Under the financial stress of the pandemic, the New York Philharmonic musicians have agreed to a four-year contract with 25% salary cuts until August 2023.
From nyphil.org
Although pay will increase from 2023 to 2024, the wage cuts total more than $20 million, and musicians will still be paid less than at the start of the pandemic when the contract ends. Deborah Borda, Chief Executive and President of the orchestra, honestly stated that the cuts were “necessary.” The pandemic will keep the Philharmonic closed for at least 15 months, causing at least $31 million in losses.
Musicians have had wage cuts since May, but this contract is the most substantial. However, musicians at the New York Philharmonic have been understanding. The head of the player’s negotiating committee, Colin Williams, said “in recognition of the challenges of this time, we have done our part to help preserve the institution by forgoing more than $20 million of our wages.”
Photo by Chris lee from nyphil.org
In venues like the Metropolitan Opera, where 30% pay cuts have been requested, not all workers are willing to deal with such financial losses. The Met’s management planned to lock out workers who had not agreed to the proposed cuts. The employees of the opera have been without pay since April and will not be paid until the cuts are accepted. After the venue begins to recover financially, the cuts will be reduced to 15%. At the Philharmonic, cuts will drop to 10%.
The Philharmonic has cancelled all planned shows up until June 2021. This is only a portion of NYC’s live art impacted by the pandemic. All Broadway theaters are closed until May 2021 at least, making this the longest time Broadway has been dark, ever.
The contract, which ends in 2024, makes the lasting impact of this pandemic even more visible to the art and music community. Despite live venues’ plan to open sometime this upcoming year, it is clear that the financial road to recovery will be slow.
On December 12, the Albany Symphony performed works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Michael Torke, and Viet Cuong. The concert was centered around these composers due to their age; they were all under 30 when the pieces were written.
The conductor, David Alan Miller, held a pre-concert talk where he discussed the Beethoven pieces and talked with Torke and Cuong. In the discussion with Torke, he talks about the inspiration for his piece, Ash. Written in 1988 after his mother’s death, the piece is one of Torke’s characteristic “color pieces”, aptly named for the colors he associates with key signatures due to his synesthesia. The piece is in f-minor, a darker key, to match the title.
Miller’s next interview was with Viet Cuong, a rising young composer. His piece, Extra(ordinarily) Fancy, is a sequel to his 2017 piece, Extra Fancy. The double oboe concerto utilizes multi-phonics, an extended technique on the instrument. He was inspired by Baroque music, specifically Vivaldi. Cuong also talked about his use of Shepard tones. In short, it is an audio illusion that makes the music feel like it is constantly rising. He was inspired by the endless stairs from Super Mario 64. This concert was supposed to premiere a large orchestral work by Cuong, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now planned for next fall.
The Concert
The concert started with the Overture and finale to Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus ballet. The dramatic beginning is greatly contrasted by the rich melodies. The finale is strikingly similar to Beethoven’s Third Symphony as he used the same melody in that finale as well, a staple of Beethoven.
They next moved onto Torke’s Ash. The piece has an obvious darkness that is aided by the key. There is a lush texture to the piece with many rich harmonies as well. The middle section modulates to A-flat major, also utilizing syncopation to give the piece a different feel. It also utilizes a technique similar to Beethoven. By using octaves and unisons in the strings, it adds intensity and builds tension within the piece to lead to the climax. Beethoven pioneered this technique, and Torke uses it to its full extent.
Photo Credit: Bryan Hainer
The concert then went to Cuong’s Extra(ordinarily) Fancy. The harpsichord shows that Baroque influence that Cuong talked about in his interview. The piece is very conversational, having one oboe be “fancy” and one be “extra fancy”. The use of multi-phonics here is genius as it creates a whole new voice that can mimic the first oboe, but is decidedly different. The conversation between the two soloists is common, but Cuong brings it to a new level using the extended technique.
Photo Credit: Phil Parsons
The concert ended with Beethoven’s First Symphony. As his first symphony, Beethoven builds on the great composers before him: Haydn and Mozart. Written at the turn of the nineteenth century, Beethoven began to break away from the traditional classical form, establishing himself as the preeminent composer in Europe.
For more information on the Albany Symphony and their upcoming events visit their website.
Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright has announced a virtual live-stream tour for the 2021 winter season. Dubbed ‘Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective!’, the tour will take music fans through all of Wainwright’s nine studio albums. Each album will be seen in chronological order, with the much praised debut album Release the Stars kicking off the tour on January 8.
Accompanying Wainwright will be guitarist Brian Green and keyboardist/pianist Jacob Mann, helping to revamp older songs that have not been played onstage in years. Also featured will be cover song that fans had a chance to vote on, along with special guests serving as the concert’s micro-audience.
Recently nominated for the GRAMMY® Award nominee for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Wainwright expressed his excitement in a press release for the upcoming tour:
“I did not expect to have so much fun redoing my first 4 albums with Brian and Jacob on guitar and piano in October and November. So many songs I had not performed live in decades as I always thought they needed a large band but they actually hold up quite well in this very intimate living room setting. I wasn’t sure how fans would react and whether anyone would buy tickets. Well, my fans have and I am incredibly grateful for their support and for the opportunity to go all the way on this road to my last album. I am so excited that Unfollow the Rules was just nominated for a Grammy and I would love to to actually end this retrospective as a Grammy winner. But even without I feel I have won a lot through this experience.”
Tickets are on sale now for $20.00 in advance and $25.00 day of show. Bundles are available and come with the opportunity for fans to participate in intimate Q&A’s with Wainwright and other surprises. Go here to purchase tickets.
Jan. 22 – All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu (Side 1)
Jan. 29 – All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu (Side 2) + Fireside Chat
Feb. 5 – Out of the Game (Side 1)
Feb. 12 – Out of the Game (Side 2) + Fireside Chat
Feb. 19 – Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets
Feb. 26 – Rufus at the Movies (Soundtrack Songs) + Fireside Chat
March 4 – Unfollow the Rules (Side 1)
March 12 – Unfollow the Rules (Side 2) + Fireside Chat
Wainwright along with friends and family of the acclaimed musical clans of Waingwrights, McGarrigles and Roches will also be presenting their beloved annual family Christmas show ‘A No So Silent Night – Virtually Together’. Streaming live on veeps.com December 30, the show will take place 12 p.m. PST from Los Angeles, 3 p.m. EST from New York and 8 p.m. GMT from Montreal simultaneously.
NYC crooner Paul Loren today releases his new holiday song, “Hold On To Christmas,” with an accompanying video is a wistful love letter to NYC. The song fits the holiday season this year just right, a gentle and passionate voice asking us to hold on, something we’ve all needed to do throughout this hectic 2020.
Filmed walking throughout the city (socially-distanced of course), Loren strolls among Christmas trees, holiday decorations and ice skaters, reminding us that the simple pleasures in life can fill us with the holiday spirit.
A native New Yorker, Paul was raised on a rich legacy of soul, classic pop, as well as the Great American Songbook, and in those musical idioms he feels most at home. Loren takes elements from early R&B, jazz and Brill Building pop, crafting his music with an ear towards timelessness.
Loren released “We’ll be Together Again” in July, and previously his song “Gonna Take a Little Time”- filmed at an indoor shuffleboard hall in Brooklyn complete with tiki drinks and bowling shirts – premiered on Parade.com in 2019. Loren has performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and for Jennifer Lopez at her birthday gala.
Leading a new generation of soulful crooners, Paul Loren is a singer, songwriter, producer and consummate entertainer.
I started singing at 3 years old along with the little 45rpm records my mom would play and start ed playing piano at 4 years old. The voices I remember most and identify with are Ray Charles, Frankie Valli, Sam Cooke, Sinatra, Aretha, Otis, and Tony Bennett. Growing up in New York, Billy Joel was also a big influence.
Paul Loren
The last few years have been filled with a series of breakthroughs for Paul as he performed on his first National Tour in support of Brendan James, opened for “The Temptations” as part of Stamford’s Summer Concert Series “Wednesday Night Live”, and sold out Joe’s Pub at the Public in NYC multiple times.
Juliet Kurtzman and Pete Malinverni will perform a livestream concert of their album release, Candlelight: Love in the Time of Cholera on December 10 at 8 p.m. SUNY Purchase College Performing Arts Center will stream their performance and interview afterwards with the director, Seth Soloway.
Candlelight: Love in The Time of Cholera is a recording that will focus on the themes of universal human desires for love, intimacy, and deliverance from loneliness. The album includes five piano pieces from cornetist Bix Beiderbecke; a tango written by Argentinian master Astor Piazzolla; a read of Scott Joplin’s “Solace,” and a deeply felt version of “Body and Soul,” featuring Kurtzman’s interpretation of Coleman Hawkins’ iconic solo. Malinverni will perform two of his composed tangos: “Pulcinella” and “Love in the Time of Cholera.” Both Kurtzman and Malinverni will give interpretations on their 12-track album, which has never been recorded in violin-piano format.
It is the artist’s sacred duty to face and comment upon life’s joys and sorrows, illuminating them for others. I hope this album is heard in the same spirit as, for instance, Gabriel García Márquez’s book Love in the Time of Cholera, from which this recording takes, in part, its title.
Pete Malinverni
Kurtzman began her violin career as a soloist for her hometown Houston Symphony Orchestra. After concluding her studies at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Kurtzman embarked on a career as a symphonic violinist in Europe. Malinverni, who grew up in Niagara Falls, NY, studied classical piano and later jazz. According to Nate Chinen of the New York Times, Malinverni is “a pianist with a forthright and elegant style” for his illustrious pianist career. Malinverni has experience recorded for small and large groups which helps to bridge the worlds of classical and jazz music on the Candlelight performance.
Click Here to watch Candlelight: Love in The Time of Cholera
The Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO) musicians will perform in the virtual Tutti! Festival over two weekends in December. It will feature twelve ensembles in eight live recorded concerts. All concerts will be streamed online to virtual audiences through ESYO’s Virtual Concert Hall.
The festival begins on December 3 with Beethoven’s First Symphony performed by the ESYO Symphony Classical Orchestra. The advanced Symphony Orchestra will perform works by Mozart including the Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute. ESYO Symphony Orchestra will also rediscover Dance in the Old Style by Hollywood composer Erich Korngold, The Serenade for Strings by Irish-American composer, Victor Herbert and Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos’ homage to Mozart Sinfonietta No. 1. On Saturday, December 12, members of the ESYO Jazz Orchestra will take the stage with Milestones by jazz legend Miles Davis and a jazzy take on the holiday favorite “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
A full list of concerts and repertoire is available online on their website.
The organization is excited to be able to provide incredible musical opportunities to ESYO students who are from throughout the Capital Region and beyond. This past fall, leaders at the organization developed creative and innovative ways the student musicians could come together, in person, to practice music, all while adhering to strict COVID-19 safe regulations. They have been practicing in small groups throughout the season.
“The pandemic forced us to use many tools that we didn’t realize we had and forced us to think out of the box in the way we design our programs, orchestras, rehearsals and concerts. For example, the chance to break up our big orchestra into chamber orchestras allows for a lot of repertoire opportunities that we would not have before. The fact that we are challenged by the schedule having to rehearse half of the orchestra in one room and the other half in another room forced us to engage with assistant conductors and instrument coaches that tremendously increased the personalized educational attention that our musicians would not receive otherwise,” said ESYO Music Director, Carlos Ágreda.
Georgia Burtt, a violinist in Symphony Orchestra who is homeschooled in Berne, also believes ESYO has shined during this time. “I think that the music instruction is great. When we were first quarantined back in March, ESYO continued online. We had some speakers talk to us about college, performance, and what life is like working as a professional musician. I thought that those were incredible. Now, with the in-person rehearsals, we can directly work with our conductors and sectional coaches. We are also live-streaming the rehearsals so those who are quarantined are able to still learn and participate in the rehearsals. Overall, I think ESYO has done an incredible job modifying in accordance with these new restrictions while still giving us students opportunities to learn and improve.”
ESYO has also kept its free, afterschool program called CHIME going strong, in the virtual world. CHIME musicians are engaging in a private lesson, a group practice and a music appreciation class each week. The cuts in NY State arts education funding have presented a significant challenge, but ESYO remains committed to providing enriched musical experiences for its youth. They are so grateful to all who have made generous contributions this fall, and are hoping that the community will continue to step up to help ensure that the CHIME students are able to keep making music through the winter.
Virtual Concert Schedule:
December 3 at 7:00pm: Symphony Classical
December 4 at 7:00pm: Repertory Romantic and String Orchestra
December 5 at 7:00pm: Repertory Strings and Youth Percussion
December 6 at 3:00pm: ESYO Wind Orchestra & Concertino Strings
December 10 at 7:00pm: ESYO Repertory Classical and String Orchestra
The Albany Symphony announced that their world premier recording of Christopher Theofanidis‘ Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category. The Concerto was recorded on January 8, 2018 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and released by Albany Records. This is the fifth Grammy Nomination in seven years for the Albany Symphony.
“We are thrilled to receive this nomination, which brings attention to Christopher Theofanidis’ magnificent concerto, inspired by Navajo poetry,” said Music Director David Alan Miller. “It’s not every day that a viola concerto gets recognized, but this is arguably the finest concerto for the instrument written in many years. We are so grateful to Richard O’Neill, our astounding viola soloist, and to Silas Brown, our extraordinary producer and engineer. I deeply appreciate the work of our brilliant Albany Symphony musicians. Thanks also to our staff, board and friends at Albany Records, and to all our supporters.”
Composer Christopher Theofanidis also expressed his appreciation. “I was so delighted to receive the news. Richard put so much of himself into the performances and recording of the concerto, and David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony’s commitment to excellence doing new work shines through in this announcement. It is an honor to have the piece nominated,” he said.
Portrait of Christopher Theofanidis
The Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra was originally written for Kim Kashkashian who sent Theofanidis a collection of Navajo poems that were wildly different in character but had in common a supernatural sense of nature and an extremely evocative vocabulary. Each of the four movements is serious in sentiment, in turns foreboding and volatile, melancholic and questioning, lyrical and dramatic. Theofanidis wrote this work during the tragedy and turmoil of 9/11, starting the piece before and finishing it afterward, and was influenced by being in midtown Manhattan that day.
Viola soloist Richard O’Neill said, “In this dark time for musicians the world over, to receive this nomination for Chris’ moving and important work brought me to tears. David’s vision and unstoppable energy, the beautiful musicians of the Albany Symphony, and the great work of Silas Brown; these forces came together to create a dream team the envy of any musician. I am so incredibly lucky to have such friends and colleagues. In the absence of live performance throughout the US, I hope this recording can give comfort and joy to all that listen.”
The Albany Symphony recording of John Corigliano’s Conjurer with world-famous percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie won the 2013 GRAMMY for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. The Albany Symphony was then nominated in 2015 and twice in 2019.
Opera Saratoga has announced the first performance events as the start to the company’s 60th Anniversary Season. On Thursday, November 19, in partner with Caffe Lena, Opera Saratoga will launch AMERICA SINGS, a monthly concert series featuring diverse, internationally acclaimed artists.
The series looks to amplify the voices of artists from racial groups historically underrepresented on the concert stage and features a wide array of classical, jazz, and popular music. “Our focus on BIPOC artists in this series is one of our first steps in a multi-pronged plan to address diversity and equity not only in our programming at Opera Saratoga, but in the organization as a whole,” explained Lawrence Edelson, Opera Saratoga’s Artist and General Director.
All AMERICA SINGS concerts in this series will be live streamed to the public for free, but viewers are encouraged to contributee through a virtual tip jar. All tips received will be split equally between Opera Saratoga and the artists, providing much-needed support to the artists impacted by the shutdown.
Mezzo soprano Deborah Nansteel, who was featured in Opera Saratoga’s 2018 production of The Consul, will open the series on Thursday, November 19th at 7pm with pianist Giovanni Reggioli. This first concert will feature music by George Gershwin, Billy Strayhorn, Richard Rogers, Erroll Garner, Richard Wagner, and William Bolcom, along with a selection of traditional spirituals.
Deborah Nansteel
The December concert will take place on Wednesday, December 30th at 7pm, and will feature soprano Brandie Sutton with pianist and composer Damien Sneed, both debuting with the company at the turn of the new year. The series will continue through the 2021, with additional concerts to be announced early next year
“The onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the racial awakening that has been taking place across the country, and the polarizing political climate leading up to the election has energized artists. While many singers have not been able to perform for live audiences due to the pandemic, they are engaged and craving the opportunity to share the transformative power of song and the intersection between music and what is happening in our country with audiences. I have not programmed this series, other than to invite an incredible group of artists to join us in Saratoga Springs. Rather, I have asked each artist to curate their own concert – to share music with us that speaks to how they are feeling about America today. I cannot wait to hear what each artist brings to us as they share their personal experience and perspective through the power of their incredible voices.”
National Public Radio has announced a very special program featuring instrumental works by Oscar-winning composer Aaron Copland. Streaming from inside Aaron Copland’s home studio in Upstate New York on November 13 at 5 a.m, like all Tiny Desk Concerts, the performance will be available to stream on the NPR Tiny Desk page indefinitely.
In fact, the concert takes place a day before what would have been Aaron Copland’s 120th birthday.
Top: Composer Aaron Copland Bottom Left to Right: Carol Wincenc (flutist), Curtis Macomber (violinist), Michael Boriskin (Copland House Artistic and Executive Director)
Artists from the internationally-acclaimed Music from Copland House (MCH) ensemble will perform a variety of selections from Copland’s library. Duo for Flute and Piano, composed in that very room; Sonata for Violin and Piano and Three Moods for Piano are all part of the set list.
Born in Brooklyn, his peers and critics referred to Copland as “the Dean of American Composers.” Making a home in New York’s lower Hudson Valley for 30 years, Copland passed in 1990. After the composer’s death, the estate was marked a National Historic Landmark. Revered as a first-of-its kind creative center for American music, the estate is the composer’s only U.S. home. Devoted to championing America’s rich musical heritage through a broad range of public, educational, and informational programs, its activities uniquely embrace the entire artistic process, from creation and development to study, presentation, and preservation. The Music from Copland House ensemble is the entity’s touring residence which journeys across 150 years of the American musical landscape in concerts, recordings, and other programs.
Tiny Desk Concerts are a video series of live concerts hosted at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. Currently, the acclaimed series is hosted in the home of artists across the globe due to COVID-19. In October, NYC’s pop duo Gracie and Rachel joined the growing list of at home Tiny Desk Concerts.
Pianist Holly Bowling has announced the second leg of her unique and groundbreaking virtual concert wilderness tour, featuring extraordinary solo sessions filmed live at some of America’s most spectacular natural locations.
The second leg of the livestream Wilderness Sessions begins Thursday, October 22 with a performance from Casco Bay, Maine, followed every Thursday by new performances filmed at Taos, New Mexico (Oct. 29), Breckenridge, Colorado (Nov. 5), Hardscrabble Mountain, Colorado (Nov. 12) and Moab, Utah (Nov. 19).
The virtual tour comes in advance of Bowling’s new album Seeking All That’s Still Unsung, a solo piano album featuring reimagined renditions of the music of the Grateful Dead, due out Friday, November 20.
All performances will be broadcast for free via Bowling’s official Facebook page; viewers are invited to contribute to the San Francisco-based pianist’s Virtual Tip Jar.
There’s plenty of time to do something different,” says Bowling. “And I desperately wanted to get outside – that’s where I’ve been feeling most okay during all this. So we’re taking this crazy road trip in a self-contained little camper van and driving my gear out to these wild places and setting up and playing in settings I never in a million years thought I’d get to play music in.
Holly Bowling, on the Wilderness Sessions
Bowling recently announced a beautiful new album featuring solo piano renditions of the music of the Grateful Dead. Seeking All That’s Still Unsung arrives everywhere on Friday, November 20. The evocative collection features nine instrumental piano interpretations of songs spanning the Grateful Dead’s extensive catalog — both classics and deep tracks.
Holly Bowling’s Wilderness Tour began on Thursday, September 3 with a performance from California’s Lake Tahoe followed by a performance from Yosemite National Park, Idaho’s epic Bruneau Canyon, Montana/Wyoming’s scenic Beartooth Highway and South Dakota’s Badlands National Park.
