In celebration of Easter, Classical Post has curated an Easter playlist of vocal music.

“It’s all one and part of the same thing - conducting and composing,” says Brad Lubman, one of the foremost conductors of modern music. This wasn’t always the case for him, whose conducting and composition trajectories unfurled at different rates, but it’s where he’s arrived.

Ricardo Muti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will be featured in the Facebook Premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 on April 12 at 3:00 p.m. CDT.

Classical Post presents the video premiere of Pauline Kim Harris’ Heroine: Deo I, just in time for Easter. In the following Q&A Pauline Kim Harris discusses her album Heroine, Bach, her studies with Jascha Heifetz, working with electronics, and her experience as a performer/composer.

On April 7, the Richmond Symphony announced the appointment of award-winning Italian conductor Valentina Peleggi as their next Music Director. Peleggi will begin her role on July 1, 2020, for an initial four-year period conducting at least ten weeks a season.

Tonight, April 7, 2020, marks the Super Pink Moon. Classical Post shares a livestream gathering of 250 singers coming together in quarantine along with a curated Super Pink Moon Playlist.

2020 marks the celebration of Beethoven’s 250th Anniversary and ensembles across the world are sharing their Beethoven interpretations. The following list demonstrates some of the many ways to perform Beethoven: streamed online, paired with new commissions, paired with standard works, and performed as stand alone compositions.

Music for piano is never out of style and there was an abundance of new releases this week. In this spirit, Classical Post shares the following Piano Release Radar, which includes new albums, video premieres, and weekly uploads!

Bearthoven is a Brooklyn-based piano trio composed of members Karl Larson (piano), Pat Swoboba (bass), and Matt Evans (percussion). The ensemble combines their individual voices and diverse musical backgrounds, coming together to create a versatile trio focused on frequent and innovative commissioning of up-and-coming composers. On April 4, Bearthoven launches TV Dinners, a weekly streaming concert series for the month of April supported by the Johnstone Fund for New Music. Tune in to their Facebook event to watch! Bearthoven joins Classical Post for a Q&A about TV Dinners.

Violinist Jennifer Koh has launched an online commissioning project and performance series. The series, Alone Together, supports freelance composers during this trying time. 21 composers with salaried positions have agreed to donate new 30-second works for solo violin. Each of these composers has recommended a freelance composer, who will receive a $500 commission fee. The new micro-commissions, developed through this initiative, will be livestreamed every Saturday at 7pm EST, beginning April 4 via Instagram TV (@jenniferkohmusic) and Facebook Live (/jenniferkohviolin).

Composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring feels incredibly relevant in this Spring of 2020. The 1913 world premiere of this work is famous for causing a riot! The Rite of Spring has captivated scholars, journalists and musicians since that fateful Parisian premiere, the following guide is intended to share the wealth of resources about this “work of a madman”!

During this moment, many artists are creating engaging online content. Here are two projects that artists’ post videos to daily! #DailyBeethoven offers a daily comfort and #DailyMultiphonics teaches us something new every day!

Brandon Lopez’s new solo bass album quoniam facta sum vilis is out, and it needs to be listened to in its entirety. The album constantly morphs from one musical idea to the next while maintaining its structural congruity as a work.

Welsh Soprano Natalya Romaniw’s debut recording Arion is set to debut on May 1 (Orchid Classics). The album is a celebration of Slavic song and takes its name from Rachmaninov’s Arion. One of Europe’s rising stars, Romaniw has been praised as ‘the outstanding soprano of her generation’ (Telegraph) and for her ‘glowing voice capable of astonishing power’ (FT). Her most recent engagement was with the English National Opera in the title role of Madama Butterfly. Joining Romaniw on the album is her teacher, friend and collaborator, pianist Lada Valesova. Romaniw and Valesova join Classical Post for a Q&A.

The NYC based New York Youth Symphony (NYYS) Orchestra has created an impressive video of Mahler's Symphony No. 1, Titan.

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter (1979)

Hofstadter’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Gödel, Escher, Bach (called GEB for short), is “A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll”. It is concerned with the nature of “maps” or links between formal systems and how they apply to the works of mathematician/logician Kurt Gödel, artist M.C. Escher, and of course Bach. This book is dense and is one to revisit throughout the years. Yes, it is complex. However, there is something in it for everyone and the following guide is a list of resources for every reader while diving into GEB. Existing GEB enthusiasts may enjoy the self-referential nature of this article as it’s a guide to guides. All GEB fans old and new have something to learn from the following resources.

Did you know that legendary pianist Glenn Gould made a Solitary Trilogy: Three Sound Documentaries in 1966-1977? We’ve created a Trilogy of Podcasts for listeners in the spirit of Gould including his Solitary Trilogy, Living Music with Nadia Sirota, and the TAK Editions Podcast. The first is about what it means to withdraw, and the following two introduce the listener to innovative composers and musicians of today.

It is an eerie and shocking moment in time to revisit Meredith Monk’s apocalyptic The Games: a science fiction opera (1983). Excerpts of the opera are included on MEMORY GAME, a new album set to release on March 27, 2020, featuring arrangements of Meredith Monk’s music performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars and Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble. However, excerpts of The Games do not stand alone; they are followed by three pieces alluding to dance, and Double Fiesta.

Lorenzo Wolff is a professional listener. After many years as a touring musician he’s settled down to lend his ears to everyone from Randy Newman to Ricky Martin at Restoration Sound, his recording studio based in Brooklyn, NY. At this moment when artists are contemplating future recording projects, Classical Post asks Wolff what to bring to your Recording Session! These tips apply to composers, performers, and recording engineers.

During this difficult moment, we are turning to live streams and recorded concerts to keep classical music in our lives. The following 5 listings provide listeners with chamber music, orchestral music, contemporary music, and a world-wide musical exchange to keep the music going.