You've never heard the Piece Symphonique. But then, Jean Langlais never heard it either, and he composed it. Now its finally getting its world premier in Minnesota.
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Words and music are inextricably linked for Ned Rorem. Time Magazine has called him "the world's best composer of art songs," yet his musical and literary ventures extend far beyond this specialized field. Rorem has composed three symphonies, four piano concertos and an array of other orchestral works, music for numerous combinations of chamber forces, nine operas, choral works of every description, ballets and other music for the theater, and literally hundreds of songs and cycles. He is the author of sixteen books, including five volumes of diaries and collections of lectures and criticism.
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Remember that house where you went for your first piano lessons? Scary, eh? Well not as scary as what that house looks like now it has been empty for years and devoid of life, or at least, human life... hahahahahahaha. It lies abandoned there on Cedar and 7th Street among the derelict ruins of downtown Saint Paul. Some say there was once a radio station run out of the attic and ghostly sounds can be heard from the cobweb-ridden furniture. You only have to look and the green miasmic mist is illuminated and the songs of the undead assault your eardrums and shiver your spine into jelly and I don't mean blackcurrant.
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He's one of the icons of modern-day Classical Music, a musician who's done the late-show circuit, first playing on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958 when he was just 13, won enough Grammy's to fill a wall-sized case and an individual performer in the mold of the great violinists who came before him. Itzhak Perlman was born in 1945 in Tel Aviv, and since then has played with all the major orchestras of the world, giving thousands of concerts with orchestras or with a piano accompanist, solo on stage. Mr. Perlman was in the Twin Cities on October 21, 2003 to play a recital at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, the opening concert of the Schubert Club's International Artist Series. Accompanied by pianist Rohan da Silva, he played a program of Bach, Beethoven and Poulenc.
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As far as country music goes, Sherwin Linton of Coon Rapids is the real deal. You can hear it in his deep South Dakota drawl and see it in his cowboy boots and fringed suede jacket. Linton, 64, can't remember a day when he wasn't in love with country, or western music as it was called back in his youth. He's performed from coast to coast, appeared on TV, written radio hits and done the Nashville/Grand Ole Opry circuit. Linton was country before country was cool, as the slogan goes. Linton brings his country caravan to the Midwest Country Theater in Sandstone, Minnesota, this Sunday night, in support of his new CD, It Happened in America. On Monday night, he plays at the Fine Line Music cafe in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Orchestra is celebrating its centennial year with its new music director, Osmo Vänskä, finally in place. He is the orchestra's 10th music director and like others, he will be compared with his predecessors. Some critics say they hope the orchestra doesn't repeat mistakes made when it appointed Eiji Oue as music director.
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Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black" who became a towering figure in American music with such hits as "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line" and "A Boy Named Sue," died Friday. He was 71. Cash died of complications from diabetes that resulted in respiratory failure, according to his manager. Cash died at a Nashville hospital early this morning.
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Osmo Vänskä will lift the baton for the first time Thursday night as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. The Finnish conductor arrives as the orchestra celebrates its centennial. Vänskä's opening concert at Orchestra Hall will feature works by Neilsen, Rachmaninoff, and Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Vänskä says he realizes he has to live up to many expectations.
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A significant board member and supporter of the Minnesota Orchestra Association has resigned over the search process for its new president. This week the orchestra announced it has chosen Tony Woodcock to replace outgoing president David Hyslop. The new music director, Osmo Vänskä, appears to have played a controversial role in the selection process.
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