My grammy luck

Seems I have talked to a few nominees about their albums!

Joyce DiDonato about Diva/Divo: http://www.tpr.org/classicalspotlight/2011/01/cs1101202.html

Eric Whitacre about Light and Gold: http://www.tpr.org/classicalspotlight/2010/11/cs1011182.html

Yuja Wang about Rachmaninoff: http://www.tpr.org/classicalspotlight/2011/04/cs1104142.html

Behind the Scenes: WBIMF 3

A look at this year's West Branch International Music Festival with founder and artistic director Odin Rathnam. Filmed at the Phoenix Hotel in Copenhagen, using pictures from the Royal Danish Opera House rehearsal, and from the West Branch 2009 Music Festival.

WBIMF: Odin Rathnam from John Clare on Vimeo.

Learn more at http://www.westbranchfestival.org/

Bartoli Treasure Hunt

Have some fun with Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and her latest cd...answer this question:

What was Farinelli's birth name? Send your answer here to get a piece of the puzzle...or click on the clue pictured below.

For the previous clue, go here.
For the next clue, head here.

Five Things about the Lee Trio

I heard the Lee Trio at Ruth Taylor Hall at Trinity University tonight as part of the Redeemer Fine Arts Series.

1. The concert was beyond capacity, about the time the concert was supposed to start, they added chairs on stage to fit more audience. What a great thing!

2. The Bernstein piano trio is a youthful work that shows alot of promise - and in the hands of Melinda, Angela and Lisa Lee, very convincing. I heard lines I hadn't before, and was convinced I should listen again. Especially fun was the March, with playful pizzicati and charming harmonic bends.

3. Franz Joseph Haydn put his stamp on many genres - the symphony, string quartet and piano trio. This performance was a real delight, showing the humorous side and long melodic lines. Lisa was especially agile in fluid passages and Melinda brought the right flavor to the keyboard, with Angela providing a solid foundation. It was music making without effort and truly charming.

4. After intermission, Schumann's dark d minor trio finished the program - as the Lees said from on stage, it ends "with hope." The brooding first movement was unclear to my taste, but things came together for the flashy second movement. Ensemble was precise and crisp, nothing was left without care - each line getting the right umph. Lyricism prevailed in all parts for the slow movement, with especially beautiful singing from the strings. The finale came and flew by, tempi were always fresh.

5. It was awesome to see people of all ages at the concert, but lots of young people (there must have been a third of the audience under 12 years old!) were enjoying it and were well behaved. If you have a chance to see the Lee Trio - do so, you won't be disappointed!

The Reedemer Fine Arts Series continues in February with John Patitucci.

Presidential support

I love this!

Very witty, and fashionable to boot! You can get them on T-shirts!

Name that tune, er theme

From my playlist today, 4/11:
Henry Purcell: The Old Bachelor: Overture
John Rutter: A Clare Benediction
Ottorino Respighi: Church Windows, The Matins of St. Clare
Thomas Baltzar: A Division on 'John, Come Kiss Me Now'
Claude Debussy: Clair de lune

Free to good home

A nice email from CCM:
On behalf of all of us at ChicagoClassicalMusic.org, we are excited to announce "Free downloads have arrived!"
Thanks to our partnership with Naxos Records and Music Giants HD, ChicagoClassicalMusic.org is excited to offer free high definition music downloads exclusively for registered members of ChicagoClassicalMusic.org.
The first free track is performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Marin Alsop, Johannes Brahms : Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a, "St. Anthony Variations" Thema, "Chorale St. Antoni": Andante.
Simply log in to ChicagoClassicalMusic.org and follow the link on the main page blog to retrieve your track.
Commencing on the week of Monday, February 11, 2008; ChicagoClassicalMusic.org will regularly offer new music downloads.
Thank you to our loyal members for your involvement on ChicagoClassicalMusic.org's online community for music enthusiasts. We encourage you to check back on the site for new hot deals, new classical concert listings on the calendar and of course free downloads.

Playing with Webshop

Update!
http://www.dgwebshop.com/

I spent some more time with DG Webshop last night, from downloading albums to searching the site. It's easy, logical and great quality. Downloads were speedy, whether it was a single track, album covers (I captured an Anne-Sophie Mutter cover electronically that I already have on cd), or the java-based useful and easy download manager for whole albums.
Especially nice is a comprehensive tour schedule, and extensive artist information and links. All in all, DG Webshop is well thought out. It is exciting to have such a classical music resource. Get thee to http://www.dgwebshop.com/ - I'll quote a friend who sent me a news item about it yesterday who knew I would be interested, "I always knew DG was a cool company."

Just in time for the holidaze

Great news for music fans!
http://www.dgwebshop.com/


Deutsche Grammophon will launch its DG Web Shop tomorrow, November 28th, enabling consumers in 40 countries to download music at the highest technical and artistic standards. This global penetration includes markets where the major e-business retailers, such as iTunes, are not yet available: Southeast Asia including China, India, Latin America, South Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe including Russia.

Michael Lang, President of Deutsche Grammophon, stated: “Our company was founded over 110 years ago, and since then, it has stood for innovation and quality. During the development of our new web shop, we remained true to these principles as we continue to expand the digital music marketplace with our range of download services.”
Almost 2,500 DG albums will be available for download in maximum MP3 quality at a transfer bit-rate of 320 kilobits per second (kbps) – an audio-level that experts agree is indistinguishable from CD quality audio; and which exceeds the usual industry download-standard of 128-192 kbps (as well as EMI’s 256 kbps on iTunes).


I'm stunned at some of the available tracks out of print, including one of my favorite Orpheus Chamber Orchestra recordings of Mozart.


The press stuff is way fun too:

Breakin up is hard to do

My friend Derek has put up an interesting post about music and break ups.
I'll contribute my rather classical selections:

Gorecki's Third Symphony - this "Sorrowful Symphony" is linked with several special moments - which when hearing always brings back memories

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony - the horn solo in the second movement is another powerful memory inducer

Lisa Ekdahl Now or Never - a jazz song that kills me everytime

Saint-Saens Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix - conducting it didn't make it any easier

Dvorak Cello Concerto - 3rd horn call in the first movement breaks my heart like the first time an orchestral player did the same

Schubert Cello Quintet - reading this chamber work didn't help the sorrow from seeing my lover playing it in the group

Conus Violin Concerto - ah, summer love lasts only so long

Bartok Violin Duos - more summer fun in Carolina

Bach-Busoni Chaconne - I can't hear it without having one performance in mind that melted me to the quick

Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto in A minor - I always remember the loss of a friend, from breast cancer, who coached this piece

Verdi Requiem - while also not a break up, I always think about losing my grandfather as his death coincided with a performance

Gift Selections

ClassicallyHip Holiday Gift Selections 2007
By John Nasukaluk Clare

Ten great selections for you and your loved ones for the holiday season! Tell 'em ClassicallyHip sent you!

10. Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite, Op 71a
Live From The Lugano Festival - Martha Argerich And Friends
EMI Classics #76871
(Also killer chamber music by Shostakovich, Schumann, Prokofiev and Schubert!)

9. Higdon: Impressions
Cypress String Quartet
Naxos #8559298
(Also a Piano Trio & another great quartet!)

8. Harbison: The most often used chords
David Alan Miller, Albany Symphony Orchestra
Albany #390
(Also the 3rd Symphony & Flute Concerto)

7. Stravinsky: Violin Concerto
Jennifer Frautschi, Robert Craft, Philharmonia Orchestra
Naxos #8557508
(Also The Rite of Spring & Symphonies of Wind Instruments)

6. A Christmas Treasure
Julie Andrews/Andre Previn
RCA #67971

5. Stucky: Etudes (Recorder Concerto)
Michala Petri, Lan Shui, Danish National Radio Symphony
DaCapo #6220531
(also concerti by Joan Albert Amargós & Daniel Börtz)

4. Rachmaninov: Variations on a theme by Corelli
Hélène Grimaud
Teldec #84376
(Also the 2nd Piano Concerto & Etudes-Tableux)

3. Joyce DiDonato: Pasion!
Julius Drake, piano
Eloquentia #608

2. Elliott Carter: String Quartets 1-4
Arditti String Quartet
Etcetera Records #2507
(also Elegy)

1. JS Bach: Partita #2
Janine Jansen, violin
Decca #000990502
(also 2 & 3 Part Inventions)

Les Six, Drugs and Baroque & Realized Figured Bass

There's a new viewpoint up on New Music Box about Classical Music "Doping."
Don't forget, though, this past humor...classical druggies!

I thought I'd share these other "real" connections to the new article...
Weight lifters, who are classical pianists:
Tzimon Barto and Leon Bates!







And who could ever forget violinists Michael Rabin or Eugene Fodor?

Daddy Day

Three concerts in as many days! Friday night was the NGF 2007 at Millersville; Saturday was the finale of "Notable Women" in Chelsea; and today Elinor Frey rocks in NJ. More on all three when I get back home.
In the meantime, I'm enjoy cigars and coffee at The Bean. :)
It's also Father's Day - I've sent off a cool kid card, some books he's been wanting, and will call in a little bit. Certainly a major impact on my work ethic and dedication comes from my father, Warren Clare. Oh, and humor, his middle name is Edward, so yes, really and truly, how he signs his name is "Warren E Clare."