MUSIClassical ALLEGRO
Topic: MILESTONESJun-Dec07
American opera singer Teresa Stich-Randall, a soprano praised by Arturo Toscanini as "the find of the century," has died 17 JUL 2007 in Vienna, Austria's Bundestheater said Tuesday without specifying the cause of death. Acclaimed for her interpretations of Mozart's greatest works, Stich-Randall shuttled between the United States and Europe, where she spent most of her professional career singing in the world's great opera houses. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1961 in Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" and was a regular at the Salzburg Festival and the Vienna State Opera, where she performed on 355 separate occasions before retiring in 1972. See all stories on this topic | ...more | BIOGRAPHY
Dutch maestro Edo de Waart, who made his US debut at the Santa Fe Opera back in 1971, has been appointed the company's chief conductor...
Another premiere recording, of Henryk Górecki's String Quartet No. 3, subtitled ... songs are sung and played by the Kronos Quartet, has been on and off the classical chart every couple of weeks since its debut in late March. It is now back on the chart at no. 17. 
The new Strauss recording, entering the chart at no. 20, is of the world premiere performance of the Four Last Songs, recorded live in concert at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1950. Kirsten Flagstad is the soprano soloist, with Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. The disc also includes orchestral excerpts from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Götterdämmerung, along with Brünnhilde's Immolation from the latter opera. 
The Boston Globe..."Osvaldo Golijov has made his name by shaking up the classical-music landscape and disturbing its boundaries... He has become the composer of the moment." Oceana, arriving on the chart at no. 4, is the third disc of Golijov's music to be recorded by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and conductor Robert Spano for the Deutsche Grammophon label. In addition to the title work, which features Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and the ASO Chamber Chorus, the disc includes the string quartet Tenebrae (performed by the Kronos Quartet) and three songs for soprano and orchestra (sung by Dawn Upshaw). 
What's the most popular classical work for the cartoon crowd? Is it one by Bach? Beethoven? Mozart? Try Bedrich Smetana's ''The Moldau.'' To J.S. Bach's consolation, his Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor came in a close second. The Czech-born Smetana was the No. 1 pick of preschoolers in research by the television show ''Little Einsteins,'' which airs weekdays on the Disney Channel. The half-hour animated show follows the adventures of four young characters who complete important missions while learning about music and art. 