Crossover

This week on Crossover, it's an encore featuring British trumpeter Alison Balsom. A mixture of glamor, charisma, and virtuosic musicianship aptly describes Ms. Balsom. Kudos abound with raves from critics all over the world. Named "Female Artist of the Year" twice at the Classic BRITs, hailed by Gramophone magazine, Britain's Classic FM, and The New York Times, she continues to release collectable and stunning performances on the EMI label and to appear in concert and on TV with major orchestras internationally. Ms. Balsom's recent CD of modern concertos, Seraph, adds to her repertoire of classical and Baroque composers.

The title of pianist Simone Dinnerstein's latest Sony release is Something Almost Being Said.  Despite the title, taken from one of the lines in Phillip Larkin's poem, "The Trees," her performance on the CD certainly does speak, quite loudly, of her virtuosity while capturing the intimacy of the music.

The subtitle of the album is Music of Bach and Schubert - music that, Ms. Dinnerstein says is, very personal to her.  In fact, as she tells Jill, in mentioning to her husband that this music "feels like it's saying something that couldn't be said in words," he responded with Larkin's poem. The opening lines of "The Trees" are:

"The trees are coming into leaf

Like something almost being said,

The recent buds relax and spread,

Their greenness is a kind of grief..."

Ms. Dinnerstein's "career tree" started to take root as she studied in the pre-college program at the Manhattan School of Music with Solomon Mikowsky. She later attended The Juilliard School of Music and was a student of Peter Serkin. She also studied in London with Maria Curcio.

Her break came with the self-financed recording of J.S. Bach's "Goldberg Variations." Released by Telarc in 2007, the disc hit No. 1 on the Billboard Classical chart within one week, and outsold most rock CDs on Amazon.com. The CD appeared on a number of “Best of 2007” lists, including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Time Out New York, iTunes “Editor’s Choice Best Classical,” Amazon.com Best CDs of 2007, and Barnes & Noble's Top 5 Debut CDs of 2007.

The three albums Ms. Dinnerstein has released since then: The Berlin Concert (Telarc), Bach: A Strange Beauty (Sony), and the aforementioned Something Almost Being Said (Sony), –have also topped the classical charts, with Bach: A Strange Beauty making the Billboard Top 200, which compiles the entire music industry's sales of albums in all genres. Ms. Dinnerstein was the best-selling instrumentalist of 2011 on the U.S. Billboard Classical chart and was included in NPR's 2011 100 Favorite Songs from all genres.

Over his more than forty-year career, the acclaimed British pianist Peter Donohoe has become known as one of the foremost pianists of our time.  A Silver Medal winner of the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the list of places he's performed and musicians he's performed with is as long as his repertoire is wide.

The news came down in late May, 2012. The Delaware Symphony Orchestra was suspending preparations for its 2012-2013 season as of June 1st.  The declining economy made finding new sources of funding necessary, along with the search for and adoption of a "new business model" to help the organization withstand difficulties in future seasons. Although sources were quoted as saying the suspension had nothing to do with the ongoing contract negotiations between the DSO and the players, having that lingering in the background was just another black cloud hanging over the organization.

Then things started looking up.  

A short chamber series was announced in August for fall 2012.  There was also talk of a short concert series for early 2013.  Before long, the DSO and the players came to a short-term agreement, and the talk of a short concert series became more than than just talk. 

We'll speak with Delaware Symphony Orchestra Music Director David Amado about the current situation with the orchestra, what's planned for the three-concert series beginning in January, and the hope that this may be the only speed-bump on the road to performing classical music in the First State. Crossover, Saturday morning, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm on WRTI-FM and the All-Classical Stream.

Our guest this week is celebrated and much-lauded counter-tenor Andreas Scholl.  Mr. Scholl made his debut in 1998 at the Glyndebourne Festival singing the role of Berarido in Handel's Rodelinda.  Stupendous reviews followed repeat performances in Paris, and at the Met in 2006 performing opposite Renee Fleming. 

Mr. Scholl appears in our area on December 5th at the Ware Center's Steinman Hall in Lancaster. We speak with Mr. Scholl, and listen to excerpts from his new Decca CD, Wanderer, in which he explores music of Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, and Brahms, accompanied by the stellar Israeli pianist Tamar Halperin.

This video was produced and shot by Andreas Scholl

Here's the impressive story of a young Russian clarinetist who moved all the way to Philadelphia at age 17 for musical training and is now a rising star - one of the most prominent talents of his generation.

Born in 1982 in Kharkov, Ukraine, Alexander studied at The Curtis Institute of Music with Donald Montanaro, graduating in 2005. His accomplishments range from taking top honors at major international competitions to holding principal positions with leading orchestras under world-renowned conductors. He's been in demand as both soloist and ensemble player - attracting the attention of major conductors, as well as leading orchestras, ensembles, and festivals in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Jill Pasternak hits the trail! Joining her is composer, teacher, and wrangler Jett Hitt, who has composed a violin concerto based on his impressions of his beloved Yellowstone National Park.

The Academy of Vocal Arts scores once more with their production of Giocchino Rossini's time-honored opera buffa, The Barber of Seville. Three impressive casts have alternated through six performances in Philadelphia, Haverford and Warrington.   The opera will be broadcast on WRTI at 1 pm on Saturday, November 10th.  Prior to the broadcast, Jill Pasternak will feature three of the principals on Crossover at 11:30 am. They are Steven La Brie (Figaro), Sydney Mancasola (Rosina) and Diego Silva (Count Almaviva).  The production is conducted by maestro Richard Raub.