Lara's Gift and more

What a crazy, full week it has been!  First there was Sunday's wonderful Vinaccesi Ensemble concert at Congregation Netivot Shalom--thanks again to our fans, friends and the terrific folks at CNS--then I turned in the translation to another fabulous Thea Stilton graphic novel, the third in the series, tonight did the subtitles to help out Verismo Opera in their current production of Rigoletto, and went to the Merola Master Class taught by conductor John DeMain--all the while continuing to look for a car to replace my beloved 96 Audi A4 that someone smashed into :(, among myriad other things.

In the meantime, a shout-out and a small plug for my friend Annemarie O'Brien, who's YA novel Lara's Gift, just released by Knopf, has earned a starred Kirkus Review. Check out the trailer here! To celebrate the release of Lara's Gift, blogger and editor Deborah Halverson is giving away a free edit here.  Wondering what Deborah Halverson has to do with Annemarie and why she's doing this?  Well, check out that link and you'll get the full scoop ;).  Congrats and kudos, Annemarie!

And a few updates... The Vinaccesi Ensemble will next be at SF Music Day, Live + Free, Oct. 20, in a program of Latin American Baroque music.  Fun researching this new and interesting rep.  For instance, did you know that the first Latin American opera is from 1701?  And that there's a wealth of music from the continent in that period that seldom gets heard?  More later, but check out the recently updated website!

The Jewish Music & Poetry Project's next performance is at Noontime Concerts in SF on Sept. 10, in a program of Zemlinsky, Mendelssohn, Gershwin, and more.   This just two days after I join the The Handel Opera Project and a number of wonderful singers for a program of Mozart, Handel, and Bach, on Sept. 8 in Berkeley.  Check it out!

What I'm reading: Genie Wishes, Wolf Hall, hopefully Lara's Gift soon :)
What I'm listening to:  Fabulous songs from the '40's by Joseph Kosma; more songs by Zemlinsky; Verdi's Rigoletto (see above).
What I'm working on: Handel's Allor ch'io dissi addio for THOP, Zemlinsky, Wolf, and Garner, and Kosma, Vandor, and Justus for the JMPP's upcoming Eastern European tour--and more. Whew!

Two wonderful musicians: George Mesterhazy and Zheng Cao

In the universe of my very occasional blog, here's a very much belated post about a colleague and marvelous jazz pianist, plus a slightly less belated post about another wonderful musician and talented mezzo-soprano.

I met George Mesterhazy through a Mensa-musician friend, a trombone player named Herb Roselle who thought we'd enjoy knowing each other and talking music, and connected us.  Herb was right...and I had the pleasure and privilege of hearing George play live in San Francisco a couple of years ago.  Such a special player, arranger, and composer!

George passed away in his sleep in April 12, 2012 (yes, over a year ago: I'm embarrassingly delinquent in this post, with my apologies to all), and Herb has given me permission to post this clip of a soulful, lyrical Tennessee Waltz that he recorded when George let him put a digital recorder inside George's piano as he played.

Enjoy...

Another inspiring, generous, and fabulous musician passed away this year on Feb. 12 after a long battle with cancer: mezzo-soprano Zheng Cao. Formerly an Adler Fellow and long associated with SF Opera, Zheng premiered Bonesetter's Daughter (operatic setting of the wonderful Amy Tan novel) and was beloved among audiences and colleagues for her passionate performances and warm, rich mezzo-soprano voice.  There's an open Facebook group as a memorial to her, Zheng Cao celebration, and a public memorial is planned on June 24 at 3 p.m.  Hear her warm, rich portrayal of "You'll never walk alone" in 2011.

Two beautiful stars in the musical firmament for us all to keep alive in our hearts.

What I'm listening to: Salamone Rossi's madrigals and canzonettas; Barbara Strozzi duets, especially "Begl' occhi"; Elena Ruehr, David Garner, and Laura Schwendinger, Ruth Lomon.

What I'm studying: Ruth Lomon, Viteslzava Kapralova, Gabriela Lena Frank,  Edwin Geist and David garner for the  upcoming JMPP concert (May 19, San Jose).

What I'm reading: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children; Job by Joseph Roth, The Time Keeper by Mitch Alboum, and Stoner by John Williams.

Fabulous Poppea

Just a quick note today:  run, don't walk, to see West Edge Opera's fabulous Poppea.  

There are only two more shows, Feb. 1 and Feb. 2., so time is of the essence!

With a period chamber ensemble stylishly conducted from one of two harpsichords by Music Source's Gilbert Martinez, WEO has another hit on its hands.  And with now-G.D. Mark Streshinsky at the helm, the company continues to make consistently brilliant artistic decisions in the pieces chosen, how they are updated, and how they are trimmed down.

For Poppea, WEO has pruned the excellent score (by musicologist and conductor Alan Curtis) to Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea into two roughly one-hour acts, and--a canny decision-- left the opera in the original Italian--Gott sei Dank.  This is one opera that I'd rather see in Italian any day.

The singing and acting is uniformly excellent--as the talent pool in the Bay  Area is wide and deep.  Perhaps one of the biggest strokes of genius was to cast the marvelous soprano Christine Brandes as Nerone (Nero).  With soprano Emma McNairy as Poppea, the red-hot onstage chemistry between the two sensually smolders as Poppea seduces her way to an empress' throne, aided and abetted by a hilarious cross-dressing Arnalta (Brian Thorsett)--who looks to do a mean mani-pedi.  Paul Thompson is suitably stoic as an end-of-life, emphysema-stricken Seneca (an interesting touch), and countertenor Ryan Belongie and soprano Tonia D'Amello present an appealing--and much more innocent--couple as foils to Nerone and Poppea.

WEO's productions continue to be don't-miss events.  You can help the company grow, as they've received an NEA matching grant.

Warnings and disclaimers: 1) don't take the younger kids, though--the bedroom scenes and video graphics are relatively explicit for opera; 2) .many of the folks here are friends and acquaintances.

What I'm reading:  Poetry by Ruth Stone, Connie Wanek, and Chana Bloch, Mercedes Lackey's Collegium Chronicles; the newest Thea Stilton Graphic Novel; James Alan Gardner's Expendable.

What I'm listening to and working on: Handel and Caldara cantatas, new music by S.F. composer David Garner (Phoenix, for the JMPP's premiere on April 5 at Old First Concerts), excerpts from Gluck's Orphee (the French 1774 version) for the Vinaccesi Ensemble's concert at the Legion of Honor in SF on March 17 and much, much more.  This is a busy, busy season--and I'm grateful!

Back from Berlin!

After an easy return to the U.S. and a fabulous family Thanksgiving--I hope everyone also had a wonderful Thanksgiving!--I'm returning to post on my shamefully occasional blog.

Yes, oh faithful and forgiving blog readers, today's post goes into the shameless plug department, to quote, shamelessly, from the recently retired Car Talk show hosts, the "Tappit" Brothers.

But first, a tad of catching up...
The last part of my trip was a whirlwind of train rides (Go, Eurail!), meetings, a beautifully played, moving concert in Berlin, archival research at the Akademie der Kuenste and snippets of sightseeing here and there.  Budapest, for example, is ever so schoen (oh, so lovely)!

The moving concert was "Musik der Erinnerung," performed by the Neue Juedische Kammerphilharnomie Dresden, conducted by Maestro Michael Hurshell at the Synagogue Rykestrasse.  The NJKD program explores orchestral music by some of the composers that we also focus on in the Jewish Music & Poetry Project.

Which leads me to the shameless plug.  Coming up on Sunday, December 9 at 3:00 p.m., at the Berkeley Arts Festival, 2133 University Avenue in Berkeley, pianist Dale Tsang-Hall, cellist Adaiha Macadam-Somer, and I will perform new music to poetry by Jewish women writers, as well as "forbidden" music, i.e., by composers whose works were banned and whose lives were altered--or worse--during the Holocaust.

The program includes songs and solo piano music by: composers Alexander Zemlinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Erich Korngold, Pavel Haas, Edwin Geist, Vitezslava Kapralova, and David Garner, the collaborative composer-in-residence and co-director, with me, of the JMPP, to poetry by Mascha Kaleko, Annette von Droste-Huelshoff, Rose Auslaender, Richard Dehmel, and more..

If you're interested in coming to the concert:
    

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Speaking of David Garner, kudos and congratulations!  After years of writing terrific, cool, and beautiful music, he has been nominated for a 2013 Award in Music by the American Academy of Arts & Letters!

What I'm working on: music for our December 9 concert (natch)

What I'm reading: after waiting for from the ever-popular and well-stocked Berkeley Public Library, Gone Girl.  Definitely worth the wait.  A twisted murder mystery about a woman who goes missing.   Without adding any plot spoilers, suffice it to say that the usual suspect is...suspected, but the missing woman's body is...missing.

What I'm listening to: Dresden songwriter Ursula Kurze's CD, which she was kind enough to send a copy of to me. Very nice.  She has a setting of Mascha Kaleko's "Gebet" (which David Garner also set), that's quite different from his.  It's always interesting to hear two different artistic minds approach the same text!

Back in Berlin: Don't Forget to Vote!

Dear long-suffering blog readers who've told me they wish my occasional blog would...occasionally have an occasion...and to new readers, too,

I am back in Berlin after a great concert here about two weeks ago at the Lichtburgforum, presented by the Juedische Gemeinde, with the Jewish Music and Poetry Project.  I promise to post soon and to catch everyone up, at least somewhat.

But in the meantime this is just a quick post to say, run, do not walk--safely, of course--and VOTE today, preferably for the candidate of my choice, i.e., Obama, but no matter what, please, vote!

The world is watching with a decent amount of anxiety to see what we do, whether the shenanigans of voter registration will affect the legitimacy of the count, whether the electronic balloting in Ohio will be honest and fair, and most of all, perhaps, if the shadow of Sandy that still hangs over the Northeast will cast a pall on the overall ability of people to get to the polls and cast their vote.

So, even if it seems super-daunting this time around, if you haven't already voted, please,make that extra effort, folks, get out there and vote.  (And for those who are wondering, I cast my vote via absentee ballot from the U.S. Consulate in Munich.)

What I'm reading: various books on Kindle for the Sharp Writ Book Awards (there are some excellent ones this year!).  What I'm working on: the Marshallin's monologue (Rosenkavalier)--except bin ich ein bisschen erkaeltet, also singe ich nicht fuer ein Paar tage.... Total pain...
What I'm listening to: Ravel's Sheherazade, which I recently heard live by the Berlin Staatskapelle (along with a wonderful performance of Beethoven's 8th and Berlioz' Romeo and Juliet), in an illuminating Regine Crespin historical recording:  Here's to you, Christina!

Vinaccesi Ensemble and Jewish Music & Poetry Project

Photo credit: German Consulate General in San Francisco

Even by my own occasional blog standards, it's been a shamefully long time since I've posted here, due primarily to a very busy performing year. The summer is looking to be a bit calmer, which will let me catch my breath, and--I promise--catch up here on my beyond-occasional blog.

In the meantime, above is a picture from the concert last month at the German Consulate General in San Francisco with Adaiha Macadam-Somer and Dale Tsang-Hall. Our new name is the Jewish Music & Poetry Project and we are performing in Berkeley in Aug. and Berlin in October. More on all that later, BUT as you can see, the concert was packed and overflowing, the audience was knowledgeable, generous, and appreciative, and the performance was a marvelous success.

Tiny plug: we are now a fiscally-sponsored affiliate of the SFFCM and are actively looking for donations (i.e., begging for your help) in raising funds to get us to Berlin this fall. Click HERE to make a tax-free donation, please!

Why post today, though, instead of any other random day in June...or May? Well, it's shameless plug time:

The Vinaccesi Ensemble, my Baroque chamber group will be performing at the Berkeley Fringe Fest this week: WEDNESDAY, June 6 at 12:30 p.m.

We have a great lineup and a great group...

Who: Nanette McGuinness, soprano, Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano, Jonathan Smucker, tenor, Kirk Eichelberger, bass, Sarge Gerbode, archlute, Farley Pearce, Baroque cello, and Yuko Tanaka, harpsichord

Where: Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana, Berkeley
How: For advance reservations, call 510-549-3864
How much: $15/ $10 Info: www.trinitychamberconcerts.com  No one turned away for lack of funds.

What: Musical treats from the north Italian Baroque: a seldom-heard but stunning Monteverdi madrigal from Book VIII, arias and duets by Monteverdi, Cavalli, and Barbara Strozzi, and two new-to-the Fringe Fest cantatas by the quirky and creative Benedetto Vinaccesi, fresh from our recording sessions for our Centaur Records CD. Hope you'll be able to come!

~~~ What I'm listening to: the Vinaccesis this week, also gorgeous music by Elena Ruehr for August. What I'm reading: Death Cloud, a fun prequel to the Sherlock Holmes stories for young readers (Young Sherlock Holmes: the Adventure Begins, by Andrew Lane). Who was he before he grew up? Also Between Shades of Gray (by Ruta Sepys) a mesmerizing, stark look at the seldom-told story of the genocide by the Stalinist regime in the Soviet Union before, during, and after WWII. Beautifully written and researched, it is a multiple-hanky read that I'd delayed starting for weeks, as I knew it would be a horrendous tale. According to the notes at the end, some 20 million people were killed, including roughly 1/3 of the population of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. Man's inhumanity to man never ceases to astonish me. Will we never learn?

Added note: Dora Sorell, Holocaust survivor and author of To Tell the Story, about Jewish life in Romania before, during, and after the war, will appear at the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library (1170 The Alameda) on Saturday June 9m, 2-4 p.m.