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At CMO: Conductors Masterclass Online, our vision is to be the premier educational online platform for conductors, known for our excellence in conductor training, our innovative repertoire masterclasses, our invited guest Great Maestros, and our commitment to the orchestra and opera conductor community.
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On October 28, 2024, Maestro Gábor Takács-Nagy will present arguably one of the most important core repertoire works of the 20th Century orchestral performance and the conductor's craft: Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra.
The composer, in Boston for the premiere in 1944 with his wife, Ditta Pásztory, reported: “We went there for the rehearsals and performances—after having obtained the grudgingly granted permission of my doctor for this trip.... The performance was excellent. Koussevitzky says it is the ‘best orchestra piece of the last 25 years’ (including the works of his idol, Shostakovich!).”
As Hugh MacDonald writes: "Like Shostakovich, Bartók was an artist for whom suffering became a permanent feature of reality. Both composers had to find ways to escape—or at least to seem to escape—from the oppression of misfortune and pain. Both wrote music of noisy high spirits, and in each case we have to read the irony in the music even while we catch the infectious vitality of that brilliant orchestral display. Bartók may have lampooned Shostakovich in his fourth movement, but he probably never understood the complex disguises that Shostakovich had to assume in order to survive under a regime that was as intolerant of high artistry as the Hungary from which Bartók was himself forced to flee. No music has so many layers of meaning as this, which is why we can return to it again and again with pleasure and satisfaction."
Bartók provided the following brief program note for the occasion.
“The general mood of the work represents, apart from the jesting second movement, a gradual transition from the sternness of the first movement and the lugubrious death-song of the third, to the life-assertion of the last one... The title of this symphony-like orchestral work is explained by its tendency to treat the single orchestral instruments in a concertant or soloistic manner. The ‘virtuoso’ treatment appears, for instance, in the fugato sections of the development of the first movement (brass instruments), or in the perpetuum mobile-like passage of the principal theme in the last movement (strings), and especially in the second movement, in which pairs of instruments consecutively appear with brilliant passages.”
Born in Budapest, Gábor Takács-Nagy is considered one of today’s most authentic exponents of Hungarian music and was awarded the Liszt Prize in 1982 and in 2017 the prestigious Béla Bartók-Ditta Pásztory Prize. In March 2021 he received the Érdemes Művész award for Artist of Merit, presented by the Hungarian government to artists of long service in Hungarian national culture, and in December 2021, the Prima Primissima Prize, reserved for artists, athletes, and representatives of scientific life, culture, and education for their performances and exemplary human qualities and values.
From 1975 to 1992 he was founding member and leader of the acclaimed Takács Quartet. In 1996 he founded the Takács Piano Trio and in 1998 established the Mikrokosmos Quartet, receiving the Excellentia Award of the magazine Pizzicato for its 2008 recording of Bartók’s quartets.
In 2002 Gábor Takács-Nagy turned to conducting and in 2007 became Music Director of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra. Since September 2011, he is Music Director of the Manchester Camerata, one of the UK’s leading chamber orchestras, and is Principal Guest Conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra since September 2012. He was Professor of String Quartet at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva until August 2021 and was awarded honorary membership of the Royal Academy of Music in London in June 2012.
On the 26th May 2023, Deutsche Gramophon will release all nine Beethoven Symphonies (live recordings from 2009-2022 ) with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra conducted by Gábor Takács-Nagy.
OCTOBER 28 AT 12 EST / 18 CET
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On September 16, 2024, Maestro Gabriel Feltz gave a thorough analysis of this extraordinary masterpiece, Mahler's Symphony #6 "Tragic." In 3 chapters, with his understanding of the historical context, his shared screen excerpts of the primary cell as it appears throughout the work , his arguments for the scherzo/andante inner movements and timings, his conviction about the famous hammer blows and a comprehensive score interpretation of this work as recorded and performed by this true "Mahlerian," this CMO online repertoire masterclass captivated the many participating conductors who were online from around the world. Bravo to Maestro Feltz for a truly enlightening masterclass revealing so much more about the score than any of us thought we knew. Find out more viewing the full video.
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On June 18, 2024, Maestro Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, Music Director of Bergen National Opera and Chief Conductor of the Noords Nederlands Orkest, and former Chief Conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover gave a fascinating in-depth analysis conducting this beloved Symphony. The main message of his masterclass: Rachmaninov deserves your attention to detail. Find out more viewing the full video.
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This July 10-19, I once again serve as conducting professor of the Bucharest Academy Conductors Masterclass and President of the Jury of the International Competition with the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, of which I am Principal Conductor. This year we dare you to take the Tchaikovsky Challenge and Perfect Your Podium Performance. If you are attending the Bucharest Academy, prepare in advance on June 14 with this free Tchaikovsky Symphony 6 "Pathétique" repertoire masterclass online. If you cannot participate in the live masterclass, sign up for this free online presentation as this symphony is core repertoire for all conductors.
Tchaikovsky said of this final symphonic work: “I am already thinking of a new large composition, that is, of a symphony with a secret program.” He entitled the work "The Passionate Symphony", employing a Russian word, Патетическая (Pateticheskaya), meaning "passionate" or "emotional", which was then translated into French as pathétique, meaning "solemn" or "emotive".
After a failed start with an E flat Symphony which later became his 3rd Piano Concerto, in 1893, Tchaikovsky finally was inspired to make another attempt at his "Grand Symphony.". He wrote to his nephew Davydov: "I had the idea for another symphony, this time with a programme, but such a programme that will remain an enigma to everyone—let them guess; the symphony shall be entitled: A Programme Symphony (No. 6); Symphonie à Programme (No. 6); Programm-Symphonie (No. 6). "
What is that secret program? That enigma? Is it a Requiem?
Pushkin was not the only influence on Tchaikovsky's imagination. Shakespeare had an indelible impact on his compositional output. There is a famous line that rings loudly when considering this work: At a time when he suffered immensely from moral indignation, poor health and societal pressure, these words from Hamlet take on a deeper meaning:
“Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause, there's the respect, That makes calamity of so long life”
We explore this and more.
As a student of Ilya Musin and Leonard Bernstein, I learned from the best. I have conducted this work over 20 times with orchestras around the world. Let me share what wisdom I have gained.
On May 1, 2024, Maestro Carlo Rizzi, Conductor Laureate of the Welsh National Opera, frequent guest of Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Music Director of Opera Rare, gave a fascinating in depth understanding of Verdi's style in various passages, his dramatic approach to both melody and harmony and how Verdi understood human nature and composed such psychology in the music as set to the libretto. The main message of his masterclass: Verdi always has a reason for what he writes. It is the job of the conductor to show that reason.
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On April 25, 2024, Maestro Jean-Luc Tingaud shared his secrets to two of the most important French masterworks in the core repertoire: Sain-Saëns Symphony 3 "Organ" and Franck's Symphony in D minor. His Naxos recording of the Franck is considered by many to be the modern reference disc. Remy Franck ( no relation to the composer) writes in Pizzicato: "César Franck’s symphony has not been heard so magnificently, so brilliantly, so full of power and tonal opulence for a long time. Jean-Luc Tingaud – a conductor who has never really disappointed us – succeeds in creating an ideally cohesive interpretation which, without exaggerating in any respect, also conveys the more emotional parts of the work with tension and perfect aesthetics." The many conductors who participated in this free CMO Great Maestros Repertoire Masterclass rediscovered these masterpieces thanks to Tingaud's detailed and passionate presentation à la Français.
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On March 8, 2024, the Music Director of the Korean National Opera, Sebastian Lang-Lessing gave an inspirational and informative and free CMO Great Maestros masterclass online on Beethoven's only opera Fidelio and its Overtures. Conductors learned what make Beethoven's Fidelio such an important core repertoire work for all conductors , and why Beethoven's "Musik Teater" is a revolutionary, innovative work affirming the power of women and humanity prevailing over evil. This was a rediscovery and revelation for all who attended.
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On February 1, 2024, 128 years to the day La Bohème was premiered, Maestro Frédéric Chaslin, one of the most experienced and active opera and orchestra conductors today, shared his immense knowledge and advice to the CMO Community of Conductors. Everything from conducting gesture, to understanding why traditions started, to rehearsal technique, to the use of fermatas and rubato, the importance of memorising the language, to stylistic understanding and more was all presented. Lucky for us all, we had the pleasure to hear his operatic voice when sharing examples. Anyone interested to learn and conduct Puccini was given an unforgettable lesson, preparing us all for the 2024 Puccini Centenary.
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On January 31, 2024, the award winning Maestra JoAnn Falletta gave a fascinating and free CMO Great Maestros masterclass on the Fountains and Pines of Rome, by Respighi, from the Roman Trilogy. These orchestral masterpieces are necessary core repertoire for all conductors. This is an indispensable resource for conductors to discover and rediscover these works by an indisputable master of 20th Century composition and orchestration, Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936).
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JAMIE BERNSTEIN, AUTHOR, PRESENTER, PERFORMER AND DAUGHTER OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN, MADE A SPECIAL APPEARANCE DURING THE BERNSTEIN SYMPHONIES MASTERCLASS BY MAESTRO JOHN AXELROD-. THE PARTICIPATING CONDUCTORS LEARNED A LOT ABOUT LENNY, DISCOVERED HER OWN TEXT TO THE SYMPHONY 3 "KADDISH," FOUND OUT ABOUT HER UPCOMING KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE 2024 INTERNATIONAL CONDUCTORS GUILD CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK, AND, OF COURSE; HEARD ABOUT THE NEW FILM ABOUT HER FATHER: MAESTRO!
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Who better than the Maestro called "America's Music Director" for your online masterclass?
Internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin is Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), Directeur Musical Honoraire of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL), Conductor Laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria (OFGC). He maintains a rigorous schedule of guest conducting throughout the world and is active as a composer, author, and educator.
In his own words: "Aside from Gershwin’s American in Paris, Copland's Appalachian Spring is probably the most substantial piece of music from the United States that I have conducted the most frequently.
It transcends international boundaries and is always appreciated by musicians and
public, no matter where it is performed.
The work should be in the repertoire of every conductor."
Both works should also be in yours. Whether you have conducted it or not, every chance to have direct access for demonstrations, discussions and insights into these masterpieces from this world class Maestro is a conductor's dream come true.
Copland's Appalachian Spring, September 16, 2023
Gershwin's An American in Paris, September 23, 2023
In my book Lenny & Me: On Conducting Bernstein’s Symphonies, I follow the musicologist Norman Del Mar's dictum that interpretation varies from conductor to conductor, but that writing down a roadmap might "provide a starting point for some budding conductor approaching one of these works for the first time."
One caveat, and perhaps similar to others who were lucky to also study with Bernstein, is that I have conducted all his orchestral works. This masterclass experience offers a unique perspective. Being considered a “Bernsteinian" is, for me, as great a compliment as when having also been called a “Mahlerian.” Let us not forget that it was Bernstein's own Mahler cycle that now gives credibility to the term Mahlerian. Before that, Mahler's was a name recognized only to the privileged few. And like Mahler, Bernstein gives many indications to conductors in his works, while allowing the freedom to interpret, or "recompose," as Lenny would himself say.
Del Mar's seminal book, Conducting Beethoven, and the others that followed on Brahms, Berlioz and other concert works, differentiate between the good and the great, between the core repertoire and the secondary. With my book and this masterclass on Bernstein's Symphonies, I hopeto put Bernstein in that same league of greatness where I believe he belongs.
Why? Because Lenny's music is unique, as was the man. While there are many examples of composer's lives being as splendiferous as his (or her) music, few have lived the life of Bernstein, in performance, composition, influence or education. Nor composed in such a variety of musical forms. Nor developed a voice that was absolutely American, nostalgic of New York, permeating with personality and fabulously flamboyant in opera, musical theater, concerti, vocal works, choral works, symphonies, overtures, film scores, and so on. Bernstein may have been good at everything, but he would have said he was best at writing for the theater, and all his works are, in some way, theatrical. Bernstein was the polyglot who absorbed notes, themes, ideas, languages, sounds, styles, philosophies, palindromes, images and words and combined them all together into a sonic soundscape of thick harmonies, light pastiche and soaring melodies that can be considered imitative at times and innovative at most others.
Bernstein might have done more with words for audience development than any other conductor because he was the first who spoke directly to his public, both in the concert hall and on television. Perhaps that is the best way to describe his music as well. It speaks directly to the listener. It is impossible not to move your head in rhythm when listening to the Mambo from West Side Story. It is impossible to not consider one's own love story when listening to the Serenade. It is impossible not to laugh during the Turkey Trot in the Divertimento. It is impossible to not reflect on humanity when listening to his Kaddish.
Lenny may not have believed he would be the subject of such a masterclass. He believed he was a more famous conductor than composer, and feared only being remembered for West Side Story. His identification with Mahler, as a misunderstood composer, and also a Jewish conductor, was logical. And yet, despite the hundreds of books about Bernstein, according to the Bernstein family, there has never been a book about conducting his music. It was the conductor, Lenny, from whom I learned. And so it is conducting Lenny that inspires me to share. But what also encouraged me to write this book is not only the quality and integrity of his great music, and the indelible
imprint of his personality, but also to remind the reader and the conductor of what we lost when Bernstein died: The permission to be good at everything. So he was. And so too can we be.
Thus, Lenny and Me: On Conducting Bernstein, is a detailed description of
conducting (and hearing) the varied orchestral compositions which are, I believe, good. To not give Bernstein my invested, authorial time would be to deny the teacher who gave so much of his to me. What I suggest from a conductor's perspective is always with Lenny the conductor/composer in mind. And to not make the effort to give Lenny his rightful place in the pantheon of great composers is to forget that he was a mirror to our own desperate efforts to be good. To be just. To be loved. The 20th century was all things to all people. Anxious yet enthusiastic. Traditional but innovative. Destructive yet fertile. Lenny found these themes in his music. He proudly put them on display on TV, on tours, in opera, in concerts. in books and in lectures. Lenny was a man of his time and for all time. As is his music.
TO PURCHASE THE BOOK LENNY & ME:
CMO CONSORTIUM LAUNCHES MASTERCLASS SERIES
Download PDFCMO is a global online and offline network providing education, access and opportunity to all conductors. As a consortium it is a group of likeminded individuals who cooperate and collaborate to help achieve a common purpose. What makes CMO different? It is a Conductors Cooperative. A Collective of Colleagues.
This once in a lifetime opportunity to hear and engage with the top active, experienced conductors of our time, known for both international careers and teaching and who understand best the needs of other conductors. Online masterclasses for conductors by conductors, as it should be.
JOANN FALLETTA- RESPIGHI MASTERCLASS
January 31, 2024- RESCEHDEULD FROM JANUAR
FREE
FRÈDÈRIC CHASLIN- PUCCINI LA BOHÉME AND TOSCA
February 1, 2024 (Rescheduled from November 24, 2023)
FREE
SEBASTIAN LAING-LESSING: FIDELIO AND OVERTURES
March 8, 2024
FREE
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30 minutes of authentic wisdom from a great maestro about great repertoire. 30 minutes of demonstrations and discussion. A lifetime of lessons learned.
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