Most Performed Composers in 2017;

Singer Runs to Stay in Operatic shape

It’s “This Week in Classical Music”—an update on what’s happening in the classical music world—I’m Randy Kinkel.

_______________________________________________

There’s a website called BachTrack that keeps track of which composers are most performed in live concerts around the world.  Each year they publish their findings. 

For 2017, the top spot for the composer with the most performances in 2017 belongs to Mozart.  Handel's Messiah is the top performed work.

The top 2 most performed composers are Mozart and Beethoven, but year by year The site reports that J S Bach has been narrowing the gap between himself and those two in the stats.

Debussy is coming up to the centenary of his death in 2018 and is already ranked at no. 12… Leonard Bernstein has already moved up from no. 43 to 27 in advance of his centenary this year.

In 2013 Bach track noted that there was just one woman in the busiest one hundred concert conductors worldwide; four years later, there are a total of five in the top 100.

In contemporary music performance, the composer with the most performed works has been Arvo Pärt since 2011, but his lead is less secure than in the past with John Williams and John Adams now within reach.  For more go to bachtrack.com.

_______________________________________________

Having sung there over 100 times, Soprano Lisette Oropesa is a regular on the stage of The Metropolitan Opera, And just made her Royal Opera debut last November in Lucia di Lammermoor.

But in addition to honing her vocal skills for those roles, Lisette also makes sure she’s in top physical condition.  “Running has helped me a lot with breath control and stamina. “I run a lot now… Sometimes directors will ask you to do something exhausting like climbing the stairs while singing, and your breathing will be compromised. This is one reason why I’m so serious about exercise, so that I’m in good cardiovascular shape.

Her exercise regime was also part of a conscious effort to lose weight to combat problems getting cast.

I was told that if you wanted to be cast with a voice type that is so competitive, you need to look the part or you’ll be disqualified before you get a chance to open your mouth. There are roles I wasn’t even considered for because of the way I looked.

I thought that I’d worked way too hard and was singing far too well to be stopped before I could even enter the room. “ she said.

_______________________________________________

For more on these and other items and events, go to the website, K-B-A-C-H dot org; Be listening each week at this time for another update. Follow us on Facebook and twitter, and also listen every weekday at Noon for the Most Wanted Hour with Linda Cassidy, playing your top 100 classical hits.  I’m Randy Kinkel for KBACH’s “This Week in Classical Music”; Member supported 89.5 KBAQ Phoenix and HD, a service of Rio Salado College and Arizona State University.