Classically Speaking

Fall is on its way, with plenty of concerts all around the state. Let me know if we've missed any concerts!


Sept. 4: Wheeling Symphony Under the Stars (Wheeling)

Sept. 4: WV Symphony Labor Day Concert at Haddad Riverfront Park

Sept. 5: Wheeling Symphony Under the Stars (Morgantown)

Sept. 9: Windy Tunes: Kingsbury Woodwind Quintet (MUsic Alive Series)

Sept. 11: Remembering through the Arts (WVU)

Sept. 11: John Weigand, clarinet; James Miltenberger, piano (WVU Faculty Recital)

Sept. 13: Tuesdays with Fran (Haydn)

Sept. 13: Jan Berry, saxophone; Stuart Gerber, percussion (WVU Guest Artist Recital)

Sept. 15: George Palton, tuba (Marshall University Faculty Recital)

Sept. 16-17: West Virginia Symphony; Domenico Codispoti, piano

Sept. 18: Christine Kefferstan, piano (WVU Faculty Recital)

Sept. 19: Andrew Kohn, double bass (WVU Faculty Recital)

Sept. 20: William Skidmore, cello; Carol Beall, piano; Dorothy Skidmore, flute (WVU Faculty Recital)

Sept. 21: Concord University Faculty Recital (Fine Arts Building)

Sept. 21: Ikarus Celtic Quartet (Kanawha Forum)

Sept. 23: Wheeling Symphony; Caitlin Tully, violin “Carnival at the Capitol”

Sept. 24: Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra

Sept. 24: Maryland Symphony “Wicked Divas”

Sept. 25: Alvaro Henrique, classical guitar (Marshall University Guest Artist Recital)

Sept. 25: Janis Rozena-Peri, soprano (WVU Community Music Faculty Recital) (interview)

Sept. 25: River Cities Symphony Orchestra; Stephen Doane, cello CANCELED

Sept. 26: Verdi's La Traviata from the Roman Quarry at St. Margarethen (Carnegie Hall Film Series)

Sept. 28: Wendell Dobbs, flute (Marshall University Faculty Recital) (interview)

Sept. 28: Lindsey Goodman, flute; Robert Turriziani, clarinet; Vicki Berneking-Cavendish, piano (Kanawha Forum)

Sept. 29: West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra

Sept. 29: Solen Dikener, cello; Henning Vauth, piano (Marshall University Faculty Recital)

Sept. 29: West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (Matewan)

Sept. 30: Freya String Quartet (MUsic Alive)

I never thought I’d get to write these words of this blog: the following is NSFW (not safe for work) -- unless you’ve got a lenient workplace and a decent set of headphones.

That’s part of why I’m a day late in posting this recording; I waited until I got home to check it out then spent the whole evening debating whether I could post it here! Titillated enough yet? Here we go.

“Leck mich im Arsch,” K. 232 was a naughty little novelty when Mozart wrote it ca. 1782.

The English translation is not a huge leap from the German title, but if you want to confirm the words, you can find the history of the text in this decently well-sourced Wikipedia article (The Grove Dictionary of Music let me down on details about this one…)

It’s an even naughtier little novelty now that the band Insane Clown Posse has added their take, in a new recording produced by Jack White. You can hear the song and read about it here: Jack White Collaborates with Insane Clown Posse to Cover Mozart. For Real.” [pitchfork.com]

That’s the part you where you needed the headphones at work.

If you’d like a recording of the Mozart sans ICP, I’d recommend Mozart Unexpurgated (it does also appear in the Complete Mozart box set issued by Brilliant Records).

My favorite album of naughty classical fun is The Art of the Bawdy Song by the Baltimore Consort (many thanks to Dr. Paul Borg, who introduced a group of  wide-eyed undergraduates at Illinois State University to this album, along with Florence Foster Jenkins, Anna Russell, the 1812 Overture at West Point, and other great classics…)

As for ICP and White, classical connections do not play out in the rest of this release. According to Pitchfork:

The B-side will be "Mountain Girl" (which concerns itself with "tall tales about a shotgun wedding, meth problems and moonshine").

Goodman commissioned Cooper to write a work for solo flute, and he responded with the work Other Voices. (listen here)

That description makes it all sound much simpler than it was. It took an involved collaborative process to take this music from the initial idea (a piece for solo flute) to a completed two-movement work that expresses the working of the human mind through musical transformations. 

This spring, Cooper and Goodman came into the studio to discuss the creation of Other Voices, and their approach to the collaboration between composers and performers. Listen to the conversation below:

You can hear Goodman’s performance of Other Voices by Grant Cooper here on Goodman’s website, in a recording from a Charleston Chamber Music Society concert that was part of FestivALL Charleston in June, 2010.