What's Streaming: Classical
(Week of May 18-24)
Pipa virtuoso Wu Man's new video series, Pop Up Pipa, blends cross-cultural performances with fun facts about her and her guests' musical traditions. New episodes appear every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next month. Episode 1 features Eduardo García of the son jarocho ensemble Son de San Diego.
WHERE TO WATCH: Wu Man's Facebook
Latest episode of James Conlon at Home (May 12)
In recent episodes of LA Opera podcast James Conlon at Home, Music Director James Conlon has been delving into the history of French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, his beloved character Figaro, and the renowned operas that sprang from his plays. Mr. Conlon started with The Barber of Seville (parts 1 & 2), as adapted by Rossini and Paisiello. Now he is in the midst of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (parts 1 & 2), which he continues to discuss next week with Part 3.
Building on the popularity of his pre-performance talks at LA Opera, Mr. Conlon launched this podcast amidst the coronavirus crisis in order to continue engaging the public with opera. Past episodes have focused on Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (parts 1, 2, & 3), Debussy and Wagner (parts 1 & 2), and the power of opera to inspire, heal, console, distract, entertain, and challenge (click here). Stay tuned as well to facebook.com/LAOpera for announcements of streamed LA Opera performances led by Mr. Conlon.
WHERE TO LISTEN: LA Opera's SoundCloud
Wu Man (left), Raphaël Jouan (right)
Wu Man's Pop Up Pipa video series continues with French mother-son guests Patricia and Raphaël Jouan. Together, the trio blend Eastern and Western traditions through a pipa-and-cello performance of Bach's "Air on the G string" accompanied by Tai chi from Ms. Jouan, an instructor in the martial art.
WHERE TO WATCH: Wu Man's Facebook
In support of online fundraiser Artist Relief Tree (ART), Jonathan Biss gives a free video recital of Schumann's Kreisleriana, selections from Janáček's On an Overgrown Path, and two works by Mozart-Piano Sonata in F major, K 533/494, and Rondo in A minor, K 511. Viewers are encouraged to donate to ART, which was established to support artists affected financially by COVID-19. In addition to performing, Mr. Biss interviews Molly Carr and Andrew Janss, Co-Directors of the non-profit organization PROJECT: MUSIC HEALS US, and all four members of the New York-based Aizuri Quartet-offering viewers an on-the-ground perspective of how the musical community is affected by and responding to the coronavirus crisis.
WHERE TO WATCH: Jonathan Biss's Facebook and ART's Facebook and YouTube
Wu Man concludes the first week of her new Pop Up Pipa video series with traditional Uzbek musicians Abbos Kosimov and Umid Ishankhodjaev. Mr. Kosimov performs the doyra, a traditional percussion instrument of Central Asia and nearby regions, while Mr. Ishankhodjaev plays the spike fiddle, known as the gʻijjak.
WHERE TO WATCH: Wu Man's Facebook
Recent episode of NWS Fellows: Live from our Living Room (May 8)
Every Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET, New World Symphony Fellows play live, informal chamber music concerts from their homes in Miami Beach. This weekly series is broadcast via Facebook Live and episodes are archived here for streaming on demand.
WHERE TO STREAM: New World Symphony's Facebook
Latest episode of Alone Together (May 9)
Every Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET, violinist Jennifer Koh premieres new micro-works for solo violin as part of her and non-profit ARCO Collaborative's Alone Together series. Twenty-one composers, most of whom have salaried positions or other forms of institutional support to carry them through this challenging time, are donating newly composed works to the project, while also each recommending a freelance composer to be formally commissioned. Learn more here.
May 23 program:
· Nina Shekhar's warm in my veins
· Ted Hearne's THE SPACE BETWEEN AKA DON'T MAKE ME SOCIAL DISTANCE ANYMORE
· Qasim Naqvi's HAL
· Caroline Davis's heart rituals
WHERE TO WATCH: Jennifer Koh's Facebook & Instagram
Still from Minnesota Orchestra at Home Pomp and Circumstance video
Minnesota Orchestra at Home shares video, audio and educational materials through the categories of Watch, Listen and Learn, including videos from the Orchestra's archives and newly-created "mini-concerts" directly from the homes of Orchestra musicians.
Recently, Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the orchestra recorded Pomp and Circumstance from their homes, intending the video for public use in virtual commencement ceremonies across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. The recording, available in both video and audio-only versions, is available on the Minnesota Orchestra's website at minnesotaorchestra.org/pomp-and-circumstance-download. A simple online registration is required and the files and instructions for use will be available immediately and will also be sent to the email address provided.
Stay tuned to the Minnesota Orchestra web site and social media channels for additional new content.
WHERE TO WATCH / LISTEN: Minnesota Orchestra's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, & web site
In light of the coronavirus outbreak, Tulsa Opera launched its Staying Alive web series, which includes virtual performances of opera, popular music, and musical theater, directly from guest artists' homes. Each week, the series features artists from around the world, including artists that have been recently heard on the Tulsa Opera stage or would have been heard in the company's new production of Tobias Picker's Emmeline, which was cancelled due to the pandemic. New content appears every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2:00 p.m. CT.
WHERE TO WATCH: Tulsa Opera's web site
#ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
On Sunday, Minneapolis' FOX 9 TV and Minnesota Public Radio aired a special Minnesota Orchestra at Home collaboration with rapper Dessa, with whom the orchestra has performed in concert and also appears on the 2019 live album Sound the Bells: Recorded Live at Orchestra Hall. The song is Dessa's "Skeleton Key."
WHERE TO WATCH: Minnesota Orchestra's YouTube
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