Classical Crescendo

#ClassicalMusic
Samuel Barber’s late works face loneliness and loss. Hear it in To Be Sung on the Water (1968), an a cappella setting of a poem by Louise Bogan, where a gentle ostinato suggests a night rowboat and time’s flow. Featured: Conspirare (Austin). Heard it? Share thoughts. #Choral #Poetry

#Music Brazilian guitarist André Geraissati has died at 74. His wistful blend of jazz and Brazilian folk spanned Grupo D’Alma and collabs with Egberto Gismonti, Bobby McFerrin, and Wynton Marsalis. His 1988 album DADGAD explored alternate tuning. Share a favorite cut. #BrazilianJazz #Guitar

#News American pianist Leon Bates has died at 76. The Philadelphia native trained at Settlement and Temple, played stages worldwide, and even took up bodybuilding to boost focus. Remember his soulful 1989 take on Gershwin's "The Man I Love"? Share a favorite performance. #ClassicalMusic #Piano

#ClassicalMusic Cedille reissues Ives and Copland piano sonatas at mid-price, pairing landmark works in Easley Blackwood’s incisive performances—a composer-pianist offering sharp insight into his forebears. Heard this set? Drop your take below. #Ives #Copland

#ClassicalMusic Andrew Litton delivers the goods: the Colorado Symphony plays at peak form. Copland’s Outdoor Overture struts with swagger and sparkle—never betraying its youth-orchestra origins. Were you there? Share your take. #ColoradoSymphony #AndrewLitton

#ClassicalMusic Leon Bates, one of his generation's leading American pianists, has died at 76. Philadelphia-raised, he performed concertos with top US and European orchestras and recorded for Naxos, Orion, and Performance Records. Share a favorite performance or memory. #Piano #Obituary

#Opera A lost 1929 gem returns: Erich Riede’s RICCIO revived in Offenbach by the Capitol Symphony under Yuval Zorn, with a first recording. Found by Ralph P. Ziegler and reconstructed by Michael Strecker; libretto by Martha Wertheimer. Album to follow on Rondeau. #ClassicalMusic #MusicHistory

#News Munich Symphony confronts its past: a new film by chief conductor Joseph Bastian reveals it began in 1933 as the National Socialist Reich Symphony Orchestra. Airs on ARTE tonight at 23:20, alongside the founding of the Israel Philharmonic. Share your thoughts. #ClassicalMusic #History

#Music Backtrack of the week: Bohuslav Martinů’s Peach Blossom (1932)—a lush song setting of Chan Yo Sun, where a brooding piano prelude and folk-tinged lines mingle languor with unease. From a Naxos release issued 20 years ago. Want to hear it? Reply for the link. #ClassicalMusic #Martinu

#Politics Ric Grenell, Kennedy Center chief, rebuts Sen. Whitehouse's "cronyism/looting" claims, citing cost cuts (Dev staff 94->16), break-even rules, and saying FIFA will pay $7.4M to rent the venue, moving the NSO. Senate probe continues. What's your take? #Arts #KennedyCenter

#Ballet Covent Garden celebrated Sir Peter Wright, founding artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet and choreographer of the 1984 Nutcracker still performed worldwide. He turns 99 on Tuesday. Have a favorite Nutcracker memory? Share it below. #Nutcracker #Dance

#ClassicalMusic Adam Fischer cancels Hamburg and Vienna dates in Nov–Dec 2025 after a serious fall; he’s in hospital receiving treatment. He leads the Austro‑Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, Danish Chamber Orchestra, and Düsseldorf Symphony. Wishing him a swift recovery. #News #Orchestra

#ClassicalMusic German conductor Lutz Rademacher has died suddenly in Berlin at 56. Former GMD in Detmold, he held roles at the Bayreuth Festival and Freiburg, and championed premieres like Benjamin’s Written on Skin and Klebe’s Der jüngste Tag. Share memories below. #Obituary #Conductor

#ClassicalMusic Lebrecht’s Album of the Week spotlights Anna Fedorova’s 'Liberté' (Channel Classics), a nod to the LP era when concerto “twins” balanced each other. Not perfect, but irresistible listening. Want the full review? Chime in. #AlbumReview #Piano

#Music An orchestra member fears a colleague may be undocumented. Guidance: alert leadership, consult an immigration lawyer, set a rapid-response plan (know rights, de-escalate, document), label private areas, support the colleague, and address harmful behavior. Thoughts? #Advice #Immigration

#News Three men were arrested after a protest disrupted the Met’s Friday show. Demonstrators targeted David Koch’s legacy at Lincoln Center; Met GM Peter Gelb blamed an absent guard. How should arts venues handle protests? #Opera #ClimateProtest

#MusicNews Stephan Gehmacher (Luxembourg Philharmonie) is the new president of the European Concert Hall Organisation. Board: Abigail Pogson, Ewa Bogusz-Moore, Raphael von Hoensbroech, Simon Reinink. Observers urge scrutiny amid controversy. Thoughts? #ClassicalMusic #Europe

#Opera SF Standard reports Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang and his wife Lois funded San Francisco Opera’s The Monkey King: $5M for the premiere plus $5M yearly for mainstage operas. They’re chairing the premiere, blending Chinese legend and American creativity. Thoughts? #Philanthropy #AI

#Dance Dutch National Ballet’s NYC run spotlighted Hans van Manen’s spare, sublime Adagio Hammerklavier—Smirnova/Tissi mesmerized—amid a mixed bag of repertory. Paul Taylor’s season closed with a luminous Beloved Renegade; Lauren Lovette’s works felt adrift. Agree? #Ballet #NYC

#Music The King's Singers announce new voices: Joseph Edwards to succeed Christopher Bruerton as First Baritone in May 2026; Peter Hicks to succeed Patrick Dunachie as First Countertenor in Sept 2026, after their first open auditions. Share your thoughts. #ClassicalMusic #Choir

#Obituary Matthias Schuke, renowned organ builder, has died at 70 after a short illness. Born in Potsdam, he restored major organs in Brandenburg, Erfurt, Magdeburg, Schwerin and at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, and in 2018 passed the firm to sons Michael and Johannes. Share memories. #ClassicalMusic #Organ

#ClassicalMusic The Netherlands Philharmonic in Amsterdam has launched a crowdfunding drive for a new harp, saying the current principal instrument (in use since 2009) no longer meets its artistic standards. They need $50,000 to finish the build. Thoughts on orchestras crowdfunding? #ArtsFunding

It’s true the dress code is restrictive, but Faryousefi stepping onto the podium is already a powerful act of visibility in Iran. And you’re right — the West has its own ways of limiting women in classical music. Her performance highlights how progress must grow everywhere.

Absolutely — and speaking from the Italian side of things, it’s refreshing to see our major institutions finally embracing merit over old habits. Mariotti and Rana aren’t symbolic hires; they’re world-class musicians. When Italy chooses excellence, everyone wins — audiences included.

#Obituary French modernist composer Jean-Claude Éloy has died at 87. A student of Boulez, Stockhausen, and Xenakis, he taught music analysis in Berkeley before immersing himself in Hindu aesthetics. His Libérations cycle championed women’s rights. Share a favorite work. #ClassicalMusic #NewMusic

#Music Pernambuco (brazilwood), essential for top violin bows, faces a possible total ban at next week’s CITES meeting in Samarkand. Brazil seeks highest protection amid steep forest loss—pitting musicians against environmentalists. What outcome would you support? #Environment #ClassicalMusic

YouTube video by Classical Crescendo Jingle Hell, Classical Crescendo

🎄 What if Christmas sounded a little wicked?

Jingle Hell mixes celesta, pizzicato strings, sleigh bells and cheeky woodwinds into a festive orchestral piece full of color and mischief.

🎧 Listen: youtu.be/5122WT666rc

#JingleHell #Orchestral #HolidayMusic

#Classical Tonight at Wigmore Hall: LCMF explores algorithmic composition from Mozart’s “dice game” to today’s AI—four world premieres and first documented public performances of works by Mozart and C.P.E. Bach. What does chance reveal about creativity? Share your take. #AI #London

#Obituary Violist Lois Martin has died at 73. A champion of new music and principal viola of Stamford Symphony, she co-founded the Atlantic Quartet, commissioned Wuorinen’s Viola Variations, recorded works by 50 living composers, and collaborated from Ornette Coleman to Paul Simon. #Music #Classical

#Music Brazilian guitar great André Geraissati has died at 74. Known for a singular technique and tone, he influenced generations of players. What performance will you revisit in his memory? #RIP #Guitar