Composer Patricia Leonard informs my label, Urlicvht AudioVisual, that Strangely Close, Yet Distant, her trio for viola, cello, and piano included in the New York Piano Quartet’s Songs for Mahler in the Absence of Words, has been nominated for the American Prize for Composition. Congratulations to Patricia along with the members of the New York Piano Quartet along with recording engineer John Baker and his team!
Strictly commercial footnote: download the hi-def .flac edition here. Download the CD-quality .flac edition here. Download the hi-quality mp3 edition here. Buy the CD edition here.
HuffPo reports that Leonard Slatkin and Mitsuko Uchida will cover for Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Riccardo Muti, who has been hospitalized following a fainting spell during a rehearsal.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, one of the nation’s best “second tier” orchestras, has been on strike for the last couple of months, but there was a move just over a week ago on the players’ side to move toward a setttlement. Management issued a counteroffer today according to the Detroit Free Press. Here’s hoping they settle, and fast — especially after having just listened to the orchestra’s new recording of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 conducted by music director Leonard Slatkin. It’s a thrilling, brisk performance that eschews sentimentality for high-octane virtuoso playing. It would be a pity — and a blow to Detroit, which has had a hellish enough few decades — to see this orchestra fold.
My review is live on Classical Source, who evidently scooped even the NY Times.
Gene Gaudette on classical music, cultural politics, political culture, media, and his record labels.