincinnati Opera Center Stage presents an honest and informal discussion about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts, to be streamed live on social media next Thursday (Jan. 21) at 7 p.m.

The conversation will be moderated by Cincinnati Opera Artistic Advisor (and superstar opera bass) Morris Robinson. It will feature a panel of expert educators, performers, and professionals discussing opportunities to break down barriers through this important work. The program concludes with a question-and-answer session.

The panel:

  • Morris Robinson, bass and Cincinnati Opera Artistic Advisor, moderator

  • Flávia Bastos, PhD, Cincinnati Opera board member and distinguished research professor of art education, University of Cincinnati School of Art

  • Tiffany Cooper, director of community engagement and diversity, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

  • Jennifer A. Ingram, founder and CEO of Calibrated Lens and former vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion at United Way of Greater Cincinnati

This event will be streamed live—registration is not required. Watch on Facebook or YouTube on Thursday, January 21, at 7:00 p.m.

What I’m watching to ring in 2021

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A lot of us would like to say good riddance to 2020. To celebrate, I’m planning to drink in some lavish performances on PBS and streaming media to ring in the New Year.

At 4 p.m. tomorrow, New Year’s Eve, the Metropolitan Opera is continuing its annual New Year’s Eve gala concert — but this year it’s virtual. The Met rings in 2021 with opera stars Javier Camarena, Angel Blue (who just sang so brilliantly with the CSO this fall), Pretty Yende, and Matthew Polenzani, in a livestream a pay-per-view performance. It is being broadcast from the historic Baroque-style Parktheater, ca. 1886, in Augsburg, Germany.

The New Year’s Eve Gala program will include arias, duets, and ensembles from Donizetti to Puccini, as well as arrangements of operetta and Neapolitan songs.

The concert, part of the Met Stars Live in Concert series, will be streamed live on the Met’s website at 4 pm EST/10 pm CET, and then be available on demand for 14 days. It costs $20.

The gala will be shot with multiple cameras, and linked by satellite to a control room in New York City, where host Christine Goerke will be situated. Gary Halvorson, the Met’s award-winning director of the company’s Live in HD cinema transmissions, will direct.

Tickets can be purchased on the Met’s website at metopera.org. Gala Committee tickets, with enhanced benefits, are also available at a range of donation levels. The gala supports the company.

The performances will be available for on-demand viewing for 14 days following the live event. The programs can be viewed on a computer, mobile device, or home entertainment system (via Chromecast or AirPlay).

The Vienna Philharmonic performs its annual New Year’s Concert in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein

On New Year’s Day, it’s the annual Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert with Riccardo Muti, in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, which airs over PBS locally on CET Channel 48 and nationwide. The 2021 New Year’s Concert will be broadcast in over 90 countries and followed by millions of television viewers around the world. Due to Covid-19, the 2021 New Year’s Concert will take place without an audience.

Of course, you can expect lots of Strauss waltzes, galops, polkas and marches. Here are the local times for From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2021 on CET (Channel 48). It continues on CETARTs Jan. 4-6 at various times.

Friday, January 1, 9:00 pm on CET HD

Saturday, January 2, 1:00 am on CET HD

Monday, January 4, 3:00 am on CET HD

Art Museum announces ‘special engagement’ weekends through January

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Cincinnati Art Museum

Cincinnati Art Museum announced today it will be open to the public for special engagement days on the weekends in January (Jan. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31). Hours will be 11 a.m.–5 p.m. each day.

Members will have special access each Friday starting Jan. 8 (continuing Jan. 15, 22, 29), as well as “Member Mornings” each Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.–11 a.m. The museum will not be open on New Year’s Eve or Day.

To ensure community wellness, limited hourly capacity remains reduced and advanced online registration is required. The museum will continue its safety policies requiring masks covering noses and mouths, and six feet of social distance between visitors. Increased cleaning and use of hospital-grade air filtration allow the museum to operate safely. The museum asks that all patrons limit their visit to two hours and ONLY visit with members of their own household.

This makes me happy, because yesterday — the last viewing day previously announced — I attended Frank Duveneck: American Master, which is set to run through March 28, 2021. With 90 works of art, it is a revelatory exhibition. Both comprehensive and beautifully organized, it also offers a personal view of the artist, including his friendships with other artists such as Whistler — featuring side-by-side works — the Duveneck Boys, his Art Academy students and especially with his wife, who died much too young.

It is a rare, sweeping look at Duveneck’s output in its only showing in America. (Due to Covid, it will not travel elsewhere after Cincinnati.) At CAM, it is the first major exhibition of Duveneck’s work in more than 30 years.

“The Three Boys” are together, perhaps for the first time

In a Q&A for the Business Courier, I asked curator Julie Aronson for some of her favorite works. This topped her list:

“Seeing the “three boys” hung together is going to be a great moment in the exhibition. “The Whistling Boy,” “The Cobbler’s Apprentice” from the Taft Museum of Art and “He Lives by his Wits,” still in a private collection, will be hung together.”Read More »

Vienna Boys Choir on a virtual Christmas tour

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Vienna Boys Choir, photo by Lukas Beck

One of the favorite memories of my music journalism career was visiting the Vienna Boys Choir in their school in the lovely Augarten Palace in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna. At the time, the famed boy choir had some Cincinnati Boychoir members.

The legendary choir is prized worldwide for the pure tone of its young singers, who, pre-pandemic, carried on a busy world tour schedule. They have appeared in Cincinnati multiple times. This holiday season, with 300 concerts canceled for the ensemble, they have created a beautiful online program: “Vienna Boys Choir: Silent Night.”

Their “World Online Tour” can be followed on idagio, where you can register free, and then purchase concerts. This one, which is about an hour long, costs $9.90, and is available until 5:59 p.m. Dec. 31. Click here to book. 

Their selections are lovely — including Es ist ein Ros´entsprungen (Lo, how a rose e’er blooming), Max Reger’s serene lullaby Maria Wiegenlied (Mary’s lullaby) and of course Still Nacht (Silent Night).

Because of stay-at-home orders, the concert is streamed from the palace’s state rooms, which have baroque architectural features, and there are also some outdoor scenes. All four of the tour choirs perform. The sound is exceptional.

The choir’s dramaturg, Dr. Tina Breckwoldt, writes from Vienna: “Our holiday offering is a traditional German/Austrian selection, for that feeling of warmth and gemütlichkeit. The boys are singing around a Christmas tree, decorated with real candles, apples, and gingerbread (some gingerbread choristers as well).”

Don’t miss the snowball fight in the gardens at the end as the credits roll.

The year in review in the arts

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The CSO’s first digital experiment last spring in Music Hall was music for four musicians.

What a year! If you’re a musician or a music fan, you probably remember the last live concert you attended or performed before Covid-19 shut down the country in March. Mine was on March 10: My granddaughter’s middle school orchestra concert.

Looking back, I realized that my annual “best of the year” in performances could only apply to the 10 weeks before we were locked down. So I wrote my Year in Review column for the Business Courier in two parts, as BC — Before Covid — and after.

Soprano Angel Blue wowed in Barber in a CSO livestream.

There were some unforgettable shows during both periods. In the second half — a season of screens — I am still enthralled by the Sept. 26 CSO digital program streamed from Music Hall, conducted by Louis Langrée. Gorgeous-voiced soprano Angel Blue gave an emotional performance of Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” a piece rarely heard. And what a treat it was to hear Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” as originally scored for 13 instruments.

And in a rare live performance by Cincinnati Ballet outdoors at Sawyer Point, I loved a new work for four dancers, choreographed (and danced) to Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat (fourth movement) by soloist David

Cincinnati Ballet danced at Sawyer Point

Morse. It was thrilling to see the exuberance and strength, the lifts and turns of the entire company. The program was enhanced by performances by a CSO quartet and Cincinnati Opera singers Victoria Okafor and Maria Miller.

You can read that column here (it’s free).

Earlier this year, local critic and retired opera singer Rafael de Acha asked people in the arts to answer the question, “What have you been during during the pandemic?” for his blog, rafaelmusicnotes.com.

I thank him for that, because it made me look back at how I had the opportunity to document the impact of the pandemic on our arts community in the pages of the Business Courier. Here is some of that column:Read More »