An invitation to the symphony…on your radio…this morning

March 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Maestro Leonard Slatkin

To thank our supporters for all of your support, WRCJ 90.9 FM would like to invite you to the symphony…The Detroit Symphony Orchestra…

…this morning…at 10:45

…right at your desk, your kitchen table…or your favorite big, soft comfortable chair.

…right from your favorite radio station, WRCJ 90.9FM

This morning and this weekend, Leonard Slatkin leads the DSO in Dvorak’s Concerto for Cello featuring virtuoso cellist Lynn Harrell. Can’t get to Orchestra Hall? Join WRCJ for our live radio broadcast at 10:45 a. m. on WRCJ 90.9 FM and worldwide at wrcjfm.org.

Thanks, Detroit, for all of your incredible support.

– Rich Homberg/President and CEO

 

 

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Maestro Slatkin spells out ‘Why Detroit?’

March 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Maestro Leonard Slatkin

Maestro Leonard Slatkin, music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, wrote a most interesting blog for the Huffington Post in which he talks about the arts, the metropolis, and the people who live here. An excerpt:

Nearly every subscription program is broadcast via a series of free HD webcasts. Last season we became the first orchestra in the world to offer such a product, with viewers in 75 countries and a cumulative audience approaching 300,000.

That’s not the best of it, though. Click here to read the rest of “My Town“ by Maestro Slatkin.

The webcasts are produced in partnership with Detroit Public Television Channel 56 and WRCJ 90.9 FM. Here’s the link to the DSO archive, courtesy of DPTV.

What’s not spelled out in the Huffington Post piece is why the Motor City adores Maestro Slatkin. As Artur Schnabel wrote about the spaces between the notes being the region where art resides, that indescribable bond is writ loud and clear between the lines.

 

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Well-Tempered Conductor Returns to DSO

March 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos

Heads-up! Maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos led the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for performances over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

The Spanish conductor spoke with our colleague Chris Felcyn on his Well-Tempered Wireless program on WRCJ 90.9 FM last week to talk about Dvorak, Stravinsky and the Rite of Spring. Frühbeck de Borgos has led symphonies from Vienna to Tokyo and is revered by audiences — and musicians — everywhere he goes.

To enjoy the discussion with Mestro Frühbeck de Burgos, and other great interviews with the people creating the best music in the world, click here.

From the DSO, an invite to a pre-concert lecture:

The DSO invites all patrons to join us for a pre-concert lecture led by University of Michigan Associate Professor of Dance and Music, Christian Matijas-Mecca entitled “Fauns, Nymphs, Games & Rites: Dances for a Century – The 1912 & 1913 Seasons of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.”

The special lecture will take place in Orchestra Hall, one hour and 15 mins prior to each DSO performance.

From 1909 – 1929, Serge Diaghilev commissioned numerous dance scores for his company, the Ballets Russes. Compositions by Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Milhaud, De Falla, Satie, and others, would become part of the orchestral repertoire, whereas the choreographies for which these works were originally created reside on the edges of our cultural landscape. In this, the centenary of Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), we acknowledge both the ballets and their choreographers whose dances first presented these masterpieces to orchestral world.

Click for tickets and details.

 

 

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The Planets – DSO is Live Online Tonight

March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Saturn from NASA Cassini probe

Look up, listen, and lift-off! Tonight, Saturday, May 4 at 8 p.m. you can experience the Detroit Symphony Orchestra perform “The Planets,” the monumental musical grand tour of the solar system by Gustav Holst. The program will be webcast live on DSO.org/live.

The DSO will be led by John Storgårds, conductor. Women of the MSU Chorale are featured artists.

The Program 

LIGETI Lontano for Orchestra

IVES Symphony No. 4*

HOLST The Planets

* Encore presentation conducted by Leonard Slatkin.

Of course, you can also get tickets and hear the concert in-person. Call: (313) 576-5111 or click: DSO.org.

 

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Mondays at The Max with Wayne State

January 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Mark Flegg

The Wayne State University Orchestra, featuring the Concert Band and Wind Symphony with Douglas Bianchi, conductor, will perform in concert today at the Max M. Fisher Music Center.

WSU Faculty soloist Mark Flegg, will perform in a trumpet concerto by Robert J. Bradshaw. The Concert Band also will perform Prayer and Dance for Hannukkah, composed by Steve Reisteter. During the program, Wendy K. Matthews will serve as guest conductor.

The program is part of the Mondays at The Max with Wayne State series. The performance begins Monday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Presented in cooperation with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Wayne State University Department of Music is pleased to announce the second season of “Mondays at the Max with Wayne State.” This concert series features premier Wayne State student ensembles at the Max M. Fisher Music Center.

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Box at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit. Tickets at the DSO box office, $15 for adults, $10 for students. Friends of Music, DSO Civic Youth Ensemble Families, and WSU students (with OneCard) receive a 50-percent discount when purchasing tickets at the box office. Purchase regular priced tickets by phone or online: (313) 576-5111 • DSO.org.

 

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DSO Beethoven Festival 2013

January 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Gustav Klimt Beethoven Frieze

His music speaks across time, emotions, and ideologies. Those who adore the music of Ludwig van Beethoven are in for a most special experience, thanks to Maestro Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

The extraordinary DSO Beethoven Festival began Feb. 6, featuring each of the nine spectacular and unique symphonies, performed by one of the world’s leading symphony orchestras. The festival also has presented many other works, including the Master’s 32 piano sonatas. There also will be five live webcasts in partnership with Detroit Public Television/Ch. 56. The next webcast is Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Click here for details.

WRCJ 90.9 FM radio host Jimmy Rhoades interviews Maestro Slatkin to discuss the Master’s nine symphonies. Click here for the Unmasked podcast.

“It seemed the right time for all of us at the DSO to immerse ourselves in this remarkable world, and in turn, bring our audiences along for the journey,” Leonard Slatkin, DSO music director, said.

Upcoming program:

The Power and Passion of  Beethoven—A Keyboard Conversation with Jeffrey Siegel

Wednesday, February 6
7 p.m. in The Music Box

Distinguished American pianist Jeffrey Siegel presents Keyboard Conversations — a brilliantly polished concert-with-commentary format in which lively captivating remarks precede virtuoso performances of Beethoven’s masterpieces of piano repertoire. Learn more about Mr. Siegel and his series of Keyboard Conversations at keyboardconversations.com.

Mr. Siegel is a Steinway artist. Click here for tickets and full details.

The image above is a detail of the “Beethoven Frieze” by Gustav Klimt. The work was created for the 14th Vienna Secessionist Exhibition in 1902. The large-scale work represents a celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s life as a composer and as an intellectual. Click here for details.

DSO Beethoven Festival 2013 Baby

The five measures above are among the most famous phrases in all music, the opening notes to the Fifth Symphony.

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Al Jarreau Meets with DPS Students

December 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Al Jarreau with DPS students, educators and friends
Few of us are lucky enough to hang out with superstars.  But don’t tell that to the students at The Detroit School of Arts, a Detroit Public High School, where interaction with household names happens regularly.

On Saturday afternoon, December 1st, about 25 DSA students spent an hour with legendary jazz singer Al Jarreau in Orchestra Hall as he rehearsed for that night’s performance with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.   During microphone checks and sound level adjustments, Jarreau shared advice gleaned from his stellar music career spanning four decades.

“It was wonderful to see how personable he was with the students,” said DSA vocal music instructor Cheryl Valentine. “He would start rehearsing and then turn around and talk to the kids. His stage manager would try to get him to rehearse and Mr. Jarreau would say, ‘In a minute. I have to finish talking to them.’”

What advice did Jarreau give?  “Be sure to laugh,” said DSA sophomore Symone Barber.  “He said, ‘Laughter is the heart of your life.’ It was so inspiring.”  Miss Barber, who sings and is learning to play piano, added, “He was so joyful.  Nothing could bring his mood down.”

DSA junior Ivontae Corbin was similarly impressed. “It was nice to see an artist on stage interacting with his band and crowd that was there and be in total control,” said Ivontae.  “It made me think that I should have a business mindset if I’m going to go into the music business.”

As an educator, Ms. Valentine appreciated Jarreau’s emphasis on academics. “He told them to make sure their grades are good,” she said. “What we see a lot of times is that kids in the arts excel in art class, but not so well in academics because they don’t see the need of it. Mr. Jarreau told them to take care of academics first and then add music and other arts onto that.”

The Detroit School of Arts, with is proximity to The Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Midtown Detroit, has been visited by many prominent musicians, such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, soprano Denyce Graves, rapper T.I., to name only a few.

Seeing the sound check and spending time with a legend such as Al Jarreau was thrilling for students and teachers alike.  Miss Barber succinctly summed up the experience when she said, “It was so… wow.”

The Detroit School of Arts is located at 123 Selden in Detroit.  313.494.6000. Ahna Felix-Brown is Principal. Joining Ms. Valentine and the students for the visit with Al Jarreau were Monica Drake-Howard, attendance agent, DeLois Cooke-Spryszak, assistant principal, and Patricia Moore, counselor.

 

 

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DSO Brings Fingal’s Cave to Southfield

November 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Fingal's Cave featured in National Geographic

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is a movable musical feast. Through it’s Neighborhood Concert Series, we get to enjoy classical masterpieces in six communities adjoining the City of Detroit in Southeastern Michigan.

Tonight, we can experience the DSO, featuring pianist Sara Davis Buechner and led by Maestro Leonard Slatkin, perform works by Mendellsohn and Schumann.

The performance is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27235 Bell Road, Southfield (photo above, courtesy of Wikipedia). For tickets, call (313) 576-5111 or visit online.

The program January 10:

Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Sara Davis Buechner, piano

MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides
MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 2
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3

 

The image above is a detail of a photograph of Fingal’s Cave, a natural structure on Staffa Isle in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, featured recently in National Geographic. The sea cave is made of basalt, eroded by wave action to reveal enormous hexagonal columns of volcanic rock. Fingal’s Cave became a synonym for Mendelssohn’s T’he  Hebrides overture, which was completed on Dec. 16, 1830, the one day of the year when the sun reaches the proper altitude and  azimuth to illuminate the interior of the cave. Click here to read a BBC News report on the composer and his subject, “Theory over famous Mendelssohn’s ‘Fingal’s Cave’ overture.”

 

 

 

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Catch DSO Nutcracker LIVE, in-person or online

October 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

DSO presents the Nutcracker

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will perform the world premiere of Roberto Sierra’s Navidad en la montaña featuring acclaimed vocalist Heidi Grant Murphy on a program of classical holiday delights. Led by DSO Music Director Leonard Slatkin, the performance will also include Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Act II and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.

The performances will take place on Thursday, December 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, December 14 at 8 p.m. Navidad en la montaña was underwritten by a generous gift from Linda and Stuart Nelson. The performance also will be webcast to a global audience on Friday, December 14 at 8 p.m. via the DSO’s “Live from Orchestra Hall” series. To view the concert from your computer or mobile device anywhere in the world, click here.

One hour prior to each performance, the DSO invites all patrons to a free pre-concert presentation in Orchestra Hall. This week, the Civic Youth Chamber Music program will perform works by Tchaikovsky and various Christmas carols.

Heidi Grant Murphy

A shimmering soprano with enchanting stage presence, Heidi Grant Murphy is one of the outstanding vocal talents of her generation. A native of Bellingham, Wash., she began vocal studies while attending Western Washington and Indiana Universities. Her graduate studies were interrupted when she was named a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and engaged by Maestro James Levine to participate in the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Today, Murphy has established a reputation not only for her musicianship and impeccable vocal technique, but also for her warm personality and generosity of spirit. Murphy has appeared with many of the world’s finest opera companies and symphony orchestras, notably the Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg Festival, Frankfurt Opera, Netherlands Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Opera National de Paris and Santa Fe Opera. She has been engaged as soloist with the Vienna, New York and Los Angeles philharmonics; Cleveland, Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras; and Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Atlanta, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Houston, Montreal, National and Dallas symphonies.

Following a radiant performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Atlanta Symphony and Maestro Robert Spano, Murphy participated in the 2012 Cincinnati May Festival, singing Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria and Carissimi’s Jephte in three separate performances. In August 2011, Heidi Grant Murphy was appointed to the faculty of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music as an adjunct professor of practice

Internationally acclaimed American conductor Leonard Slatkin began his appointment as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in September of 2008. He was recently named Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL), France, beginning with the 2011-12 season. In addition, Mr. Slatkin continues to serve as Principal Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, a post that began in the fall of 2008.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets to The Nutcracker begin at $15 and may be purchased at the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit); by calling (313) 576-5111; or online at dso.org. Detroit residents may reserve a ticket for $15 each in any section, excluding the box level, within two weeks of the performance. A valid photo ID with a Detroit address is required. For group discount information (10 people or more), please contact Chuck Dyer at (313) 576-5130 or cdyer@dso.org.

PERFORMANCE

The Nutcracker

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Heidi Grant Murphy, soprano

Thurs., Dec.13 at 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Dec. 14 at 8 p.m.

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

ROBERTO SIERRA Navidad en la montaña *

TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker, Act II

*denotes a DSO world premiere

 About the DSO:

The internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the fourth-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, is known for trailblazing performances, visionary maestros, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and an unwavering commitment to Detroit. Esteemed conductor Leonard Slatkin, called “America’s Music Director” by the Los Angeles Times, became the 12th Music Director of the DSO during the 2008-09 season. The DSO offers a performance schedule that includes Classical, Pops, Jazz, Young People’s, Neighborhood concerts and festivals. The DSO makes its home in historic Orchestra Hall, one of America’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, and actively pursues a mission

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Spectacular Monday at The Max

September 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

GF Handel by Balthasar DennerThose who enjoy the best in classical choral music are in store for a special time tonight at Mondays at the Max.

The Wayne State University Orchestra and Symphonic Chorus, Charles Burke and Norah Duncan IV, conductors, will lead a program featuring works by Respighi and Rimsky-Korsakov and excerpts from Part One of Handel’s Messiah.

Tickets are available at the DSO box office: $15 for adults, $10 for students and $5 for Wayne State students with a OneCard. Friends of Music and DSO Civic Youth Ensemble families receive a 50 percent discount. Discounted tickets must be purchased at the box office. Regular-priced tickets are available at dso.org or by calling 313-576-5111. Check out the full Mondays at the Max lineup atmusic.wayne.edu/max.php.

For tickets, click here.

The image is a portrait by painter Balthasar Denner of composer George Frideric Handel.

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