It’s This Week in Classical Music, an update on what’s happening in the Classical Music World, I’m Randy Kinkel.

A previously unknown piece of music by Mozart has been found in a French Library. The work, a preliminary draft of a composition, missing the harmony and instrumentation, but is described by scholars as a “Significant Find”. Ulrich Leisinger from the international Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg said, “His handwriting is absolutely clearly identifiable. There’s no Doubt that this is an original piece by Mozart.” The type of paper used indicates the piece was written by Mozart sometime after 1787, four years before he died. The single sheet of music was bequeathed to the library in Nantes, France by a collector in the 19th century, but forgotten until the staff re-cataloged its archives. If sold, the sheet would probably bring over $100,000.

One Concertmaster leaves in Minnesota, anew conductor arrives in Pittsburgh; Jorja Fleezanis is leaving The Minnesota orchestra to take a teaching job at Indian University; hers is the longest tenure in the orchestra’s history—20 years! The 56-year-old Fleezanis was the orchestra’s first woman Concertmaster, a promoter of contemporary Music and musical ambassador in the community. New to the Pittsburgh Symphony orchestra is Music Director Manfred Honek, who made his debut with the orchestra Friday in a concert that featured Pianist Lang Lang; Honeck is virtually unknown in this country, yet has a great reputation in Europe; He’s music director of the Stuttgart Opera in Germany and principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. But he's not widely known here, and hasn't conducted yet in New York City. Musicians have been in love with him ever since he first conducted them in 2006, and audiences have marveled at the performances he produced. WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham sums it up thusly: He's so easygoing and down-to-earth and warm. He's just a totally natural guy who has great depth of musicality. The combination is pretty amazing."
Is the era of the Plus-size opera star over? Will the phrase “It ain’t over ‘till the Fat Lady sings” become obsolete? Maybe so. The Opera world is embracing lots of attractive, svelte young stars, in an effort to reach out to younger audiences. John Allison, editor of OPERA magazine, said, “"I have noticed the slimming down of performers," he says, "and I think this is largely driven by the Met, which feels that audiences are more likely to connect with a glamorous, thin singer." Elaine Padmore, Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House in London, agrees—to a point—she says” "We have been seeing glamorous women and handsome leading men for a time now, but this is the entertainment world, after all," she says. "It is expected these days, when people are used to seeing beautiful people in films and on the television”… people also expect the character to move around on stage more. The new crop of performers requires a higher level of fitness as they dart about the stage. Ms Padmore adds: "Audiences still expect wonderful voices and I don't think they just go to see beautiful people – but it's a bonus if the singer looks like the character."




For more on these and other items and events, go to the website kbaq.org, be listening each week at this time for another update, and join me every weekday at noon for “The Mozart Buffet”, an hour of music by Mozart and his contemporaries. I’m Randy Kinkel for This Week in Classical Music on 89.5 KBAQ Phoenix, a service of Rio Salado College and Arizona State University.

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Title: This Week in Classical Music -September 21, 2008
Author: Randy Kinkel
Publisher: KBAQ 89.5
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