Own your very own

The American Music Center is having an auction, check it out online: https://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Browse.action?auctionId=92570727

It includes everything to vacations, to a recital by Jennifer Koh for you and your friends (she was just here in San Antonio playing Prokofiev) and autographs of composers like Robert Xavier Rodriguez, John Corigliano and many more.

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On the comeback

Good news about Liona Boyd, from the Globe & Mail:
The virtuoso guitarist has faced down a painful neurological disorder to emerge with a new career: singer-songwriter. Here is the whole article. Read more!

Power of the piano

I was quite touched about this story involving Andre Watts from ArtsJournal:

When Doug McLennan asked me to write this blog, he told me that the most
successful ones connect the writing to the experiences the blogger has in daily
life. I write about building arts communities, and for several weeks I've been
thinking that the following story should be told. It certainly grows out of real
life, and the lives involved are close to me and involve a musician whose
artistry is legendary.
Last April my brother, Jim, copied an e mail he had
sent to the great pianist, Andre Watts. Since it says everything better than I
possibly could, I'll just let the letter tell the story:
Dear Mr. Watts,
For years our family has admired you, the gift of musical talent you have
been given, and the obvious discipline you have followed to develop and maintain
your skills. Your music has touched the hearts of many people, but you have
touched the hearts and lives of our family in a special way.
Our family is
deeply indebted to you because of an episode of Mr. Rogers you taped. I have a
daughter (Jamie) who is 29 years old and is severely disabled and profoundly
retarded. She has had many challenges; among them was the desire to eat. For
years, Jamie did not want to eat and we struggled at every mealtime to feed her.
Early on, we discovered that music either distracted her or stimulated her and
so we began playing music as she would eat her food.

Take a moment out to read the entire letter and story here. I've had the good fortune to hear Watts play several times, and remember as a teenager seeing his 25th anniversary concert on tv. Just a few years ago I saw Andre play with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the summer, Beethoven's Emperor Piano Concerto on the same program as Penderecki's Second Symphony, with the composer himself conducting. While Charles Dutoit was leading the rest of the program, it was interesting to see Watts and Penderecki interact during the rehearsal.
Have you been moved by a performer or performance? Got a story to share about Watts or classical music? Pass it along in the comments!
And don't forget about the Piano Sunday afternoon at 5pm on KPAC & KTXI!

- Afternoon host John Clare Read more!

Classical Spotlight: Guy Fawkes Day

Lots of great music ahead to enjoy this weekend!
GERALD SELF
Music for recorder trio: 17 short pieces and one major sonata, assisted by David Eaton playing on a virginal and on the big St. Luke's organ, as well. The concert begins at 5:00 this coming Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, the concert is free and open to the public.

SACMS
November 8th, 2009
Shanghai String Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4
Yi-Wen Jiang: Chinasong (Chinese folk songs)
Penderecki: String Quartet No. 3 - Leaves from an Unwritten Diary
Debussy: String Quartet in G minor. Op. 10
Temple Beth-El 3:15 PM

YOUTH ORCHESTRAS SAN ANTONIO
New YOSA Music Director Troy Peters makes his San Antonio debut in a concert celebrating YOSA's upcoming 8th International Tour, "The Great Tour of China," departing June 2010. Hear music from across four continents with pieces that evoke Africa, old Europe, the New World and Asia. Travel assistance provided by San Antonio Symphony principal tuba Lee Hipp in the form of Vaughn Williams' exciting concerto.
Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium 4 p.m. Students and children FREE.
Li Huanzhi: Spring Festival Overture
Smetana: The Moldau
Vaughan Williams: Tuba Concerto, Lee Hipp soloist
Jose Elizondo: Estampas Mexicanas
Saint-Saens: Algerian Suite, Op. 60

Schweitzer & Bach
Tues. November 10
Presentation: 6-8 PM
Open Cast Party: 8-9 PM
Health Science Center Auditorium
7703 Floyd Curl Dr.
Words of Schweitzer & the Music of Bach
Join the Center on November 10 to remember and honor Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a deep thinker, an accomplished musician, a sensitive healer and a generous soul.
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of Schweitzer’s visit to America!
This original multimedia musical dramatization, written and produced by Thurston Moore, brings the importance of Schweitzer's philosophy and work to life. The 267 images shown on the screen from the beginning to the end of the 90-minute drama are a chronicle of his life from birth through his days of scholarship and intellectual quest, culminating in his actualization as a medical missionary deep in the forests of French Equatorial Africa where he founded the Lambaréné Hospital and discovered his philosophy of reverence for life.
Featuring Dr. Richard Lange as Albert Schweitzer, with live music by David Eaton, UTSA and David Heller, Trinity organists. Read more!

Keeping Score on demand

Coinciding with the current PBS telecasts of the second season of the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score documentary series hosted by Michael Tilson Thomas, the orchestra is releasing on CD concert performances of all of the works featured in the series. The CDs include Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Ives’s Holidays Symphony paired with Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, Stravinsky’s Firebird and selections from The Rite of Spring, Beethoven’s Eroica and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

These CDs are in addition to the orchestra’s releases of all Keeping Score documentaries and performances on DVD, as well as the Season 2 documentaries and performances on Blu-Ray. The Season 2 Keeping Score documentaries, currently airing on PBS stations across the country (check local listings), explore the music and stories behind Hector Berlioz’s symphonic love letter Symphonie fantastique, Charles Ives’s sonic portrait of New England in his Holidays Symphony, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, a work that may have saved his life.

In addition, PBS is making all Keeping Score documentary episodes available for free on-demand.. The new Season 2 episodes (Berlioz, Ives, and Shostakovich), as well as previous Keeping Score documentaries on Beethoven, Copland, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky can be viewed on demand at http://video.pbs.org/searchForm/?q=Keeping+Score Read more!

YOSA: Podcast 1 Hagen

This is the first podcast in a series for the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio...they perform the world premiere of Daron Hagen's Northern Lights, a fanfare in celebration of Troy Peters' first season as music director coming up in January 2010.

YOSA Podcast: Daron Hagen 1 from Classical Spotlight on Vimeo.

YOSA plays their first concert under the direction of Troy Peters this Sunday afternoon @ 4pm in Laurie Auditorium. Read more!

Sing a long

RUSH HOUR BIG SING – Come sing with Conspirare!
Thursday, November 12
5:30 p.m.
St. Martin's Lutheran Church, 606 W. 15th St.
Admission is FREE!

Conspirare is excited to present its inaugural Rush Hour Big Sing – a free community event where the audience is the choir! Conspirare's acclaimed artistic director Craig Hella Johnson will lead the gathering in breathing exercises, vocal warm-ups, and short, melodic songs that can be easily learned. Conspirare Symphonic Choir members will sit among the audience to sing along and provide musical support and encouragement during the one-hour event.

The concert is open to all – no musical background required. Through this no-pressure group sing, you'll learn basic vocal technique, experience the body as an instrument, and sing as one with hundreds of others. If you've ever dreamed of singing under the direction of a world-renowned conductor, this is your opportunity – and your friends' and coworkers'. Get off the road at rush hour and join us for a relaxed, fun experience. No ticket needed – see you there! Read more!

KPAC Listener's TOP 100

100 SIBELIUS SYMPHONY # 2 FINALE
99 SAINT-SAENS SYMPHONY # 3
98 ROSSINSI WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE
97 RODRIGO CONCIERTO DE ARANJUEZ 2ND MOVEMENT
96 RACHMANINOFF RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANINI
95 PUCCINI VISSI D'ARTE - TOSCA
94 PROKOFIEV ROMEO AND JULIET SUITE
93 MUSSORGSKY NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN
92 MOZART SYMPHONY #41
91 MOZART SYMPHONY #40
90 MOZART MOTET AVE VERUM CORPUS
89 MOZART Marriage of Figaro
88 MOZART HORN CONCERTO #4
87 MOZART CLARINET CONCERTO IN A
86 MOZART Ave verum corpus
85 MENDELSSOHN SYMPHONY # 4
84 KHACHATURIAN SPARATUS ADAGIO PF SPARATUS &PHRYGIA
83 HANDEL XERXES-LARGO
82 GERSHWIN CONCERTO IN F
81 ELGAR POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE
80 DE BUSSY PRELUDE TO THE AFTERNOON OF A FAUN
79 COPLAND RODEO
78 BRAHMS SYMPHONY # 4
77 BRAHMS PIANO CONCERTO #1
76 BORODIN PRINCE IGOR POLOVTSIAN
75 BERLIOZ SYMPHONIA FANTASTIQUE
74 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 4
73 BEETHOVEN STRING QUARTET
72 BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO # 3
71 BACH, J S ST MATTHEW PASSION
70 BACH, J S JOY OF MAN'S DESIRING
69 BACH, J S CELLO SUITE #1
68 VERDI GRANDE MARCH FROM AIDA
67 TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO #1
66 STRAUSS DER ROSENKAVALIER SUITE
65 SIBELIUS FINLANDIA
64 MOZART PIANO CONCERTO #21
63 MOZART CA CI DAREM LA MANO FROM DON GIOVANNI
62 HANDEL WATER MUSIC
61 HANDEL MUSIC FOR THE ROYAL FIREWORKS
60 GLUCK DANCE OF THE BLESSED SPIRITS
59 FAURE REQUIEM
58 ELGAR ENIGMA VARIATIONS
57 ELGAR CELLO CONCERTO IN E MINOR
56 DVORAK SLAVONIC DANCES
55 COPLAND FANFARE TO COMMON MAN
54 BRAHMS SYMPHONY #1
53 BRAHMS PIANO CONCERTO # 2
52 BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO
51 BACH PASSACAGLIA &FUGUE IN C
50 WIDOR ORGAN SYMPHONY #5 TOCATA
49 TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY #6
48 TCHAIKOVSKY SWAN LAKE
47 TCHAIKOVSKY ROMEO AND JULIET
46 STRAVINSKI RITE OF SPRING
45 RACHMANINOFF PIANO CONCERTO # 3
44 PUCCINI MADAME BUTTERFLY
43 MUSSORGSKY PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
42 MENDELSSOHN VIOLIN CONCERTO IN E
41 MAHLER SYMPHONY #1
40 MAHLER SYMPHONY # 5
39 DE BUSSY SUITE BERGAMASQUE CLAIRE DE LUNE
38 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY #6
37 BARTOK CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA
36 BACH, J S GOLDBERG VARIATIONS
35 BACH, J S BRANDENBURG CONCERTO #3
34 RESPIGHI THE PINES OF ROME
33 MOZART MAGIC FLUTE
32 GRIEG PEER GYNT SUITE #1
31 CHOPIN NOCTURNE IN E FLAT
30 BEETHOVEN MOONLIGHT SONATA IN C
29 SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY # 5
28 RAVEL BOLERO
27 PUCCINI TURANDOT NESSUN DORMA
26 MOZART EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK
25 HOLST THE PLANETS
24 TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO # 1
23 TCHAIKOVSKY OVERTURE OF 1812
22 BEETHOVEN VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D
21 BACH, J S BRANDENBURG CONCERTO #2
20 WAGNER RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES
19 BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO # 5
18 TCHAIKOVSKY THE NUTCRACKER
17 ORFF CARMEN BURANA
16 COPLAND APPALACHIAN SPRING
15 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 7
14 SMETANNA MY COUNTRY THE MOLDAU
13 MOZART REQUIEM
12 GERSHWIN RHAPSODY IN BLUE
11 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 5
10 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 3
9 BACH, J S TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN D
8 RIMSKY-KORAKOV SCHEHERAZADE
7 RACHMANINOFF PIANO CONCERTO # 2
6 BARBER ADAGIO FOR STRINGS
5 BRAHMS GERMAN REQUIEM
4 HANDEL MESSIAH
3 VIVALDI THE FOUR SEASONS
2 DVORAK SYMPHONY #9
1 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 9 Read more!

Three Slavic Composers

On this Piano this Sunday we have music of Rachmaninoff, clearly intoxicated by the music of Tchaikovsky and Chopin, Balakirev is dreaming of the Caucasus region and the Program concludes with the 3rd Sonata of Karol Szymanowski who "channels" his theme through the musical stylings of Scriabin, Wagner, Richard Strauss and fugally with Beethoven!

The Piano heard this Sunday afternoon at 5 on KPAC and KTXI.

host, Randy Anderson

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SOLI: Webisode 5

The fast and the furies:

SOLI: Webisode 5 from John Clare on Vimeo.

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Classical Spotlight: Phantoms & more!

Classical Spotlight shines on the Olmos Ensemble, Musical Bridges Around the World, UTSA Chamber Singers with John Silantien, Musical Offerings, SOLI Chamber Ensemble and Three Phantoms with the San Antonio Symphony and Ken David Masur! John Clare hosts with music by Khachaturian, Messiaen, Menotti and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Including: Three Phantoms in Concert
October 30 & 31, 2009
Majestic Theatre
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Three glorious Broadway tenors who have shared the same title role of the ‘Phantom’ in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,” join forces for a fabulous evening of Broadway’s best songs. With Craig Schulman, Kevin Gray, and Mark Jacoby.

SOLI
Sunday @ 2pm
McNay Art Museum

UTSA Chamber Singers
Sunday @ 3pm
UTSA Recital Hall

Musical Bridges Around the World presents The Child’s World, free concert @ San Fernando Cathedral Sunday night @ 6:30pm
Featuring Brent Watkins and friends with Poulenc & Prokofiev!

Music on the MOVE : Greece & Rome
Monday, November 2, 2009
San Antonio Museum of Art
6:00 PM and 8:00 PM

November 3, 2009
The Exotic Russian, the Intelligent San Antonian, and the Witty French
Brent Watkins, piano, William James Ross, composer and pianist
Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM
First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio

Nemanja Ostojic
Winner, 2009 SWGF Guitar Competition
Tuesday, November 3, 7:30 p.m.
Ruth Taylor Recital Hall
Trinity University Read more!

SOLI: Webisode 4

SOLI: Webisode 4 from John Clare on Vimeo.

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