“On April 25, revered mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade will host and perform in ‘Songs without Words,’ a [streamed] chamber music concert honoring five members of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra who died during the pandemic,” writes Sarah Shay in Wednesday’s (4/21) Musical America (subscription required). “The concert … sponsored by MET Orchestra alumni to raise money to benefit their colleagues … features works chosen specifically to evoke the five musicians being remembered…. Works for viola by Mozart and Purcell will honor Vincent Lionti, a MET Orchestra violist … who died from Covid-19 on April 4, 2020. Mendelssohn’s Song without Words will recall Joel Revzen, an assistant conductor and member of the Met music staff since 1999, who succumbed to Covid-19 on May 25, 2020…. The Adagio from Brahms’s Clarinet Trio will mark the passing of two veteran clarinetists, both of whom died on Aug. 11, 2020. Jim Ognibene was the principal bass clarinetist since 1986, and Joseph Rabbai was principal clarinetist for 23 years until his retirement in 2003. Dvořák’s complete Terzetto in C Major, Op. 74 will serve as a tribute to associate violinist Patmore Lewis, who was affiliated with the Met since 1977 and died of cancer on November 6, 2020.”
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