Marcus Maroney - Sounds Like New

Richard Hickox (1948-2008)

Hickox's sudden death is a shock.  Obituary here.  RIP.

Orchestra Rankings

If you think the BCS standings are a mess, check out Gramophone magazine's listing of the "Top 20 Orchestras", from a survey of "leading critics around the world."

1. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
2. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
3. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
4. London Symphony Orchestra
5. Chicago Symphony Orchestra
6. Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
7. Cleveland Orchestra
8. Los Angeles Philharmonic
9. Budapest Festival Orchestra
10. Dresden Staatskapelle
11. Boston Symphony Orchestra
12. New York Philharmonic
13. San Francisco Symphony
14. Mariinsky Theater Orchestra
15. Russian National Orchestra
16. Leningrad Philharmonic [sic - I assume the mean the St. Petersburg Philharmonic - surely the "The world's best classical music magazine" should get this right...]
17. Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
18. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
19. Saito Kinen Orchestra
20. Czech Philharmonic [Orchestra]

I think the only ranking I agree with is #1.  I'm confused as why they're including "festival" orchestras and those that only present a handful of concerts a year in the list (MET, Saito Kinen, Budapest Festival, etc. - where's the Lucerne Festival Orchestra - surely they should be in the top 20 if we're including bands from this category).  The Dresden Staatskapelle should be MUCH higher, etc.

My big problem is that my top 20 would change depending on the repertoire - I know I'd wager more on the Czech Philharmonic in a Dvorak symphony than I would the LSO, espeically given the rather drab accounts on the latter orchestra's LSO-Label.  I'm also surprised that no French orchestra made the list.

So dear readers, what do you think?  We'll probably all be in agreement that this list doesn't really mean a whole lot (Philadelphians may be the most saddened by it, Budapestians the most overjoyed), but rankings are always fun, to a certain degree....I'd love to compile a ranking of readers' views from around the world and see how the two compare - have at it in the comments section, and tell your friends to submit their rankings!

Wagner Returns to Houston

I had heard it through the grapevine, but still had much doubt.  Some online sleuthing confirms it, though.

Wagner returns to Houston Grand Opera next season - Lohengrin will be return to the HGO season in October/November 2009.  As far as I can tell, this opera was last presented in Houston in 1993, preceded by a Parsifal in 1992 (the U.S. debut of the notorious Robert Wilson production).  The last performance of any of Wagner's operas was Tannhauser in 2001.  It seems that HGO has been going for the under-three-hour repertoire, and it's great to see them venturing forth and bringing back some of the great tutonic masterpieces that have been missing, at least since I moved here in 2004.

If Charles Ward's interview with Dolora Zajick seemed to hint that she'd be taking on Ortrud, but my further sleuthing indicates that it will be sung by Christine Goerke.  (NB: We love you, Dolora, but you really need get your website updated - the most recent schedule is your 2003-4 season!)  Simon O'Neill will be singing the title role, which seems to bode well, since he's cast in the role at Covent Gardens in April.  King Heinrich will be sung by Günther Groissböck.  I can't seem to find the casting for Elsa yet - regardless, this surely calls for some celebration! 

A new low for art "criticism" in Houston

While I was thrilled to finally see an intelligent review of a Houston Grand Opera production in the Houston Chronicle (Everett Evans' review of  Beatrice and Benedict), it has of course been tempered by what is my nomination for the worst piece of art "criticism" ever.  It would also be a heavy contender for irresponsible financial reporting and overall shoddy journalism, if such awards existed.

The piece in question is a "13 Undercover" (cue tritone-laden synth-brass local news sound bit) story, where Houston's ABC affiliate "looks at art in Houston that you paid for".  Please, click the tiny "watch the video" link and experience the investigative reporting for yourself.

Taking aim at local artists and, specifically, the Houston Arts Alliance, which supports some of the city's finest and, yes, most forward-looking arts organizations, reporter Wayne Dolcefiino, who I'm sure is an expert on the subject, lashes out because he can't distinguish between "a bunch of folks acting like fools on the beach in their underwear" and video art (the video in question can be seen on the linked website) and because he is confused by a play by Crystal Jackson that opens with the line "I'm not a queer, but I want someone to (expletive) me in the (expletive) pretty much as soon as possible."  Naturally, there is no mention of where this provocative opening line leads.  There is no mention of the context of the photograph.  There's no mention of why Dolcefino can't understand why poems written about city monuments at different times of day might constitute worthwhile art (I'm sure he's not familiar with Monet's Rouen cathedral paintings). 

Following these examples that, I'm sure, in his mind "proves" his argument, he then proceeds to quote various numbers and statistics trying to rally the troops against public funding of controversial art projects in Houston.  Needless to say, Dolcefino makes no mention whatsoever at the numerous HAA-supported project that really do make a difference to Houston (such as Musiqa's children's concerts, which expose 10,000+ elementary-school students, many of whom have zero exposure to any art in their publicly-funded school, to contemporary art music from around the world every year).   Just when you though negative/sensationalist journalism was dead....Search for "The Color of Money" on the ABC13.com website to see the follow-ups.  My gut tells me that Dolcefino hasn't a clue how art is created, how it is received, how it is perceived by the public or future publics. 

Fortunately a good number of comments have come to art's defence and voiced their support for the miniscule amount of taxpayer money that goes to the arts in our city.  Dolcefino helps to get the last word in saying (at the end of this video) that artists have complained to him that he's attacking their freedom of expression but that they're also attacking his art.  Hmm....And honestly, given what the city has done to create a world-class art scene with those taxpayer contributions compared to say, what they've done with the amount of funding given to road maintenance or an efficient public transportation system, I'd say the arts sector is one of the few recipients of public funding that's actually getting the majority of its job right.

Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict at HGO

HGO's second production this season, Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict, is an unqualified success from all involved.  A perfect autumnal souffle of an opera, the staging, singing and orchestral execution are at an exceptional level.

Joyce DiDonato, one of the HGO studio's shining success stories, is predictably brilliant as Beatrice.  Her voice is pure, agile and distinctive, and her acting is superb.  She clearly owned all aspects of this deceptively challenging role, capping off with a ravishing "Dieu!  Que viens-je d'entendre?", surely one of the jewels of the mezzo-soprano aria catalogue. 

The rest of the cast rose to the occassion as well, and the big surprise for me was the HGO debut of soprano Ailish Tynan as Hero.  The choice to cast her with DiDonato meant an exquisite blending of sound in ensemble moments (further complemented when Leann Sandel-Pantaleo's Ursula joined in). 

Norman Reinhardt brought a bright, Italianite sound to the role of Benedict, and I found this to be a very appropriate contrast with DiDonato's more velvety, refined sound.  Reinhardt's acting was brilliant, hamming up the witty reparte with DiDonato to just the right degree.  Berlioz's added role of Somarone was engagingly improvised by Donald Maxwell (another HGO debut).

The HGO Orchestra and Chorus, led by Michael Hofstetter (you guessed it - another HGO debut), were brilliant.  If some of the Gallic sensibility of the opera was inevitably lost in English translation, it was present in the orchestra's playing.  Wind solos were distinctively phrased, and the entire ensemble played with a lightness and precision that brought to mind some of the very distinctive French orchestral playing heard on recordings from the 1960s and 70s and, nowadays, more and more disappearing.   The entire piece sounds difficult in that Mozartian way - perfection is required of all involved, and even the smallest error in timing, intonation or phrasing has the potential to derail an entire scene.  This production, however, fell into none of the traps.  It was an exemplary evening of control and poise.