The great 20th century cellist, Pablo Casals, was the first in the world to record all six of Bach’s suites for unaccompanied cello.  This was in 1939.  Before this, people only considered the suites as study pieces.  Casals proved them wrong, and now the suites are among the most beloved works for the instrument of all time.

Amit Peled, an Israeli-born former basketball player (he’s 6’ 5”), now a Peabody professor who happened upon an opportunity only granted a handful of cellists:  Casals’ widow (Marta Casals Istomin) entrusted Peled with this instrument, for six years.  Peled’s recording is the first, since Casals, performing all six suites on the very instrument that brought this music to the world.

Bach Suites for Cello solo Volume 1 : Amit Peled
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Early in her career, violinist Hilary Hahn took on music that many before her wouldn’t approach until they were a little older.  She chose three of the six unaccompanied violin works of J.S. Bach, a set regarded as the pinnacle of solo violin repertoire.  Now, 21 years later, Hahn returns to complete the set.  Naturally, her interpretation may sound different, but one constant remains:  Hilary Hahn is very much at home with these 6 pieces.  She shares more about it with All Classical Portland’s program director John Pitman.

Bach: Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2; Partita No. 1 : Hilary Hahn
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Baritone Benjamin Appl, who was born in Bavaria and now performs in recitals and concerts around the world, was introduced to the music of Bach as a chorister at the age of 6. His new CD, titled simply “Bach”, does what Mr. Appl did here in Portland in January: Taking us, the audience, on a journey. His Portland “Heimat” recital was a journey of feelings for home and family; “Bach” is a journey through the Lutheran church calendar, which Bach followed through his life in his weekly cantatas. Appl describes Bach as containing “a huge ocean of emotions”, everything from pain in one’s heart during Holy Week; to light-hearted cheer in Bach’s secular cantatas written for Zimmermann’s Kaffeehaus in Leipzig! Hear more in program director John Pitman’s chat with Benjamin Appl.

Bach — Benjamin Appl
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Rachel Barton Pine long ago established herself as a violinist willing to step outside the normal realm of the classical canon to explore a broader landscape of music. Pine’s performances of metal bands such as Metallica (she actually formed a band of her own, Earthen Grave), are one example of how she embraces music that touches and challenges her. Being a native Chicagoan, Pine also feels a deep affinity for blues music, which she heard all the time growing up. Her love of blues music led to an extraordinary discovery by her in a music shop: the score for a fully-blues-infused work for violin and piano. That was the origin of “Blues Dialogues”, Rachel Barton Pine’s latest CD. Pine is shedding light on long-neglected works by black composers of the past and present. Music which she encourages others to take up and include in their programs. John Pitman’s conversation with Pine tells more!

American soprano Nadine Sierra, 2018 winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Beverly Sills Artist Award, has just signed on to Deutsche Grammophon. The daughter of parents passionate about music who sought a better life in the United States, Sierra’s debut CD reflects her own roots, as well as the experiences of composers from throughout the Americas, and a message that, to borrow Bernstein, states “There’s a place for us.” The soprano lends her warm, expressive voice to music we know well, such as the Aria by Villa-Lobos, as well as championing new songs by Ricky Ian Gordon, Osvaldo Golijov and Christopher Theofanidis. Nadine Sierra shares her story, her love of music, and her hope for the future, in the conversation with All Classical Portland’s program director, John Pitman.

There’s a Place for Us – Sierra, Spano, Royal Philharmonic
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Winner of the 2018 Grammy for Best Choral Performance, The Crossing has just recorded an oratorio with a text that resonates with our times. Conductor Donald Nally is John Pitman’s guest, discussing “Zealot Chronicles, an oratorio for tolerance” by Lansing McLoskey. The composer based the text on “Twelve Canticles for the Zealot” by Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. The work is hauntingly beautiful, at times unsettling and disturbing, and always thought-provoking. Not a little like the times in which we live.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always loved classical music.  Especially opera.  More than once, people have captured her on their camera phones at Santa Fe Opera (you can find this on Facebook and You Tube).  Now there’s a CD that sets her words, and those of friends and family to music.  Soprano Patrice Michaels records for the Cedille label (based in Chicago).  She’s married to James Ginsburg, Justice Ginsburg’s son.  James also happens to be the founder of Cedille.  So, this remarkable project is really a family affair!

The CD’s title, “Notorious RBG in Song” refers to the nickname given by Justice Ginsburg’s fans, particularly a group of law students who started a blog (and a rap) a few years back when an aspect of the Voting Rights Act was being challenged.  Ms. Michaels, also a composer, set that event to music, as well as some humorous letters, and very inspiring correspondence by men who saw great potential in the young clerk’s life back in the 1940s and 1950s.

“Notorious RBG in Song” plays like a musical photo album, as it sets to music words of encouragement, thoughtful arguments, and even dissenting opinions, from the many years of service by a woman who continues to inspire young people to express their own opinions and commit to making a difference.

In this anniversary year – the 100^th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth – many record labels are releasing new performances of his music, as well as his own discography.  Many of them are of his music:  West Side Story, Mass, and other major pieces.  Pianist Lara Downes took a more intimate approach in her disc.  Lara’s subtitle is “An intimate portrait to Leonard Bernstein and his American legacy”.  It’s not only descriptive, but appropriate, as Downes illustrates on her disc portraits written by Bernstein of his friends (Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Stephen Sondheim); and here, Downes has asked some of these very people to “respond” to Lenny with new pieces (the disc totals seven world premieres).  The result is a conversation (as I describe it to Lara in our online recorded chat) between Bernstein and the artists who were colleagues, pupils, and friends in his life.

Lara shows us a quieter side to the man who made such an impact on people throughout the world, through much of the 20^th century.  Lara sees this as a way to introduce Bernstein to a new generation, by including contemporary artists such as Kevin “K.O.” Olusola (of Pentatonics), clarinetist Javier Morales-Martinez, and blues singer, Rhiannon Giddens.  She also brought in former Bernstein mentor, Thomas Hampson, to sing “A Simple Song”.  Lara’s collection makes one feel that they have walked into a New York apartment, with Bernstein and his friends gathered around a piano, with a window view of the city, a drink nearby, laughter, and quiet conversation.

Back in 2011, American violinist Joshua Bell became the first music director of London’s Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, since its founding by Neville Marriner.  Bell and the orchestra already had a longstanding relationship:  Around the time of the violinist’s 19th birthday, he recorded Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Academy.  Now it feels that things have come full circle, as Bell is not only Music Director, has recorded concertos and symphonies with the group, but has revisited Bruch’s best-known work in this new CD, “Scottish Fantasy”.

No longer with a conductor as intermediary, Bell communicates and plays directly with his orchestra.  “Scottish Fantasy” refers to one of many Bruch compositions inspired by other cultures, and is Bell’s first recording of the 4-movement work.  Music director (of All Classical Portland) John Pitman chats with Mr. Bell about the music, the composer, and his lifelong love of the Oregon Symphony and Portland (Part of the discussion is about Bell’s visit (May, 2018) to Portland Recovery Center, to play for the residents.

Purchase Scottish Fantasy (Joshua Bell/ASMF)