October 28, 2007

It’s this week in classical music, an update on what’s happening in the classical music world, I’m Randy Kinkel.

The Brodsky Quartet has been named to a three-year term as Ensemble in residence at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.   Their duties will include intensive workshopping, tutoring and training with academy string quartets. They will work collectively and individually with student groups. They will have three visits per academic session, to include a public concert.  Most of the residency, though, will happen behind closed doors, with the students. The academy is charging the Brodskys to seek, find, coach and produce the best possible quality of experience for their students. The Glasgow Herald’s Michael Tumelty says the match couldn't be better. "The cult string quartet are not only a group with a stellar international reputation. They are one of a handful of string quartets that have come to represent an elite in redefining the nature and function of a string quartet ensemble."

Henry Fogel will step down as president and CEO of the American Symphony Orchestra League when his contract expires next June.  Fogel came to the league after 18 years as Chief Executive of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  He is credited with stabilizing the organization's finances, raising its profile in the classical music community, launching a $25 million capital campaign, and the development of a strategic plan to revamp the way the League serves its member orchestras.  In a statement released today, ASOL board chairman Lowell Noteboom said, "The League's health and stability are due in no small part to Henry’s diligence and foresight, and as we transition into the implementation phase of our strategic planning, it is important that we recognize Henry's visionary role in the process."

Young Vietnamese are finding their way to classical music—not in concert halls—but in bars.  In the City of Hanoi, there are a number of bars that have live classical music. Tran Hai, a composer from the Hanoi Conservatory of Music, plays in one of the bars and confided, "Before, I thought that orchestras performed in large theatres, playing primarily for the rich or those with musical education. I thought classical music was noble and geared for those of high class. But now my opinion has changed considerably. Music simply appeared to improve life without distinguishing between poverty or wealth. Playing music in the bar, I find many young people come here and listen with intensity. I feel very happy. The young people seem accustomed to listening even to the more difficult pieces of classical music. This is a good sign!’’

for more information on these and other items and events, go to the KBAQ website at KBAQ-dot-org.… be listening every week at this time for another update, and join me at noon every weekday for the Mozart Buffet, an hour of music by Mozart and his contemporaries, … I’m Randy Kinkel, for KBAQ’s  “This week in Classical Music”…  on 89-five KBAQ, K-B-A-Q Phoenix, a service of Rio Salado College and Arizona State University