This Week in Classical Music: March 8, 2021.Catching up.Last week, as we wrote about Eboracum, a British Baroque group, we missed several important anniversaries, such as those of Frédéric Chopin, Antonio Vivaldi and Maurice Ravel.On March 4thBernard Haitinkcelebrated his 92nd birthday and we wish him many happy returns.And March 6th was the birthday of the wonderful New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa and the late conductor Lorin Maazel.
This week is also full of memorable dates. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was born on this day in 1714, and so was Carlo Gesualdo, in 1566.Gesualdo’s biography is so unusual that it is almost impossible not to get into the sordid details, which we’ve done in the past, for example here and here.Josef Mysliveček, a somewhat underappreciated Czech composer, was born on March 9th of 1737.Mysliveček was friends with the Mozarts, both father and son (they fell out eventually after Mysliveček couldn’t keep his promise to get a commission for Wolfgang from Teatro San Carlo in Naples).Mozart even arranged Mysliveček’s aria Il caro mio bene for the voice and piano (he also used a different text, so Mozart’s version is called Ridente la calma (K152).Here it is, sung by Cecilia Bartoli with András Schiff on the piano.
Arthur Honegger, Hugo Wolf, and Georg Philipp Telemann were also born this week.We’ve complained on more than one occasion about Telemann’s prodigious output: it was uneven, some not of the highest quality.But when Telemann was good, he was very good, it’s just that finding the gems isn’t easy.Here is his whimsical Alster-Ouvertüre, performed by Collegium Musicum 90 conducted under the direction of Simon Standage. The seventh movement, The concert of frogs and crows (it starts at around the 17th minute) is especially funny.
Thomas Arne, who was born on March 12th of 1710, is known these days mostly for one song, Rule, Britannia!This old (and very patriotic) song could not avoid the controversies of our culture.Rule, Britannia! was traditionally performed on the last day of the Proms, with the audience enthusiastically singing along.But of course, in 2020 some people decided that the words of the anthem are too imperialistic for this day and age and so the BBC, which organizes and broadcasts the concert, decided that the orchestral version would be performed.This is exactly what the Soviet authorities did in 1956, during the Thaw, when invoking the name of Stalin became impolitic.But it turned out that in the UK tradition trumps wokeness, and after a backlash in the media and an intervention by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the choral part was restated.Because of the Covid restriction there was no audience at the Royal Albert Hall, so instead a small, socially distanced choir performed the song as intended.Thomas Arne was a prolific theater composer, and some of his music is quite good: listen, for example, to this short Cantata from 1755, subtitled Dalia (here).Dame Emma Kirkby is the soprano; London Baroque is conducted by Charles Medlam.
Catching Up, March 2021
This Week in Classical Music: March 8, 2021. Catching up. Last week, as we wrote about Eboracum, a British Baroque group, we missed several important anniversaries, such as those of Frédéric Chopin, Antonio Vivaldi and Maurice Ravel. On March 4th Bernard Haitink
celebrated his 92nd birthday and we wish him many happy returns. And March 6th was the birthday of the wonderful New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa and the late conductor Lorin Maazel.
This week is also full of memorable dates. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was born on this day in 1714, and so was Carlo Gesualdo, in 1566. Gesualdo’s biography is so unusual that it is almost impossible not to get into the sordid details, which we’ve done in the past, for example here and here. Josef Mysliveček, a somewhat underappreciated Czech composer, was born on March 9th of 1737. Mysliveček was friends with the Mozarts, both father and son (they fell out eventually after Mysliveček couldn’t keep his promise to get a commission for Wolfgang from Teatro San Carlo in Naples). Mozart even arranged Mysliveček’s aria Il caro mio bene for the voice and piano (he also used a different text, so Mozart’s version is called Ridente la calma (K152). Here it is, sung by Cecilia Bartoli with András Schiff on the piano.
Arthur Honegger, Hugo Wolf, and Georg Philipp Telemann were also born this week. We’ve complained on more than one occasion about Telemann’s prodigious output: it was uneven, some not of the highest quality. But when Telemann was good, he was very good, it’s just that finding the gems isn’t easy. Here is his whimsical Alster-Ouvertüre, performed by Collegium Musicum 90 conducted under the direction of Simon Standage. The seventh movement, The concert of frogs and crows (it starts at around the 17th minute) is especially funny.
Thomas Arne, who was born on March 12th of 1710, is known these days mostly for one song, Rule, Britannia! This old (and very patriotic) song could not avoid the controversies of our culture. Rule, Britannia! was traditionally performed on the last day of the Proms, with the audience enthusiastically singing along. But of course, in 2020 some people decided that the words of the anthem are too imperialistic for this day and age and so the BBC, which organizes and broadcasts the concert, decided that the orchestral version would be performed. This is exactly what the Soviet authorities did in 1956, during the Thaw, when invoking the name of Stalin became impolitic. But it turned out that in the UK tradition trumps wokeness, and after a backlash in the media and an intervention by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the choral part was restated. Because of the Covid restriction there was no audience at the Royal Albert Hall, so instead a small, socially distanced choir performed the song as intended. Thomas Arne was a prolific theater composer, and some of his music is quite good: listen, for example, to this short Cantata from 1755, subtitled Dalia (here). Dame Emma Kirkby is the soprano; London Baroque is conducted by Charles Medlam.