Conductor and longtime Music Director of the Oakland Symphony, Michael Morgan, died on August 20 at the age of 63.
“This is a terribly sad moment for everyone in the Oakland Symphony family. We have lost our guiding father,” said the Oakland Symphony's Executive Director Mieko Hatano. “Michael’s plans and ambitions were set for several seasons to come. He made his Orchestra socially authentic, demanded equality, and he made his Orchestra our orchestra. He fashioned a unique, informed artistic profile that attracted one of the most diverse audiences in the nation. His music reflected his beliefs: reverence for the past, attuned to the future, rooted in his adopted home of Oakland. His spirit will always guide the enduring future of the Oakland Symphony.”
Pianist and broadcaster Lara Downes has compiled a musical memorial to Morgan. Hear it Friday at 5 p.m. on Classical IPR.
The program's playlist includes:
Barber Adagio for Strings (Slatkin/St Louis)
Florence Price: Adoration (Goosby)
Mozart Requiem - Lux Aeterna (Bernstein/Bavarian Radio Phil)
Carlos Simon: Elegy
Dvorak 9 - Goin' Home (Bernstein/NY Phil)
Beethoven Ode to Joy (Solti/LSO)