I’m late in posting this, but the Spring For Music series (which I mentioned earlier), teamed with NPR to make the performance the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra available to stream online. One of the pieces heard in this performance is a relatively newly commissioned...
John von Rhein of The Chicago Tribune recently reported on the passing of the baton from Paul Freeman to Mei-Ann Chen, which I first discussed here. Of the significance of Chen’s placement, von Rhein said: The emergence of women conductors in the symphonic mainstream...
Last year conductor Rachael Worby left her position at the Pasadena Pops after 11 seasons with the ensemble. The announcement was in the LA Times last August. Though she never completely receded into the background, fans have been waiting for word of a new project for...
The Chicago Sinfonietta is facing a changing of the guard this season. Maestro Paul Freeman, who founded the ensemble in 1987, is retiring from the group, leaving the baton in the hands of Mei-Ann Chen. Chen’s reputation and qualifications leave no doubt that the...
The point that many long-standing European music traditions exclude women is not news. Neither is the fact that blatantly sexist practices continue, in small or large ways, to this day. Anyone who has ever followed the Vienna Philharmonic can attest to that. However,...
I will finish the WPA tribute to historic female composers by remembering the life and music of Vítězslava Kaprálová (1915-1940). Though she lived a tragically short life, she made a dramatic impact as a composer and conductor. Czech by birth, Kaprálová studied at the...
