PostClassical: More than Music
Coming up: “The Russian Gershwin” on Sunday, May 31.
Zoom chat 1: “A Gershwin Roundtable”
Thursday, June 4 from 6 to 7 pm
With a live performance by the fabulous jazz artist Karrin Allyson – plus Joe and Ángel; pianist Genadi Zagor; and Mark Clague who heads the Gershwin Initiative at the University of Michigan. Bill McGlaughlin hosts.
To sign up, click here (it’s free).
Zoom chat 2: “Porgy and Bess Roundtable”: What’s it about and who’s singing it?
Wednesday, June 10 from 6 to 7 pm.
With George Shirley, the first African-American tenor to sing lead roles at the Metropolitan Opera; and Kevin Deas, one of today’s pre-eminent exponents of Gershwin’s Porgy.
Also: Conrad L. Osborne, a supreme authority on opera in performance; Mark Clague, who heads the Gershwin Initiative at the University of Michigan; and PCE’s Joe Horowitz and Ángel Gil-Ordoñez. Including classic Porgy recordings by Ruby Elzy, Lawrence Tibbett, and others. Bill McGlaughlin hosts.
To sign up, click here (it’s free).
Our past shows:
April 19: “Deep River: The Art of the Spiritual” with Kevin Deas
A related blog by Joe: “Music in Wartime”
May 3: “Shostakovich and the State” with Solomon Volkov
A related blog by Joe: “Why Did Shostakovich Join the Party?”
May 10: “Shostakovich in Time of War” produced by Behrouz Jamali
At a moment when America’s performing arts institutions are challenged not merely to continue to function, but to function in new ways, PCE undertakes a series of audio/video webcasts linked to zoom chats – “PostClassical: More than Music” — exploring the role of music in society.
This initiative comes easily to us, as our programming typically focuses on music as an instrument for mutual understanding and human betterment.
In fact, our library of two-hour WWFM webcasts, inimitably hosted by Bill McGlaughlin, is our starting point in this new venture, in which we are partnered by the film-maker Behrouz Jamali and the enterprising journal of politics, government, and culture The American Interest.
Our two most recent projects, before the virus changed everything, were An Armenian Odyssey, at the Washington National Cathedral, and Furtwangler in Wartime, via WWFM. The former explored the power of music to forge inspirational cultural synergies. The latter explored the power of music to “bear witness” during World War II.
We begin our new “More than Music” webcasts with Deep River: The Art of the Spiritual, in which we are joined by PCE Resident Artist Kevin Deas.
Future programs in this series will include Shostakovich and the State, Arthur Farwell and the “Indianists,” The Russian Gershwin, and Dvorak and America. The topics at hand are “What is the role of culture in a nation’s life?” and “Who is an American?”
Our “More than Music” videos ask: “What is the role of culture in a nation’s life?”
We look forward to seeing you again. In the meantime, please be well.
Joe and Ángel
PostClassical: More than Music
Produced by PostClassical Ensemble
in collaboration with David Osenberg for WWFM the Classical Network
Hosted by Bill McGlaughlin
With Joe Horowitz, Ángel Gil-Ordoñez, and special guests
Studio engineer: Bill Siegmund
Film and visual presentations: Behrouz Jamali
