This Week in Classical Music

May 10, 2009

Erich Kunzel

( Phoenix )
•Kunzel Cancer diagnosis
•Handel piece re-discovered
•SF Sym starts social network

This Week in Classical Music 5/10/09

It’s This Week in Classical music, an update on what’s happening in the classical music world; I’m Randy Kinkel.

74-year-old Cincinnati Pops conductor Eric Kunzel has been diagnosed with pancreatic, Liver and Colon Cancer and will be undergoing chemotherapy in Cincinnati starting this week. Kunzel’s father had colon cancer, so the maestro had frequent checkups and received a clean bill of health just 15 months ago. “It was totally unexpected, out of the deep blue sea. We got it early, but it’s still there,” he said. “The pancreas is the deadliest of all cancers.” His greatest wish right now, he said, “is that I lick this thing. I will be energetically fighting it, and I will.” He said.
A long-forgotten piece of music written by 18th century German composer George Frederick Handel was heard again after 250 years. The piece is a funeral anthem originally commissioned by King George II to be played at his wife, Caroline’s funeral in 1737. Handel had originally planned to translate the 40 minute piece into Italian but the King ordered the music to be thrown away and never heard again. Handel Expert Donald Burrows found the unfinished translation in archives; the anthem was performed yesterday at Portsmouth’s New Theater Royal.

The San Francisco Symphony has created its own online social network. The organization apparently didn’t want to waste time thinking of a clever name, calling it simply, “Social Network”. As of this writing, the site has around 250 members and is growing, including some if not all members of the orchestra. Members can post pictures and video, participate in discussions, write blogs, ask musicians questions, and find out about concerts.

For more information on these and other items and events, go to the KBAQ website at KBAQ.org.… be listening every week at this time for another update, and join me at noon every weekday for the Mozart Buffet, an hour of music by Mozart and his contemporaries, … I’m Randy Kinkel, for KBAQ’s “This week in Classical Music”… on 89-five KBAQ, K-B-A-Q Phoenix, a service of Rio Salado College and Arizona State University.