Great Conversations in Music

Before he died in 2003, the late classical musician Eugene Istomin sat down with some of his musical compatriots to record a series of programs titled "Great Conversations in Music". These four wonderful programs are included here on this website, which is maintained by the Library of Congress. The programs were produced and directed by Peter Rosen, and visitors may wish to start their travels through the site by reading a bit about Istomin in the short essay titled "Remembering Eugene Istomin". Moving on, visitors will find the full-length programs "The Pianists", "The Composers", "Chamber Music", and "The Virtuosos". Each program contains performances and conversations with people like Emmanuel Ax, Leon Fleisher, Charles Rosen, Lynn Harrell, and Yo-Yo Ma.

The Frigid Fingers Were Live, but the Music Wasn’t

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

Published: January 23, 2009 NYtimes

Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and two colleagues performed at the inauguration, but the music had been recorded. more

check out ITunes U

ITunes U is a part of the ITunes Store featuring free lectures, language lessons, audio books, and more, Explore over 75,000 educational audio and video files from top universities, museums and public media organizations from around the world. Click on ITunes Store and follow the links by educational institution, academic interest, or top downloads.

Topics available in music range from classical guitar recitals at the University of Utah to The Folkways Collection at Smithsonian Global Sound to lectures and performances at Yale School of Music. Check it out!!

Happy Birthday, Beethoven!

Check out the entry for our birthday boy in Grove Music Online.

Potrait Beethoven dilukis Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820.

Baltimore Opera Co. to file for bankruptcy, cancels remainder of season

After 58 years and more than 200 productions, the Baltimore Opera Company will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-law protection Tuesday amid dwindling ticket sales and contributions.

The remaining two productions of the 2008-2009 season, Rossini's The Barber of Seville and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, have been canceled. Ticket-holders will not receive refunds. Singers engaged for next season are being released from their contracts, but the company plans to continue fundraising in an effort to resume productions in the future.

Deborah Goetz, senior director of marketing and communications, confirmed Monday that Baltimore Opera's board of trustees voted Dec. 4 to file for Chapter 11 protection.

"My heart sinks," said soprano Evelyn Lear, now retired and living in Rockville. She starred in three Baltimore Opera productions during the 1970s and 1980s. "The company had high standards, good productions, a good orchestra. I'm distraught that this may mean that opera is finished in Baltimore." more

On Display in the Conservatory Library

Beethoven’s Fifth

In commemoration of two hundred years since the composition and premiere of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, we are pleased to display this facsimile of the autograph found in the Staatsbibliothek Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz.

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Saint Hildegard’s Symphonia armonie celestium

This facsimile features the portion of the Riesencodex located in the Hessischen Landesbibliothek, Wiesbaden, containing Hildegard von Bingen's Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum. Hildegard wrote songs for the quiet devotions of nuns in her 12th century community.

New jazz title in periodicals

There's a new title on the shelves in periodicals:
Brilliant Corners (Williamsport, PA)--A Journal of Jazz and Literature.