Classical Corner Confronts Coronavirus
The concerts everywhere are all canceled, at least for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, and on into the summer, but the classical music organizations are doing their level best to keep in touch and keep you entertained.
Camerata Pacifica might be leading the charge, as the chamber music ensemble is not only upgrading its online offerings of preexisting pre-recorded concerts, several dozen in total, but Adrian Spence and associates are also offering some special curated events. The artistic director is building 60- to 75-minute programs from the Camerata video library to broadcast each Sunday. The Concert at Home event takes place at 10 am Sunday, April 5, on its YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/channel/UC0oECgVms-HVED2tbLzYfkA) and will also be shown on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/cameratasb) at 11.30 am.
Likewise, CAMA is hoping to defray disappointment from having to cancel concerts in this disconcerting time by offering a snippet of what might have been in the first of the gutted shows with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra with Lahav Shani as conductor and piano soloist. Members of the orchestra have put together a charming stay-at-home video of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” they’re sharing on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eXT60rbBVk&utm, which clocks in at just under four minutes, while Shani’s introduction to Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto, which he would have played in March, offers a six-minute dive into the piece at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KGHEjRDqxM&utm.
Opera Santa Barbara is upping the ante as it continues its operations remotely, staying connected through free streaming programming, including webcasts of past OSB productions and other original recorded content. Follow OSB on Facebook (www.facebook.com/operasantabarbara) to enjoy 5 pm Tuesday streams of Daniel Catan’s Il Postino (The Postman) on April 7, Robert Ward’s The Crucible on April 14, and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on April 21, with more to come.
The Ojai Music Festival just announced cancellation of its 2020 event originally slated for June, while also launching efforts to stay connected with the festival community via such opportunities as sharing Festival concert archives released on its Facebook channel (www.facebook.com/events/1508420499322253) and website (www.ojaifestival.org/stay-connected-and-reminisce-with-us). The “Tune in Tuesday” events take place weekly at 6 pm and each broadcast features a complete concert program complemented by program notes by Christopher Hailey.
The Santa Barbara Symphony is slightly behind the curve, but also plans to share free broadcasts of favorite performances from seasons past in addition to Spotify playlists, and moments with music and artistic director Nir Kabaretti, also over its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SantaBarbaraSymphony) or online at www.thesymphony.org
