News of Note

I noticed a couple articles in the local papers this week that I thought might be of interest to this audience.

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Is anybody listening? American opera faces crossroads as audiences for performing arts slide

photo credit: Karen Almond

In part one of a two-part series, Post arts writer Anne Midgette examines the  state of contemporary American opera. She explores opera companies’ sometimes competing goals of pleasing current patrons, attracting a new, younger audience, staging new and creative works, and still managing to turn a profit.

The overall mood of the article is optimistic – more and more high quality operas are being written and performed (or underperformed) – though she notes that most of the performing arts have seen their audiences shrink in recent years, opera not excepted.

Part two will be published next Sunday.

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Terry Huff’s Lost Soul

The cover story of this week’s City Paper regards the great and mysterious DC sweet soul singer, Terry Huff, who put out one amazing album – 1976′s The Lonely One – before quickly fading into obscurity.

Ted Scheinman tracks down Huff and many others close to him, and provides the best (really, one of the only) profiles of his entire career, from his early 45s with Andy and the Marglows, to his stint as an MPD detective, to his big regional hit, “I Destroyed Your Love” (below), and the self-destructive tendencies that led to his downfall.

An intriguing portrait of an enigmatic local musician.

New CDs and DVDs – 6/28/10

CDs

George Rochberg – Symphony No. 2 / Image Mundi – Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Lyndon-Gee, cond. (CD 5180)

Liszt – John Scott Plays Liszt: Ad nos, ad Salutarem undam at St. Paul’s Cathedral (CD 5181)

Remigio Nussio – Orgelwerke (CD 5182)

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society – Infernal Machines (CD 5179)

Tan Dun – Bitter Love; Ying Huang, soprano (CD 5184)

Anneliese Rothenberger – Champagner-Operette (CD 5183)

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DVDs

The Parsons Dance Company (MUSIC LIBRARY DVD 125)

Berklee Workshop: Kenwood Denard – The Studio/Touring Drummer (MUSIC LIBRARY DVD 126)

Wagner – Tristan und Isolde (MUSIC LIBRARY DVD 127)

New CDs & Scores – 6/22/10

CDs

20th Century & Contemporary

Charles Dodge – A Retrospective (1977 – 2009) (CD 5176)

David Mahler – Only Music Can Save Me Now - Nurit Tilles, piano (CD 5175)

Lukas Foss – Curriculum Vitae (CD 5174)

Rova & Nels Cline Singers – The Celestial Septet (CD 5173)

Ezra Sims – Musing and Reminiscence (CD 5172)

Junko Ueno Garrett – Japanese Music for Piano: Rentaro Taki to Toru Takemitsu (CD 5177)

Musical Theater

Rodgers & Hammerstein – Carousel - Original Cast (CD 5170)

Arthur Grumiaux Edition

Veracini, Kreisler, Elgar, Fauré, and others – István Hajdu, piano (CD 8923)

Mozart, Wieniawski, Ravel, Sarasate, and others – István Hajdu, piano (CD 8903)

AU-Related

G.F. Handel – Music for the Royal Fireworks / Hank Badings - Armageddon / Toshiro Mayuzumi – Concerto for Percussion and Wind Orchestra / Krzysztof Penderecki – Pittsburgh Overture / Jerzy Sapieyevski - Morpheus (CD 5171)

On a Sensual Note – On a Sensual Night (CD 5178)

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Scores

Musical Theater

Stephen Sondheim – A Little Night Music - vocal score (M1503.S705 L52 1974)

William Finn – The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – vocal selections (M1508.F53 A14 2005)

Kitt/Yorkey – Next to Normal – vocal selections (M1508.K58 N49 2009)

Flaherty/Ahrens – Ragtime – vocal score (M1503.F54 R3 2009)

20th Century & Contemporary

Chen Yi – Three Bagatelles from China West – duet for flute and piano (M242.C44 B34 2010)

Joan Tower – Purple Rhapsody (Concerto for Viola and Orchestra) – viola and piano; score and part (M1015.T68 P8 2009)

Joan Tower – Incandescent (for String Quartet) – score and parts (M452.T696 I53 2010)

Peter Schickele – Morning Music - piano, four hands (M204.S35 M67 2010)

William Bolcom – Ballade – piano (M25.B65 B35 2008)

Michael Daugherty – Tell My Fortune – for orchestra; full score (M1042.D255 2009)

Vocal

H.T. Burleigh, arr. – Album of Negro Spirituals (M1670.B87 A51 1969)

Thomas Pasatieri – Bel Canto Songs (M1621.P383 B4 2010)

Piano

Johannes Brahms – Piano Works in Two Volumes, Vol. 2 (M22.B82 S35 v.2)

Johann Burgmüller -  25 Progressive Pieces, Opus 100 for the Piano (MT225.B85 op.100 2006)

Other

Green Day – American Idiot (M1630.18 .G77 A44 2005)

English Duets for Flutes (Recorders) or Violins (M288 .G52 N32 1970)

John Williams – Signature Editions for Horn (M1527.2 .W55 S542 2010)

New CDs & Scores – 6/14/10

CDs

Bruckner - Symphonie Nr. 9 – New York Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, cond. (CD 7387)

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Scores

Frederick Delius – String Quartet (M452.D355 Q3 1999)

Hugo Distler – Lo! How a Rose E’er Blooming – Chorale motet from “The Christmas Story” (M2095.D57 L65 1967)

Bright Sheng – The Stream Flows – for solo viola (M47.S53 S7 2009)

Bright Sheng – A Tune from Childhood – for solo clarinet (M72.S54 T86 2009)

Leon Kirchner – Flutings for Paula – for flute and percussion (M298.K58 F6 2009)

Bruce Adolphe – Songs of Life and Love: Settings of Poems by Iranian, Palestinian, Lebanese, and Israeli Women – for mezzo-soprano and piano (M1621.A239 S66 2005)

New CDs and Scores – 06/08/10

American Camerata Performs -  John Stephens, cond. – features “Mercury Concerto” by AU faculty member, Jerzy Sapieyevski (CD 5169)

Musical Theater CDs

La Cage aux Folles – Jerry Herman (Original Cast) (CD 5167)

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story – Stephen Dolginoff (CD 5168)

Next to Normal – Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey (Original Cast) (CD 5166)

Arthur Grumiaux Edition

Vivaldi - Concertos for Violin, Strings, and Continuo (CD 8905)

J.S. Bach – Violin Concertos BWV 1041 & 1042 / Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043 / Concerto for Oboe, Violin, Strings, and Continuo, BWV 1060 (CD 8906)

Leclair - Sonata in D, Op. 9 No. 3 / Veracini - Sonata in B minor, Op. 1 No. 3 / Vivaldi - Sonata in A, Op. 2 No. 2 / Nardini - Sonata in D (CD 8914)

Paradis - Sicilienne / Mozart - Rondo, K. 250 / Gluck - Melodie / Granados - Danza espagñola, Op. 37 No.5 / Kreisler - Schön Rosmarin / Liebesleid / Liebesfreud / Veracini - Allegro / Vivaldi - Siciliano, Op. 3 No. 11 / Leclair - Tambourin / Beethoven - Menuet in G / Schubert - Ave Maria, Op. 52 No. 6 / Dvořák - Humoresque in G flat, Op. 101 No. 7 / Massenet - Meditation de Thaïs / Tchaikovsky - Valse sentimentale, Op. 51 No. 6 (CD 8922)

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Scores

Erwin Schulhoff – Cadenzas [to] concertos for piano and orchestra no. 1 in C major, op. 15, no. 2 in Bb major, op. 19, no. 3 in c minor, op. 37, no. 4 in G major, op. 58 by Ludwig van Beethoven (M1010.5.B4 S355 2009)

Michael Colgrass - Variations for Four Drums & Viola (M298.C6 V2 1959)

Harry Breuer – Ragtime Solos: Five Solos for Xylophone, Marimba, or Vibes – with piano accompaniment (M284.X9 B74 2007)

W.A. Mozart - Concerto No. IV in D major, K. 218 – for violin and piano (M1013.M8 K.218 2000)

New CDs & Scores – 06/01/10

Arthur Grumiaux Edition

Schubert - String Quintet, Op. 163 D.956 / Brahms - Trio, Op. 40 (CD 8945)

Beethoven - Romance No. 1, Op. 40 / Romance No. 2, Op. 50 / Berlioz - Rêverie et Caprice, Op. 8 / Tchaikovsky - Sérénade mélancolique, Op. 26 / Wieniawski - Romance / Légende, Op. 17 / Svendsen - Romance in G, Op. 26 (CD 8913)

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Scores

Anthology of Jazz Songs (M1619.J38 2010)

Tania León – De Color for violin and marimba (M298.L579 D278 1997)

Mozart - Concerto in G for violin and piano (K. 216) (M1013.M8 K.216 2000)

Béla Bartók - Roumanian Folk Dances for violin and piano (M223.B37 R65 1990)

Niccolò Paganini – Paganini for Saxophone: 24 Capricci op.1 (arr. by Raaf Hekkema) (M109.P34 P3 2009)