The Classical Gabfest

Hi there Classical Gabfest Listeners, this is Will, and I’m afraid we don’t have a regular episode for you this week. Longtime listeners to the show will know that Tiffany and Kensho and I all met at the Pierre Monteux School, which is a summer music institute focused on orchestral conducting and playing. Unfortunately, earlier this week, the school’s director, Michael Jinbo, died suddenly, and as Michael was a beloved teacher, mentor, and friend to all three of us, we decided not to produce an episode this week.

As a brief tribute, I wanted to say a few words about our teacher:

Maestro Jinbo was only the third-ever music director of the Monteux School in its 79-year history, succeeding his own teacher, Charles Bruck, and before him, Pierre Monteux himself, whom some of you may know was the conductor of the world premieres of The Rite of Spring and Daphnis and Chloé, and who performed Brahms’ string quartets for Brahms himself, among many other accomplishments.

Maestro Jinbo was proud of the school’s tradition, but he was very much his own musician and a great musician at that. Maestro Jinbo was not a famous conductor, but he was famous among conductors. We marveled at his crystal-clear technique and his deeply felt, uncomplicated musicality, and I know for a fact that videos of his conducting (which he would never allow to be released) circulated privately among his admirers. In rehearsal, he was totally unfussy and to-the-point. He always preferred to show and rather than to tell, but whenever he did say something about the music, it was invariably insightful, witty, and inspiring.

Of course, my co-hosts and I, and many, many others of his students will remember Michael for his abilities as a teacher. He combined uncompromising honesty with a deep care for each of his students as a human being, and he taught to each student individually. He didn’t waste time and he went immediately for your weaknesses, not to demean you, but to strengthen you.

Above all, Michael Jinbo taught us to be our true selves, both on and off the podium. He never tried to mold us in his own image, rather he helped us to strip away our excess baggage and taught us to honor the essential core that remained. And that’s just about the greatest gift that any teacher can give you.

It’s hard to find recordings of Michael’s work, but I did find a beautiful one on YouTube, in which Michael is leading the Nittany Valley Symphony of Pennsylvania, of which he was also music director for several decades. This is a recording of the “Meditation” from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs, featuring violinist Max Zorin, which I offer as this week’s mixtape suggestion. 

Rest in Peace, Michael.

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE

Massenet, Thaïs: “Meditation”
Nittany Valley Symphony Orchestra
Max Zorin, violin
Michael Jinbo, conductor

This week, we start out with a rousing round of Two Truths and a Lie and then we move on to our three topics:

ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL DOWNSIZES
Housing crisis forces Aspen Music Fest to cut Philharmonic (RMPBS)

UNFINISHED
Classical Grammy Winners (The Violin Channel)
Jon Batiste’s “American Symphony” (Carnegie Hall)
Netrebko Faces Backlash in Russia (NYT)

ELAM ROTEM ON SALOMONE ROSSI
Salomone Rossi and His Innovations (YouTube)
Profeti della quinta: Il mantovano hebreo (Spotify)
Early Music Sources

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Elam
Philippe Verdelot, Divini occhi sereni

Will
Parry, “I was Glad”

Tiffany
Kurt Weill, “Kiddush”

Kensho
David T. Little Soldier Songs: Two Marines

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This week, we start out with a rousing round of Back to the Future AKA Retrogradus ad Parnassum and then we move on to our three topics:

LOUISVILLE CREATORS CORPS
LO Creators Corps Homepage (LO)
Louisville Orchestra Reveals Innovative Creative Program (Billboard)

“THE CONDUCTOR”
Stream the Documentary on PBS

BRIGHT SHENG FIASCO AT UMICHIGAN
After the Sheng Fiasco, Music and Arts Education Can No Longer Profess Colorblindness (Musicology Now)
What I See In the Latest Blackface Scandal (NYT)
Playing a Blackface Video Isn’t Fireable. It Shouldn’t Be Okay (Sammy Sussman)

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Tiffany
Christopher Cerrone, New Addresses

Will
Verdi, Otello, Act III: Ballabile

Kensho
Lera Auerbach, Frozen Dreams

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This week it’s our 5th All-Games Extravaganza! Happy April!

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Kensho
Gabriela Lena Frank, Leyendas: “Himno de Zampoñas”

Tiffany
Poulenc, Melancolie

Will
Ravel, “La parade”

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This week, we start out with a rousing round of Who Dis? and then we move on to our three topics:

NEWS!
$50m gift to Juilliard (NYT)

Dausgaard Resigns (NYT)

Missing Contrabassoon Turns Up in Perfect Condition (Buffalo News)

Geffen Hall Redesign (NYT)

Chopin Foundation (Slipped Disc)

Wachner Out at Trinity Wall Street (NYT)
Wachner responds, denies allegations 

Michael Tilson Thomas Retires (NPR)

CONCERT CLUB: ORF W/ BARBARA HANNIGAN
Concert on France Musique

A HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE CLASSICAL FALLOUT OF UKRAINE
“A Putin supporter’s Carnegie Hall appearance was canceled. Should art be separated from politics?” (LAT)

Dangerous Melodies: Classical Music in America from the Great War through the Cold War

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Jonathan
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 7

Kensho
Akio Yashiro, Piano Concerto

Will
Gwyneth Walker, Emily! (from New England): The Frog in the Bog

Tiffany
Mozart, Così fan tutte: “Alla bella Despinetta”

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This week, we preview our collaboration with the Creative Baggage podcast. Tiffany’s interview drops today, so give the full episode a listen and subscribe to hear Kensho and Will’s interviews in the coming weeks:

https://anchor.fm/creative-baggage/ 

And while we’re at it, Will’s episode of the Moveable Do podcast also dropped this week:

https://anchor.fm/moveabledo/ 

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Royer, “La marche des Scythes”

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This week, we start out with a rousing round of Viola Hero and then we move on to our three topics:

HEARTBEAT OPERA’S FIDELIO
Prison Choirs Sing in a Reboot of Beethoven’s Fidelio (NPR)
Fidelio 2022 (Hearbeat Opera)

MARCH MADNESS: CANONIC COMPOSER EDITION
Fill out your own bracket and post it on social media — be sure to tag us!

CLASSICAL GRAMMY DRAMA
“How is this classical music?” Composers Fury at Grammys (Guardian)
Opinion: How Grammy Nominations Can Be Insulting (NYT)
Adam Neely’s Thread (Twitter)

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Kensho
Mason Bates, “B Sides” V. Warehouse Medicine

Tiffany
Sondheim, “Goodbye For Now”

Will
Björk, Bachelorette

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This week, we start out with a rousing round of Name That Tune AKA Stump the Hosts and then we move on to our three topics:

CLASSICAL RESPONSES TO THE RUSSIAN WAR IN UKRAINE
Gergiev Fired from Munich Phil (NYT)
Met Will Cut ties with all Putin-affiliated Artists (NYT)
Semyon Bychkov leads Czech Phil in Czech & Ukrainian anthems (YouTube)
Several Russian artists’ statements denouncing the attack (VAN Magazine) 

LA MAESTRA AND AGE LIMITS IN CLASSICAL COMPETITIONS
Not Enough Women? (Slipped Disc)

THE ZINGLINGS AND FILM COMPOSITION
The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores are Made (Vanity Fair)

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Will
Bach, Saint Matthew Passion, “Aus Liebe”

Kensho
Valentin Silvestrov, Requiem for Ukraine

Tiffany
Britten, War Requiem: Lacrymosa

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This week, we start out with a rousing round of Game of Pairs and then we move on to our three topics:

THE ‘MOVEABLE DO’ PODCAST
https://www.sdcompose.com/moveabledo.html 

MUSICAL WORDLE VARIANTS
Byrdle
Chordle
Musicle — created by Listener Adriano!

THE NEW YOLA CENTER
Commentary: Youth orchestras expose the good and bad karma of the Superbowl (LA Times)
Beckman YOLA center (LA Phil)
The Judith Thomas L Beckmen Center (Beckmen Vineyards)

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Steve
Danielson, Take Me Back (A New American Folk Song)

Will
Schnittke, String Quartet No. 2

Tiffany
Percy Grainger, Brigg Fair

Joseph
Monteverdi, “Cruda Amarilli”

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This week, we start out with a rousing round of Listening Limbo and then we move on to our three topics:

RUTH SLENCZYNSKA — RACHMANINOFF’S LAST STUDENT
Album trailer (YouTube)
Ruth Slenczynska: The Pupil of Rachmaninoff Still Releasing Music at 97 (Guardian)

CLASSICAL MUSIC AND FIGURE SKATING
Jonathan Beyer’s YouTube Channel, The Skating Lesson (YouTube)

HANDEL AND THE ROYAL AFRICAN COMPANY
The Unanswered Question: Handel and the Royal African Company (YouTube) 

CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist

Jonathan
Monteverdi, arr. Henze, Il ritorno di Ulisse: “Dormo ancora”

Tiffany
Price, Symphony No. 1, mvmt. 3 “Juba Dance”

Will
Handel, Zadok the Priest

Kensho
Rachmaninoff, E-flat major prelude

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