MUSIClassical ALLEGRO
Topic: DVDs
A splendid DVD from Deutsche Grammophon, Rafael Kubelík: A Portrait, reminds us that multiple tyrannies can govern a conductor’s life. Kubelík (1914 –1996) was a mightily gifted Bohemian-born conductor, scion of a legendary musical family (his father was the superstar violinist Jan Kubelík). Rafael Kubelík was music director of the Brno Opera when the Nazis shut the company down in 1941. A year later they executed the Opera’s administrative director, Václav Ji?íkovský (1891-1942), who had smuggled Jews out of Occupied Prague. Small wonder that Kubelík states in a 1970’s documentary (which is reprinted along with brilliant performances of Beethoven, Mozart, and Bruckner on the new DVD), “A conductor should be a guide, not a dictator. I could never stomach dictatorships.” When he was named wartime conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, he declined to perform Wagner, and would not give German notables the Nazi salute as required, nearly causing him to be arrested. A stunning interpreter of Mozart, Beethoven, Smetana, and Dvo?ák, Kubelík helped establish the Prague Spring Festival in 1946, but finally was driven from his homeland by the 1948 Communist coup. 
Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music, as well as an accomplished pianist. Instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, he was widely known as “the dean of American composers.” Copland was also a composer of film music, as well as an accomplished pianist. Instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, he was widely known as “the dean of American composers.” Copland’s music achieved a difficult balance between modern music and American folk styles, and the open, slowly changing harmonies of many of his works are said to evoke the vast American landscape. He incorporated percussive orchestration, changing meter, polyrhythms, polychords and tone rows. Aside from composing, Copland taught, presented music-related lectures, wrote books and articles, and served as a conductor. 
The combination of soft-spoken English charm and superior musicianship has made Andrew Manze a star in the concert world. Manze (say it MAHN-zay) is conductor of the Academy of Ancient Music and the Helsingborg (Sweden) Symphony and a renowned Baroque violinist on his own. He spoke with Rocky music writer Marc Shulgold about his Friday appearance at Gates Concert Hall with renowned fortepianist Richard Egarr, part of their first U.S. tour together since 2002. 
Nina Totenberg: Lessons from My Father 
1926 Birth of Australian soprano Dame Joan SUTHERLAND in Sydney. m. Richard Bonynge.
Jeffrey Tate will become the new principal conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, replacing Andrey Boreyko, who quit unexpectedly for reasons unclear, reports Die Welt of Berlin. The English-born Tate is likely to assume the position next spring. His management will probably confirm the appointment no earlier than January, according to MusicalAmerica.com 
1860 Birth of Polish pianist, composer and statesman Ignace Jan PADEREWSKI. d- 1941. 