Leon Fleisher (July 23, 1928 – August 2, 2020)
Read Jonathan Biss’s tribute to his mentor and friend here.
For a reminder of what’s streaming this week (August 10–16), click here.
In addition, don’t miss pianist Shai Wosner performing with baritone Thomas Meglioranza online in selected songs for the Portland Chamber Music Festival tonight, Thursday, August 13 at 7:30 p.m. PT. Also be sure to tune in to the six-hour, online Bang on a Can Marathon 2020, which opens with pipa virtuoso Wu Man on Sunday, August 16 at 3:00 p.m. ET (one-time-only viewing).
WHAT’S STREAMING: CLASSICAL (WEEK OF AUGUST 17–23)
Wednesday, August 19 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Tulsa Opera’s Staying Alive continues with bass Rhys Lloyd Talbot
With its “baseball Rigoletto” coming up this fall, Tulsa Opera keeps the music alive in the meantime with its Staying Alive video series—bringing to viewers at-home performances from the company’s featured artists every week. On Wednesday, bass Rhys Lloyd Talbot, who appeared in the company’s 2019 Carmen as Zuniga, sings “If Ever I Would Leave You” from Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot. Lyndon Meyer accompanies.
WHERE TO WATCH: TulsaOpera.com/StayingAlive
Wednesday, August 19 at 6:30 p.m. MT (one-time-only viewing)
Sun Valley Music Festival’s Summer Season Finale
The Sun Valley Music Festival concludes its virtual Summer Season with a selection of encores performed by Festival Orchestra musicians, guest artists, and the entire orchestra conducted by Music Director Alasdair Neale. More than 100 musicians in 43 cities across North America perform in this concert. Program details will be announced during the webcast.
WHERE TO WATCH: Sun Valley Music Festival’s web site and YouTube
Friday, August 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET
IDAGIO webcasts Michael Tilson Thomas conducting New World Symphony in Steven Mackey’s re-imagining of Berlioz’s Harold in Italy,
featuring violist Tabea Zimmermann
Recorded as part of Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony’s ground-breaking Viola Visions festival in 2019, this performance of Berlioz’s Harold in Italy at the New World Center in Miami Beach is webcast as a presentation of IDAGIO’s Global Concert Hall. Grammy Award-winning composer Steven Mackey’s take on this Berlioz classic—specially commissioned by the New World Symphony—depicts its protagonist, drawn loosely from a poem by Lord Byron, in a new light, elaborating on Berlioz’s colorful themes and adding a new cadenza. Acclaimed violist Tabea Zimmermann is the featured soloist, and the event will include pre- and post-performance discussions with MTT, Mr. Mackey, and Ms. Zimmermann.
WHERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS / WATCH: IDAGIO’s web site
Friday, August 21 at 4:00 p.m. ET
Davóne Tines featured in excerpts from The Black Clown as part of Harlem Week
A month-long celebration of one of the most culturally rich neighborhoods in the world, the 46th annual Harlem Week presents more than 100 events (via the internet, due to COVID-19) including a webcast of excerpts from Davóne Tines and Michael Schachter’s The Black Clown. The work is a musico-dramatic adaptation of the eponymous poem by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, and the audio to be aired is taken from the work’s acclaimed New York premiere at last year’s Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center.
WHERE TO LISTEN: Harlem Week’s web site
Friday, August 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET
Jonathan Biss in concert and conversation as part of
Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s Virtual Beethoven Festival
Continuing his decade-long immersion into the music of Beethoven, Jonathan Biss performs and discusses Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14, No. 2, and Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”), from his home in Philadelphia. The recital is a highlight of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s (SPAC) virtual Beethoven 2020 Festival, which features online performances and exclusive events from SPAC resident companies The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York City Ballet, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; a world premiere; additional soloists; local cultural partners; and more (see SPACbeethoven.org).
WHERE TO WATCH: Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s YouTube
Minnesota Orchestra at Home
Recently on Minnesota Orchestra at Home: A behind-the-scenes look at the orchestra’s first performance for a live audience since the country went into lock-down in March. Click here to learn more about the orchestra’s phased re-opening.
Minnesota Orchestra at Home shares video, audio and educational materials through the categories of Watch, Listen and Learn, including videos from the Orchestra’s archives and newly-created “mini-concerts” directly from the homes of Orchestra musicians. Stay tuned to the Minnesota Orchestra web site and social media channels for a steady stream of new content.
WHERE TO WATCH / LISTEN: MinnesotaOrchestra.org/AtHome and Minnesota Orchestra’s Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter
#ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
Davóne Tines in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s
digital premiere of John Adams’s El Niño
On Saturday, MetLiveArts presented the digital premiere of John Adams’s monumental Christmas oratorio El Niño, as filmed at The Cloisters during the 2018–19 season. Specially arranged for the American Modern Opera Company, the production features Davóne Tines alongside Julia Bullock, Anthony Roth Costanzo, and J’Nai Bridges.
WHERE TO WATCH: The Met Museum’s YouTube
James Conlon and LA Opera’s audio-streamed Ring cycle,
available on-demand through the end of August
Ten years after presenting the city of Los Angeles’ first complete staging of Wagner’s epic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen, Music Director James Conlon and LA Opera invited online audiences to re-immerse themselves in these classic performances with a marathon audio stream of all four music dramas back-to-back on July 25. The audio is accompanied by video feed featuring photos from the 2010 production and libretto subtitles. If you missed the marathon, you can still tune in on-demand through the end of August. Also learn more about The Ring via Mr. Conlon’s pre-performance talks on each opera via LA Opera’s SoundCloud.
WHERE TO LISTEN: LAOpera.org/Ring
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