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Although M.J. Albacete has been in the museum business since 1975, his interest in Classical music goes back to high school days when an initial passion for Tchaikovsky led him to explore everything the Russian master wrote including his opera. Local productions of The Bartered Bride and The Elixir of Love presented by the Canton Civic Opera attracted his attention, and broadened his horizons. In the meantime his LP collection grew from dozens to hundreds, eventually to thousands.

As his personally amassed knowledge of music grew, he found himself called to lecture on symphonies and opera. For five years he wrote reviews of Canton Symphony concerts for the Canton Repository, he contributed record reviews to Fanfare Magazine for a similar period and for The New Records out of Philadelphia. He is a "regular" pre-concert lecturer for the Canton Symphony, but in the past has provided similar services for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Akron Symphony Orchestra. When a popular lectures series at Border's was terminated, Albacete revived it at the Canton Museum of Art, later turning it into an Opera Appreciation series. More than 120 operas on video were available through this agency, which continued for five years.

Albacete's interest in opera is quite diversified, ranging from the early works of Peri and Monteverdi to Tan Dun's The First Emperor. His lectures on opera have included many from the popular repertoire, but he has also explored farther afield with such works as Bluebeard's Castle, Jenufa, and one of his favorites Schwanda. Wagner's operas were an early challenge, but he was determined to master these monumental obstacles. After going through the whole catalogue from Rienzi to Parsifal (by way of the Ring) Albacete began to wonder if Wagner had ever attempted compositions of a different nature, and that answer is the substance of his lecture on "The Unknown Wagner."

	M.J. Albacete

M.J. Albacete will present a fascinating lecture exploring the rare and obscure music composed by Wagner throughout his lifetime. He, of course, is best known for his epic-length operas such as Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tristan and Isolde, and the monumental Ring of the Nibelung cycle, which have solidly established his reputation as one of the greatest composers of all time. But few music lovers are familiar with some of the earliest musical efforts such as his two symphonies ( one of them unfinished), two "Italian Style" operas, an assortment of piano works, and from his mature period, several overtures and choral pieces. Admittedly some of these compositions do not approach the high standards of his superb and memorable operas, but several are worthy of our attention and others give us a glimpse of the young composer evolving, and then some can best be described as "well" true curiosity pieces. To name just a few, there is an arrangement of Beethoven's "Choral" Symphony for solo piano (with all other forces in place), the impressive "Das Liebesmahl der Apostel " for male chorus and large orchestra ( which only lengthy, bombastic show-piece written on commission for the celebrations in Philadelphia in 1876. Want to hear more? And what Perfect Wagnerite would not?) Then plan on attending the September meeting of the Wagner Society of Ohio.		$100.00 patrons may bring a guest. Non members will be charged $10.00
		Although M.J. Albacete has been in the museum business since 1975, his interest in Classical music goes back to high school days when an initial passion for Tchaikovsky led him to explore everything the Russian master wrote including his opera. Local productions of The Bartered Bride and The Elixir of Love presented by the Canton Civic Opera attracted his attention, and broadened his horizons. In the meantime his LP collection grew from dozens to hundreds, eventually to thousands. As his personally amassed knowledge of music grew, he found himself called to lecture on symphonies and opera. For five years he wrote reviews of Canton Symphony concerts for the Canton Repository, he contributed record reviews to Fanfare Magazine for a similar period and for The New Records out of Philadelphia. He is a "regular" pre-concert lecturer for the Canton Symphony, but in the past has provided similar services for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Akron Symphony Orchestra. When a popular lectures series at Border's was terminated, Albacete revived it at the Canton Museum of Art, later turning it into an Opera Appreciation series. More than 120 operas on video were available through this agency, which continued for five years. Albacete's interest in opera is quite diversified, ranging from the early works of Peri and Monteverdi to Tan Dun's The First Emperor. His lectures on opera have included many from the popular repertoire, but he has also explored farther afield with such works as Bluebeard's Castle, Jenufa, and one of his favorites Schwanda. Wagner's operas were an early challenge, but he was determined to master these monumental obstacles. After going through the whole catalogue from Rienzi to Parsifal (by way of the Ring) Albacete began to wonder if Wagner had ever attempted compositions of a different nature, and that answer is the substance of his lecture on "The Unknown Wagner."


This session will take place at the Canton Museum of Art Library on Saturday,September 26 , 2009 at 2:00 P.M.