RHEINBERGER SUITES

posted by James Reel

RHEINBERGER Suite for Violin and Organ, op. 166. Pieces for Cello and Organ, Op. 150. Suite for Violin, Cello, and Organ, op. 149 • Melina Mandozzi (vn); Orfeo Mandozzi (vc); Hannfried Lucke (org) • CARUS 83.411 (Hybrid multichannel SACD: 73:25)

Rheinberger’s Op. 150 pieces for cello and organ are actually arrangements extracted from a suite for violin and organ. The original version, in its entirety, is coupled with the Op. 149 suite for violin, cello, and organ on Helios and Cantate; it’s coupled with the Op. 166 suite for violin and organ on Naxos. Each of those discs received benign notice in previous issues of Fanfare, as did Op. 166 when coupled with Rheinberger’s organ concertos on Capriccio (that review was by me). My colleagues and I tend to respond to this music fairly positively, while noting that it won’t knock you over in originality or panache.

Apparently in the 1880s there was some demand for music for solo strings backed by the Romantic organ as a full partner, even if it had to be reined in so as not to cover the violin or cello. Rheinberger offered rich, luscious music with a limited emotional range, sounding rather like German Fauré (although, in truth, Fauré was capable of greater passion than this). It’s exceptionally pleasant music, its forward-moving melodies looking forward somewhat to the more understated passages in the works of Franz Schmidt.

I’ll compare the playing and ound here only to the Capriccio disc, which is also a hybrid multichannel SACD. Here, the perspective is more distant than in the Capriccio recording, and Melina Mandozzi is more likely than Capriccio’s Ernö Sebestyen to spin out a long line; Sebestyen is more declamatory, and tied to shorter phrases. Cellist Orfeo Mandozzi, apparently Melina’s brother, follows the family lead, and organist Hannfried Lucke is every bit as satisfactory here as is Andreas Juffinger on Capriccio.

This is worth exploring, especially for string fanciers, if you don’t require music that inspires a strong, visceral response from the listener. James Reel

THE POST OFFICE IS KILLING OUR MAGAZINES

posted by James Reel

Magazines are in financial trouble, and part of the situation—but only part of it—is described in an Associated Press article that includes this information:

Newsstand sales of U.S. magazines fell 6.3 percent in the first half of 2008, an industry group said Monday, as rising gas and food costs led consumers to cut back on nonessential spending. … Publishers redouble efforts to sign up subscribers during economic slowdowns because they know newsstand sales will ebb, which they need to offset because advertising rates are based on minimum circulation targets. Newsstand sales are far more lucrative than subscriptions, though, meaning circulation revenue is dropping at most titles. … Overall magazine circulation, which includes subscription and newsstand sales, was flat at 349.9 million copies in the period, as paid subscriptions edged higher to 290.2 million copies, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in its biannual tally. Single-copy magazine sales in the six months ended June 30 fell to 44.1 million copies from 47.1 million a year ago. The survey included 467 titles that reported results in both periods.

Single-copy sales are a problem, but there’s also an insidious threat to subscription copies: the U.S. Postal Service. Here’s part of an e-mail that Joel Flegler, editor and publisher of Fanfare, sent to his staff (including me) last weekend:

Originally I had intended to publish a 500+page Nov/Dec issue, but I discovered a few weeks ago that the USPS recently instituted a ruling that a magazine won't qualify for bulk rate mailing if it exceeds 3/4". If it's over the limit, it means that I would have to mail each copy as a parcel, which would be prohibitively expensive, at least $10,000 more per issue. After discussing the situation with Fanfare's printer, who investigated the various types of paper that we could use and still maintain quality, it's now clear that Fanfare can never exceed 416 pages unless the USPS changes its requirements. (There have been numerous articles published about how the USPS seems determined to drive small publishers out of business. The apparently annual increase for mailings is bad enough, but service is also deteriorating at an alarming rate, with subscriber copies often arriving three or four weeks late as well as many copies being lost in the mail.) Because of the significantly larger-than-average number of reviews for the Nov/Dec issue and the unexpected restriction on the size I can publish, I have to face the regrettable decision of postponing many reviews until the Jan/Feb issue. This will certainly have an impact on the quantity of new releases that I'll be assigning for the Oct. 1 deadline.

Bad service from the post office, and from the distributors that provide magazines to bookstores, is perhaps as great a danger to American magazines as any other, more widely discussed factor.

UAPRESENTS CONTINUES ITS RECOVERY

posted by James Reel

In the latest Tucson Weekly, you’ll find in the Mailbag section a noble defense of yours truly by a reader I swear I do not know. More pertinent to the self-aggrandizing, self-promoting nature of this blog is my own contribution, checking in with UApresents:

After accumulating a $1 million deficit in 2006, campus impresario UApresents has finished its second consecutive positive fiscal year with more than a $90,000 surplus and a 12 percent uptick in advance-ticket sales. Part of the turnaround can be attributed to shedding some staff members over the past couple of years, and part is linked to more aggressive fundraising within the community (ticket sales now are expected to cover only 55 percent of costs, as opposed to as much as 85 percent in the past). The rest of the turnaround is due to refocused programming: more attractions with immediate name recognition that are relatively inexpensive to engage. Keep expenses down; maintain ticket prices and fundraising at a healthy level; add some state funding; and if all goes well, the result is a balanced budget.

The rest of the story awaits you here.

FOXY

posted by James Reel

Yesterday I stayed home in the morning to fend off a cold, but I had to rally sufficiently to attend an afternoon meeting with Jim Williams, the new executive director of the Fox Tucson Theatre. We’re trying to work out a co-production with the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, of which I’m the vice-president. As of this morning it looks like that show might not happen because of a sudden change of itinerary of the touring ensemble we were going to present, but talking with Jim and his staff was an interesting experience. This project was first discussed toward the end of the tenure of Williams’ predecessor, Herb Stratford, when it was all very informal with a “Hey, kids, let’s put on a show in the barn” atmosphere. Not with Williams.

With his thinning gray hair and ponytail, he looks like an old hippie, but don’t be deceived by the bohemian appearance (which, after all, you really need if you’re working downtown). The first thing he wanted was a detailed budget and revenue projection (which, after all, you really need if you’re a serious manager). The Fox is a glorious art-deco 1930 movie palace, sparkling under a $13 million renovation, but since it reopened in 2005 it has struggled to break even. The place needs to do better than that: Once it starts turning a profit, it has to begin repaying a $5.6 million city loan that allowed the Fox to complete its renovation. If there’s no payment by 2011, the Fox will have to come up with $1.5, or else. I suspect “or else” means the city will take over the non-profit organization and its lovely theater.

So Williams has some hard work ahead of him. Based on the single hour I’ve spent with him, I’d say he has the right mindset for the job.

ANTHEMS

posted by James Reel

Alex Marshall of The Guardian girded his loins and listened to the national anthem of every country represented at the Olympics right now. He detests most of ’em, and with good reason (musical reasons, which he explains; he doesn’t comment much on the lyrics). Marshall doesn’t mention the anthem of his own land (somehow simultaneously stirring and stuffy), nor that of American (a truly horrid abomination, derived from an old English drinking song and suitable for singing only when one is drunk). But he does list some that meet his approval, with links to YouTube performances. These don’t always present the anthems to their best advantage—a couple are synthesizer jobs, and several are played by pop bands in concert—but they’ll give you an idea of what’s possible when a composer thinks outside the box step. Of those listed, my favorites are the anthems of Nepal and Bangladesh.

ORPHANED ORCHESTRA

posted by James Reel

In the 1990s, I saw a lot of little local arts groups collapse when they lost their founders/leaders. There just wasn’t enough of an administrative infrastructure or shared artistic vision to sustain the organizations once their charismatic leaders burned out or moved on. Now, the Tucson Chamber Orchestra is facing life after the departure of its founder, but I think that this group just might survive. From the latest Tucson Weekly:

Last April, just days before a high-profile concert at the Fox Tucson Theatre, Enrique Lasansky unexpectedly announced that the upcoming performance would be his last with the Tucson Chamber Orchestra, which he had founded 17 years before. His e-mail surprised his musicians and board. "Enrique's leaving left a real void for me as a new board member," says Madeline Bosma. "Now I don't have the same kind of enthusiasm about promoting the orchestra that I had formerly, but I really love classical music, so because of that, I will do what I can to help it." Lasansky didn't exactly leave the orchestra in an artistic void. A guest conductor had already been engaged for the season finale in June, and concertmaster Ellen Chamberlain is serving as interim music director for the coming season, during which four local conductors will audition to replace Lasansky. "Artistically, we're in a very good place," Chamberlain says. "The players have really stepped up, taking control of a lot of things so everything runs smoothly. A lot of my colleagues from the Tucson Symphony and chamber opportunities I've had have renewed interest in the orchestra, so we're getting more fully professional talent into the group. We're getting stronger players, and because of that, we'll be able to do a more challenging repertoire." Board president Patrick Gibbons says, "We're looking forward to having more of a player-driven organization. That can either kill an orchestra or make it better, but we're pretty hopeful."

You can find my full article here.

Also this week, I review Chris’ Café in La Placita, and the key sentences are these: “There's nothing experimental or surprising at Chris', except for the surprise that the people behind the counter remain pleasant no matter how busy they get. Cautious eaters will feel perfectly safe here with the traditional fare.” Learn more here.