Episode 1: Allison Charney and Benjamin Loeb
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Pianist Benjamin Loeb, joins series host, soprano Allison Charney in this premiere episode of the series, discussing and performing works by Scott Joplin, Harold Arlen, Kurt Weill and Ernesto Nazareth and exploring the theme of hope - a commodity that feels hard to come by in our current world.
Episode 1: Allison Charney and Benjamin Loeb
Musical Selections:
Gladiolus Rag/Joplin - preformed by Benjamin Loeb, piano
Over the Rainbow/Arlen- preformed by Allison Charney, soprano; Benjamin Loeb, piano
My Ship/Weill - preformed\\xa0 by Allison Charney, soprano; Benjamin Loeb, piano
Vem \\u0107a, branquinha/Nazareth - preformed\\xa0 by Benjamin Loeb, piano
Zuiegnung/R. Strauss - preformed by Allison Charney, soprano; Craig Ketter, piano
In its pre-pandemic live incarnation - the innovative classical concert series PREFORMANCES with Allison Charney invited audiences to experience celebrated classical musicians in anticipation of their upcoming engagements on the world\\u2019s most prestigious stages. Now that live classical music has all but stopped, thus curtailing any upcoming engagements, acclaimed opera singer and series founder and host, Allison Charney, asks the existential question: If classical musicians are playing music but there's no one there to hear it, have they really made music?
Her answer:\\xa0 Not without an audience.
Enter PREFORMANCES: Season of Hope - the podcast!
In these half-an-hour long episodes, Charney continues the PREFORMANCES mission of blurring the traditional barriers which exist between classical musicians and their audiences by providing an intimate and personal glimpse into top-level artists' practices along with her signature "un-Google-able" insights - all with a focus on the series' theme of hope. In addition, Allison and her guests will perform multiple musical selections on each episode.
Throughout its previous eleven seasons, PREFORMANCES With Allison Charney has presented over 100 of the preeminent musicians of our time. Notable appearances include those by New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert, Metropolitan Opera stars William Burden and Maria Zifchak, \\u201cQueen of the Flute,\\u201d Carol Wincenc, violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins of Broadway\\u2019s \\u201cFiddler on the Roof\\u201d fame, and concert pianists Joel Fan and Navah Perlman, just to name a few. In addition, the series has presented new classical works by composers such as Michael Ching, Moshe Knoll, Mary Ellen Childs, Russell Platt and Kim D. Sherman. Live concerts typically run an hour and a half, with no intermission.
PREFORMANCES with Allison Charney embraces artists, audiences and music of all backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations and world-views. PREFORMANCES denounces racism and bigotry of any kind. We stand committed to equality, diversity, accessibility and combatting injustice; anything less is unacceptable.