The deep connection Mahler felt to Mozart’s music is never more apparent than in the Symphony No. 4, where Mahler offers a melodic directness and transparency of texture that produce a Mozartean grace. That quality was all the more apparent in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s program over the weekend, which paired Mahler’s Fourth with several Mozart items to satisfying effect.

Music director Marin Alsop led a lithe and winsome account of “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” at the start of Sunday’s concert before a not-so-large audience at the Meyerhoff. Funny how such a popular work, one that many a non-classical music fan could hum a few bars of, doesn't actually get played by major orchestras very often. What a perfect little creation this is, a synthesis of 18th-century symmetry and sensibility, sparked by contagious good humor.

The inclusion of three concert arias for soprano on the program provided a strong link to the Mahler symphony, which, of course, famously ends with a soprano solo. The arias also gave the audience an extra opportunity to savor the talents of

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Nice news for the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society. Gabriela Lena Frank's “Inca Dances,” the work commissioned to salute the society's 20th anniversary a couple years ago, won the 2009 Latin Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. The awards were announced last week in Miami. 

"Inca Dances" was recorded by superb guitarist Manuel Barrueco and the Cuarteto Latinoamericano on the Tonar Music label, an off-shoot of the BCGS.

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This week's trip down Memory Lane leads to Walter Gieseking (Nov. 5, 1895 -- Oct. 26, 1956), a pianist who had an exquisite sense of style that served him in a substantial repertoire. As can be said of all the true keyboard giants, Gieseking elevated the pianistic art. It's exceedingly rare to hear playing with so much elegance and incisiveness today, such judicious rubato and wealth of tone color.

For this blast from the past, I chose some of the German-born pianist's superbly phrased Bach and the opening movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 -- Gieseking's imaginative and moving performance of that concerto with Willem Mengelberg conducting is one of my all-time faves:

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Our presidents typically don't have a lot of interest in classical music. Sure, our Chief Executives -- more likely, their First Ladies -- will attend the occasional performance in a concert hall or opera house (especially when there's not much choice, as when they're on state visits to other countries), and there will be periodic appearances by classical artists at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But we're not talking a real high priority for most administrations.

So Wednesday's focus on classical music at the White House, attended by 120 school kids during the day and a crowd of cultural and political types in the evening, was a welcome gesture.

I'm not expecting a massive trickle-down effect that, given the personal popularity of the Obamas and whatever press exposure the day generated, will translate magically into increased music education and attendance at classical music events around the country.

But this classical music day had considerable significance. As pianist Awadagin Pratt said to me after the midday concert for the students, "to have the office of the President support this -- you can't beat that."

Unfortunately, the press did not have access to the workshops/master classes that were given throughout the White House for the students by Pratt, violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Alisa Weilerstein and guitarist Sharon Isbin.

But we got to hear the day's two performances in the East Room. I reported earlier on the afternoon one, introduced and attended by Michelle Obama.

Her husband was back from a trip to Wisconsin that day in time to join her and their daughters for the evening performance. The audience included some notable classical music figures. Baltimore Symphony music director Marin Alsop was accompanied by the orchestra's president/CEO Paul Meecham.

Violinist Daniel Heifetz, who runs the excellent Heifetz International Music Institute each summer (it used to be in Annapolis and relocated to New Hampshire several years ago), was there with his wife Janne. I also spotted Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser. And from the acting world, Edward Norton.

The President's senior advisor David Axelrod was up front, chatting before the concert with Sen. Bayh. In his introductory remarks, President Obama welcomed "the many members of Congress who've joined us tonight -- despite what you may have heard, they are actually a civilized bunch."

After describing "a busy day of classical music here at the White House," the president had some kindly advice that drew several laughs. "If any of you in the audience are newcomers to classical music, and aren’t sure when to applaud,

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Spent much of Wednesday at the White House for "classical music day." Will have more to say shortly, but, meanwhile, my story from Thursday's paper may provide a modicum of interest. And here's a shot (AFP/GETTY PHOTO) from the afternoon concert, with Joshua Bell playing a solo work by Vieuxtemps with the First Lady in the front row:

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Leonard Slatkin, music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and former music director of the National Symphony, was hospitalized over the weekend "after experiencing chest discomfort while conducting a concert with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in the Netherlands," the AP reports.

Slatkin, 65, was treated for "heart problems" and has canceled several concerts, but expects to be back on the podium in Detroit in a few weeks.

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Two students from the Baltimore School for the Arts will be among the 120 middle- and high-schoolers attending the workshops: Nana Adjeiwaa-Manu, a sophomore studying violin and cello; and David Kalwa a senior studying guitar. The day's activities include master classes with classical music stars -- violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, guitarist Sharon Isbin and pianist Awadagin Pratt (he's got a Baltimore connection, too, being one of the Peabody Conservatory's notable alums). The event concludes with a concert in the East Room.

Previous entries in this White House initiative, aimed at drawing increased attention to the need for arts education, have featured jazz, country and Latin music.

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It is hardly news that Midori is a superb violinist. At 14, she was already making waves for her technical polish and professional poise -- she hit the front-page of the New York Times at that age for the feat of playing Leonard Bernstein's "Serenade" flawlessly, despite having to change violins twice in mid-performance due to broken strings, as an awed Bernstein conducted.

Unlike any number of other prodigies, Midori developed steadily and deeply as a musician. Today, at 38, she remains in a class by herself. Her remarkable artistic maturity was reaffirmed Sunday evening in her thoroughly arresting Shriver Hall Concert Series debut.

She opened her program with the rather elusive Hindemith's E-flat major Sonata (Op. 11, No. 1), and proceeded to limn its subtle expressive power eloquently, supported ably by pianist Robert McDonald. Midori's pinpoint intonation, subtly controlled vibrato and poetic phrasing proved equally telling in Brahms' G major Sonata -- just the gentle way the violinist entered the musical dialog was in itself remarkably beautiful and affecting. I would have liked to hear more tonal richness and personality from McDonald in the Brahms work (and elsewhere in the program, for that matter), but the smoothness and clarity of his partnering held its own rewards.

The violinist produced a wealth of atmospheric coloring in

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The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, the striking neo-Deco landmark on the north side of Baltimore, celebrated its 50 years with a free concert Friday night capped by the mighty strains of Saint-Saens' "Organ" Symphony.

The program had a curious start. The Peabody Concert Orchestra assembled in front of the altar to play the short Overture to "Die Fledermaus" by Johann Strauss. A splash of Viennese operetta is just about the last thing I'd expect to hear on a grand occasion in a cathedral. Maybe the approach of Halloween had something to do with it -- the operetta's English title, after all, is "The Bat." Maybe somebody simply wanted a brief, ear-grabbing piece to get things rolling.

Mind you, the Strauss wouldn't have seemed so out of place had it been followed by music at least remotely in the same vein. Instead, the evening continued with

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In Sunday's paper I have an interview with Slyvia McNair, the exceptional American soprano who, over the past decade, fought cancer, changed career course, and survived an unexpected divorce. Today, she looks fabulous and exudes an inspiring level of confidence and optimism.

She's in Baltimore rehearsing for Friday's premiere of "Songspiel," a show built around Kurt Weill songs and created for her by the American Opera Theater.

Here's a fun video clip of McNair demonstrating her transition from opera to cabaret:

Continue reading "A voice of optimism and courage: Sylvia McNair" »

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