Don Anderson
Don Anderson is an internationally recognized advocate of classical music. He has more than 35 years’ experience in celebrating it through print, radio, and teaching. He is the author, publisher and distributor of the best-selling book Tuning the Forks: A Celebration of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. It has been hailed as “the best book on music-making in Canada (and for that matter, much wider afield) that I’ve ever read, and a serious work of art in itself.”
– Bramwell Tovey
Don is one of North America’s most widely published authors of program notes. Since he began writing them 30 years ago, he has written 150 seasons’ worth, for more than 20 orchestras, chamber ensembles and schools, from British Columbia and California to New York and Vermont, from Manitoba and Minnesota to Texas and Arkansas, and as far afield as the United Kingdom and Switzerland. His clients include the major symphonies of Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Rochester (New York) and Fresno (California). He has also written notes for touring performances by the orchestras of Montreal, Ottawa (National Arts Centre Orchestra) and Quebec, as well as feature articles for many of his clients. His CD liner notes appear on the CBC, Harmonia Mundi, and TSO Live labels. For the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, he has also written season brochures and concert presentations, and has given intermission chats in tandem with world-class solo artists.
Don has contributed articles to magazines in Canada and abroad, such as Opera Canada, the SwissAir Gazette, and the program books of England’s Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He wrote for the Winnipeg Free Press, the city’s major newspaper, over a 25-year period (1977-2002). His contributions included reviews of concerts, recordings, videos and movies, plus feature articles and interviews. He is also a contributor to The Encyclopedia of Manitoba. MORE >>
News
DIDO AND AENEAS OPERA PRIMER COMING UP ON FEB. 3
Maximize your enjoyment of this season’s Manitoba Opera line-up with the new Opera Primers series! These 75-minute presentations by music expert Don Anderson, complete with background information, plot analysis, recorded musical excerpts, and stimulating visual imagery, will provide you with insights to optimize your opera experience.
Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas – Thursday, February 2
Your choice of afternoon or evening sessions: 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm.
Doors open 1/2 hour before each session begins.
Location: Canadian Mennonite University, South Campus Administration Building, Conference Room, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Admission is free of charge, but registration is preferred.
To Register:
Phone: Braden Alexander, 942-7470, or email balexander@manitobaopera.mb.ca. You can also register online at www.manitobaopera.mb.ca.
GREAT CONDUCTORS II IS COMING NEXT APRIL!
GREAT CONDUCTORS II
Copresented by the Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts
Don Anderson turns the spotlight on five of the conductors he most admires in this absorbing and entertaining course. Through DVD concerts and documentaries, and CD audio recordings, you’ll experience the passionate intensity of Valery Gergiev; the Olympian integrity of Bernard Haitink; the unsurpassed versatility of Sir Charles Mackerras; the joyful adventurousness of Neeme Järvi; and the all-round brilliance of Carlos Kleiber. Featured composers include Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Handel, Mahler, and Johann Strauss, Jr. Among the orchestras to be seen and heard are the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Czech Philharmonic, and Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg).
A student comment from the previous Great Conductors course:
This course gave me a much clearer understanding of the role and importance of the conductor. I have been to many of Don’s courses and I always enjoy his witty and very knowledgeable presentations. This is the highlight of my week!
Tuesdays, Apr 3 – May 1
10:30 am – 1:00 pm (2.5 hour sessions)
Please note: An evening session will also be offered, provided that a minimum of 12 students commit to attending it by March 1.
FEE: $75 (5 weeks)
Location: Millennium Library, 251 Donald Street
Buchwald Room, second floor
Please note that course contents, dates, times, locations, and fees are subject to change.
To enrol or for more information, call the Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts at 204 943 6090 or email info@mcma.ca.
VIENNA/SALZBURG TOUR DRAWS HIGH PRAISE
I’m delighted to say that the tour I hosted to Vienna and Salzburg last May was thoroughly enjoyed by the participants. Here’s a sampling from their comments.
The trip was wonderful; it would be hard to suggest ways to improve it. Don, your knowledge of music and everything Austrian made the trip a rich experience for all of us.
Overall, seeing palaces and concert halls and visiting composers’ homes and retreats, complete with furnishings, clothing, instruments, music and contracts has made the listening of music more meaningful and enjoyable for me.
History came alive for me. I was somewhat overwhelmed with the experience, yet I cannot think of anything that might have been deleted. In fact I want to go back and spend more time visiting places of special interest.
Your morning classes, as usual were interesting, well-researched and well presented.
Tours of palaces, concert halls, cemeteries, homes of composers were informative and excellent.
Tours of small towns demonstrated the diversity of the Austrian countryside from the flat fields to the east to the mountains to the west.
Hearing a concert performed by the New York Philharmonic in the Golden Hall, and mass in St. Augustin’s Church, were magical experiences.
I consider the tour a wonderful experience and look very forward to your next one. – Brenda Snider
- Felicitas and Brigitte were wonderful, knowledgeable guides. I have taken many group tours over the years & have never, ever, encountered such truly informed guides.
- The hotel was superb, both the location and the hotel itself.
- Both Carmel and Melk Abbeys were outstanding places to visit.
- Die Fledermaus was delightful.
- The free day was wonderful to have. It was well-placed in the itinerary. Had it been sooner, I would not have had the confidence of knowing my way around Vienna and would have been less sure of what I wanted to do with the free time.
- The visit to Steinbach am Attersee and Mahler’s little house was beautiful. Little did we realize just how serene it was, until we hit the hectic atmosphere of Salzburg!
- The visit to the cemetery was very special. I didn’t think I wanted to go.. I was wrong!
- The dinner on the final night was lovely.
- Last, but certainly not least, I very much enjoyed your presentations each morning. They were so professionally done and made the day’s visits much more meaningful. – Gerri Burge
