Mozartstadt Prague

Mozartstadt. City of Mozart. A more than appropriate title for the Bohemian capital of Prague. During the three years that I've authored the Chronicles, I've often mentioned Prague's centricity to the Mozart biography. The citizens of Prague held the first signifcant memorial service for Mozart, they were the first to erect a memorial in his honor in 1837 and Czech native Franz Xaver Niemetschek wrote one of the earliest biographical accounts of the composer in 1797. Niemetschek wrote, "The Bohemians are proud that he recognized and honored their good taste with so noble a work (Don Giovanni), coming from the depths of his genius." The photo above was taken during my visit to the Villa Bertramka, the home of Mozart's friends and fellow musicians Franz and Josepha Duschek, where Mozart stayed as a guest. "Meine Prager verstehen mich," Mozart exclaimed. "My Praguers understand me."

One week ago on 16 June, I departed the beloved city and other loyal devotees with whom I had been on a level of professional and personal exchange in the good name of Mozart. And without hesitation, I'll simply gush! The conference delivered brilliant scholarship, exquisite dining (with too many courses to mention!), delightful concerts and redolent visits to Mozart landmarks. MSA President Kathryn Libin surpassed all expectations with her instigation of this grand event and I'm incredibly grateful to her for giving me the opportunity to attend.

So, da capo! (from the beginning!) On 8 June, after a restless red-eye flight across the Atlantic, I found myself enveloped in a magical morning in Prague. Unable to take a much-needed nap at my friend Zuzana's flat due to overwhelming excitement, I ventured out into the city. I spent most of my afternoon strolling on the 13th Century Charles Bridge where I took in the stunning cityscape and the language of musicians. It would be quite easy to spend several days there! I took pictures and curiously observed the passersby. The 17th Century Crucifix and Calvary on the bridge drew my undivided attention in regards to my faith and the Mozart history. These were overwhelming moments. I reflected on my purpose, my devotion, the people in my life who have supported my passion, and was caught up in tears and poetic nuance...

The crucifix where you pondered, is now where I wander. Your darkness, my light, in my heart your music has sight. With tears in my eyes as you so often penned, how lovely it is to meet you again.

Shortly after these renderings of poetry, I met my friend Ruediger Mandry from Dresden. After a bit of walking and browsing in a music shop, we had dinner in the Old Town Square and attended a performance of Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" at the Estates Theater, where Mozart himself conducted the opera. It was certainly a highlight of my week! The photo below was taken in the theater following the performance that evening.

Speaking of highlights, it's best if I adhere to this format, as it would take me forever and a day to describe the entirety of my trip! As I've been to Prague twice before, I'd already seen the most significant Mozart haunts, but this time I saw some of them from a different perspective and of course there were new additions! Highlights included attending a service at the Strahov Monastery to listen to the organ that Mozart improvised on in 1787, seeing manuscripts in the Beethoven Room at the Lobkowitz Palace, which included Mozart's arrangement of Handel's "Messiah" in his own hand, visiting the Czech Museum of Music and seeing a basset horn from 1791 which is significant for Mozart's writing for this instrument in his opera "La Clemenza di Tito" which premiered in Prague in 1791 and visiting the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Lesser Town where Mozart's memorial service was held on 14 December, 1791 to a congregation of 4,000 Czech citizens.

Another noteworthy adventure was my trip to the Kanzelsberger music shop, where I discovered the first Prague edition of a Mozart sonata for four hands. It did not have a KV number or a date, but I was permitted to take a few photos of the exterior and score, so I was able to later identify it as KV 521, Sonate in C für Klavier zu vier Händen (Sonata in C for Keyboard for Four Hands) which dates from 29 May, 1797. At the moment, I'm researching the date of the Prague edition. This photo was taken holding the sonata in question!

Scholarly discussions aside, the conference was simply about people! I had the opportunity to meet scholars from Denmark, Austria, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, North America and the Czech Republic. My dialogue with musicologists, theater scholars, fortepiano experts and artists offered reassurance for my chosen path. This occasion also granted yet another visit with a dear friend, Zuzana, who is so fortunate to be a native of this unparalleled city. It was through her invitation that I came to know Prague for the first time in 2004 and she's also responsible for consequent visits which I hope will continue! Děkuji, Zuzana! And never to be forgotten, there were several people not present at the conference who encouraged my travel to Prague and I certainly carried their loving support in my luggage! Specifically, my family and beloved friend, Stephanie Cowell.

When on a pilgrimmage such as this one, where our aim is in part to absorb as much as possible that still exists from Mozart's world, a certain emptiness surfaces sooner or later with the realization that no matter hard we try, we'll never be able to touch him, talk to him, or hear his music as he intended it to be heard. There's so much we'll never know and this notion leaves a void, a stark dissatisfaction. However, the advantage for me personally is the resulting encouragement and inquisitiveness that drives my passion onward in hope of further musicological discovery. Hours after writing the previous little poem, and shortly before the performance of "Figaro," I was yet again encouraged to take up my pen and dash a little something on paper...

The streets you once knew, voice their story of you,

but you are not here, and soon the clouds seem shear.

Where to find you? Within these walls from time?

No, no, in the stave, beyond masonry and grave.

Let it be known to all, who seek a tangible story,

that you are not here, but singing God's glory.

Sherry

En Route to the Musicopolis...

It's now Saturday, far past the midnight hour, and I'm only a day away from my departure for Prague to attend the Mozart Society of America conference. My travels will take me to the city that adored Mozart, where his music met with unrivaled success. Indeed, the Bohemian musicopolis is the most appropriate place in which to celebrate Mozart's life with musical performance and scholarly applause. The conference will address Mozart's relationship to Prague with lectures, concerts, museum/residence tours and so forth, representing an impressive array of activity any admirer would only concoct as dreamy happenstance.

Perhaps you'll recall the previous entry concerning my Figaro Year. I kept wondering when and where I'd come across the opportunity to see a performance, but the search has ended with the best of scenarios, quite unexpectedly! On Monday evening, I'll attend a performance of Mozart's Figaro at the Estates Theater, which is shown above. Little did I realize until a few months ago that this opera would be performed during my visit by the National Theater troupe (Narodni Divaldo). This is the venue where Mozart himself conducted the opera in 1787 in addition to the premieres of Don Giovanni later in 1787 and La Clemenza di Tito in 1791, just a few months before he died. In 2004, I attended a performance of Don Giovanni in this historic theater, so Tito will be my aim to complete the trio on a future visit to the city! For now though, allow me to be still a moment and reflect on what is to come...

Adieu! I'll write upon my return!

Sherry

The Musiker from Maastricht

After years of following his PBS performances and admiring the joyful transference that occurs between the Maestro and his audience, I finally had the opportunity to see André Rieu perform live in concert. Despite the size of the crowd, the atmosphere felt more intimate, much like old friends gathering for a musical evening. I had soon forgotten myself, my surroundings, all of my misfortunes. I was suddenly back in Vienna and so happily in love with the music! Nothing else mattered. I saw genuine enchantment in his face, reflecting the pleasure of musicianship in sharing these beloved compositions. His 1667 Stradivarius violin was all the more striking for Franz Lehár's Silber und Gold Walzer, the very piece that secured his passion for Viennese music. My smile is endless when I see him take up his instrument. And heaven be praised, he never forgets Mozart! He certainly doesn't please purists with his presentational style, but that was never the idea.

Rieu's convivial disposition and comedic antics, his dialogue concerning the music itself, and his sincerity about bringing this music to the fore was gracious. At one point during the performance, he recalled attending a classical concert as a child in Maastricht. How joyful the music was to his ears, but how cold the hearts of the people, how rigid, how unreflective of the melodies! He set out to remedy this offense when founding his Johann Strauss Orchestra at the age of 29 and now, in 2009, he's celebrating his 30th year with a worldwide tour. He inspires us to enjoy the music, which is exactly what we forget to do amidst analysis and criticism. He aims to do what I aspire to achieve professionally. That is, to remove the elitist stigma from the genre and create awareness of the music's purposeful existence which is benevolence and joy for all, not an exclusive constituency. Click here for excerpts from André Rieu: Live in Vienna. I'll close with an excerpt from Dr. Alexander Weinmann's notes from the 1962 album Creampuffs from Vienna: Rare Old Vienna Dances with the Boskovsky Ensemble.

"Dance, a musical form that has adorned life from the earliest times, holds a prominent place in Viennese tradition. It is an engaging expression of a people's life, polished with high artistry, that's intertwined with the heart and mind and music of other peoples. It has the spark of eternal life and can be savored affectionately today. The notes loosen and blossom forth into treasures of melody and rhythm, with a sweet and bitter intimacy, with roaring furiosos that alternate with profound melancholy and pungent impudence. A bygone time comes to mind, clear and uncontaminated."

Alles Walzer!
Sherry

Beethoven: My Encore with Phil Grabsky

Fulfilling my role as Marketing Manager for the North American release of Phil Grabsky's stunning film In Search of Mozart was a highly pleasurable experience, one that I will always adore. We enjoyed a successful run which lasted nearly a year and a half with the film gracing screens in New York, Chicago, Boston, LA, Seattle and countless other cities, filling hearts and minds with divinity from Grabsky's film-making and the Salzburger named Mozart. For me, there's nothing more satisfying than bringing his music to others and with cinema being popular, progressively popular as a platform for opera and classical music, who could ask for a more perfect medium or opportunity than what was before me?

Well, the truth is that I'll never be able to retrieve such an experience again. However, a film about his famous could-have-been pupil from Bonn would more than suffice as an encore to my experience with the classical documentary. Yes, you heard this correctly! As of last Wednesday, plans are in motion for our collaboration on In Search of Beethoven. I can't express just how thankful I am to Phil for this second opportunity to advocate classical music on such a level.

The film is currently in the UK, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and it will surely sweep more countries with its passion and originality, just as Mozart did in recent years. The U.S. premiere will be in Chicago in July at the Gene Siskel Theater, where Mozart broke a box-office record in 2007. Speaking of the late critic Gene Siskel, Beethoven has already received a fantastic review by his British equivalent, Philip French from The Observer: "One of the finest movies about a great musician I’ve ever seen." An excellent interview with Grabsky can be found on MusicalCritisicm.com by Dominic McHugh.

The meeting of Mozart and Beethoven has been debated and naturally fantasized. Given the documentation that does exist, many scholars believe that the young men probably met in Vienna in April 1787 when Mozart was 31 and Beethoven was 16 years old. Having studied and pursued public relations within the context of classical music, I find it amusing that a strategy found its place even surrounding this supposed "meeting of the masters." Legend proclaims that after hearing Beethoven play, Mozart said something like "...someday he will give the world something to talk about." What an accolade for the promoter's artillary!

Beethoven admired Mozart tremendously and studied his music in depth. Because of his talent, I think expectations were even greater for him to emulate the genius than Mozart's own son Franz Xaver, who himself was praised as being one of the finest pianists of his day. Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792, one year after Mozart died, to further his musical career. Johann Heinrich famously wrote to him: "Mozart's genius hovers over you and, smiling at you, lends its approbation."

Do take a gander at the official Beethoven site and read more about the Mozart-Beethoven nexus. There's fascinating history to be found there!

Sherry

Mozart im Frühling

Is there any greater feeling of pleasure constructed than from one's imaginings of a Rococo spring? This painting by Francois Boucher, The Four Seasons (Spring) from 1755, is one of its most superb renditions. I'm as guilty as any other who is caught in this breadth, its playful, wistful and seemingly ideal existence. Mozart's Haffner Serenade comes vividly to mind as I admire the young couple in view. Afterall, it was written for performance on the eve of a summer wedding in 1776.

When casting oneself into such a perfect state of being, as many do when experiencing art from this period, a recollection of reality is due, a sobriety found in the history itself. One needs the performance aesthetic (bliss) but also informed musicology (reality). If you attend a Mozart opera and knows nothing of his biography aside from the program notes, it's a reinforcement of this idealogical state, especially if the opera is staged as a pastoral playground. You see and hear the 18th Century just as one views the above portrait: prim, proper, perfection. Mozart's life is often painted as picturesque as his own era, but let's brush some black and white on those pretty pastels, shall we? Charles Dickens is appropriate here...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.

Mozart's music is so beautiful and generous to our souls that one finds it simply unbelieveable that this man lived anything other than the happiest of days. This is one of the most popular myths in circulation and it has an insatiable appetite! It's not to suggest that he led an afflicted life which diminished the light radiating so brightly from his métier and personality, but it's vital not to ignore historical blemishes as they make our love and understanding for his story even more profound.

Sherry

Life's a Pitch: Arts Publicity

I've interviewed artists, directors and novelists for The Chronicles, but never a publicist. Given my background in public relations via Mozartiana, it's long overdue, I must say! Perhaps the issue was that I simply didn't feel a connection with anyone I'd met or read online, but as of last week, I had a eureeka! moment.

Upon reading Amanda Ameer's blog, Life’s a Pitch, I discovered how much I identified with her frustrations concerning publicity and marketing for the arts. She disclosed stories of her own experiences on the scene in New York which elicited witty, candid and fresh assessments. We have matching philosophies. She seeks to desegregate genres and artists to unleash an array of possibility. Yes, classical music CAN live happily combined with jazz and 21st Century texts! As I read on, I discovered information about her company, First Chair Promotion, which she launched in 2007 after departing IMG Artists as Publicity Manager.

My experience in public relations has been organizational to this point and with Amanda, I knew I'd found a good opportunity to learn more about the artist-publicist relationship, so I wrote to her to request an interview and the rest, as they say, is history. Of course, discovering that she was Hilary Hahn's publicist brought forth yet another incentive! (You're #1, Hilary!) Click here to see her perform the final movement of Mozart's violin concerto in G major, K. 216. I tremendously appreciate Amanda taking time from her busy schedule to answer a few questions and cast light on curiosity. Sincerest thanks. And now, on with the show!

Sherry

*An Interview with Amanda Ameer*

Sherry: Your client roster ranges from the illustrious classical violinist Hilary Hahn to the vibrant new sounds of Gabriele Kahane, composer of Craigslistlieder. In fact, all of the artists you represent display a passion for contrast in their artistry, merging and experimenting with various styles/genres while maintaining standard repertory. Given the current landscape of classical music and opera, this trait is undoubtedly desirable and marketable. Although these new ideas are welcomed by countless communities, significant adversity exists from purists who influence programming decisions. This sentence from your site addresses the divide between these two publics. “First Chair will bring its clients to new audiences while introducing long-time fans to fresh artistic experiences.” Is tackling this polarization one of the most challenging aspects of artist promotion?

Amanda: I should mention that I don’t, as a publicist, book artists or work with presenters on programs. That said, in my opinion, the key to representing unique artists to different communities is that, no matter how confusing their genre or lack thereof may be to some folks, each client performs or composes at an exceptional level. Despite writers’, presenters’ and eventually audiences’ tastes, it’s difficult to question a certain degree of artistic excellence. That doesn’t mean I’ll be able to get stories for every client in every media outlet I pitch, but it does mean I can confidently encourage journalists to take risks on stories they may not have otherwise written.

Sherry: Hilary Hahn is known for expressing sincere appreciation to her admirers and seems to be quite exceptional in this manner. Artists interact very differently with their fans. How has marketing dramatically changed the fan-artist relationship with the latest generation of classical artists?

Amanda: Artist blogs, in addition to sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and to a lesser degree now, MySpace, have all completely changed the expectation for fan-artist relationships. When artists blogs are actually written by the artists - like the excellent blogs of pianist Jeremy Denk and composer Nico Muhly - I find myself enjoying their performances 100% more than I would if I didn’t have that public insight into their personalities and professional lives. I was furious when a friend at a record label forwarded me Jeremy’s “interview” of Sarah Palin and asked if I thought his publicist wrote it as a PR stunt. Of course his publicist didn’t write it! Read his other blog entries! That interview is very clearly Jeremy Denk, and it’s cool that I can say that about a pianist I’ve only met in person a few times. Similarly, people always ask if I write Hilary’s Violin Case’s Tweets. (I don’t – who has the time?) That skepticism exists because publicists look at high-trafficked artist blogs, YouTube channels, Twitter feeds and Facebook pages and think, those are good marketing tools - I’m going to make my artists (or organization) sign up for them, or worse, blog/Tweet/update for them! That’s always painfully transparent, because the real deal – Hilary, The King’s Singers, Jeremy, Nico – are out there! I update a few of my artists’ Facebook and MySpace accounts, but it’s made very clear from the tone that they are official, not personal, pages.

That said, a commitment to interacting with fans at that level is incredibly time-consuming. Thirty years ago, artists had to show up at a venue, perform, and maybe do a few newspaper and radio interviews; now they’re expect to vlog what they had for dinner and post it on YouTube. I encourage my artists to do what comes naturally to them, that is, if they like to write they should blog, if they like on-camera interviews, they should utilize YouTube. If not, they can always connect with fans the old-fashioned way: in performance, imagine that!

Sherry: Americans for the Arts estimates that the U.S. could lose up to 10,000 arts organizations this year due to the recession. Opera and classical music communities have proven to be more recession-proof than their counterparts in the past, but they cannot avoid disruption altogether. Artists will rely heavily on the resourcefulness of their managers and publicists. What can we expect to see during this economic downturn?

Amanda: While times are indeed tougher than usual, when did arts organizations and artists really have money to spare? I think we actually live in ideal times to not have marketing budgets: the best ways to market are free. Can’t afford to buy TV ad spots? Put your ad on YouTube. Don’t want to invest in buying e mail lists? Set up an interesting, unique and informative Twitter account and offer sales and special offers (that expire in five minutes) up there. I’ve done one big CD mailing since I started working on my own and the postage cost $192, not including the padded envelopes, labels, business cards, paper press release, and album itself. I will never do that again, but rather, have been e mailing critics download links and offering physical copies by request only. If Great Depression Take 1 resulted in a renaissance of artist creativity, I think our Depression is generating a similar flourish of marketing creativity.

Reflect, Rethink and Renew

Renewable resources. Reflect, rethink and renew. These three words inevitably come to mind as publicists think of their artists and directors embark on their interpretation of an operatic work from the list of standard repertory. How many Figaros have we seen grace the stage over the past two-hundred years? Reinvention achieves success, revitalization and longevity that propels a work to classical status. Lest we forget, these three words also address our ailing environment and performing arts communities. Non-profit organizations have similar philosophies and concerns, but more often than not, collaborative efforts to address shared issues are uncommon.

However, as organizations now face unprecedented burdens from the global recession, such collaborations are springing to life. In my own community, a recent weekend event was devoted to raising the profile of local artisans, musicians and visual/performing arts organizations while benefiting local eco-intiatives from concert proceeds. This progressive awareness is also reflected in the Americans for the Arts convention in Seattle this summer. Their theme is dedicated to the significant potential that could derive from this mutually beneficial relationship: Renewable Resources: Arts in Sustainable Communities.

There is much to learn and gain from each other in our quest to support these causes which are so dear to us. Encouraging citizens and constituents to support activities for both the environment and the arts will be vital. Sometimes the most significant leaps in creative thinking are achieved on depravity's doorstep. Think globally, act locally!

Sherry

Mozartians: The Final Four

Just for fun, since the NCAA's championship game is this evening and basketball is my favorite sport (athleticism precedes my musicianship!), I'm selecting my own Final Four of favorite Mozart opera scenes with stellar casts. The teams? Heavyweights. Click on the links below to view the videos and cast your vote for the winner by leaving a comment (no Blogger account needed). Viel Glück!

Sherry

Le Nozze di Figaro - Dwayne Croft, Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming

Die Zauberflöte - Diana Damrau, Dorothea Röschmann

Don Giovanni - Ruggero Raimondi, Kiri Te Kanawa, Teresa Berganza

Le Nozze di Figaro - Frederica von Stade, Kathleen Battle, Carol Vaness

Proximidade Friendliness Award

I was pleasantly surprised this afternoon to receive the Proximidade Friendliness Award from The Official Weblog of Wolfgang Amadè Mozart! Click to view this announcement and a listing of other historical bloggers who have received this award.

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. This blog is exceedingly charming. These kinds of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."

Sherry

BBC Series: The Genius of Mozart

Conductor Charles Hazlewood prioritizes avenues which allow for the pursuit of musical professionalism while satisfying his ambition to engage the broadest of audiences with compelling passion. Amongst other mediums, he has successfully harnessed television to achieve this objective and one fine example is the BBC's 2004 television series The Genius of Mozart. I was studying at the University of Westminster in London at the time of its debut and was only able to see random excerpts, so I'm now incredibly grateful for its online availability! Click to begin watching the series. Hazlewood avoids polarization with sensationalism or scholarly dialogue, instead utilizing family letters and his expertise as a musician and conductor to inform the narrative of this re-enactment. Albeit some dramatization, he strikes a good balance which satisfies our craving for knowledge and our desire to grasp tangible humanity from this history. The above image depicts a scene from Wolfgang and Nannerl's performance together at the keyboard in London.

Sherry