NEWS
Audio: Brett Mitchell hosts ‘Classical Californians’
Brett Mitchell hosts this week’s episode of Classical Californians on KUSC in Los Angeles and KDFC in San Francisco.
LOS ANGELES — Brett Mitchell is the host of this week’s episode of Classical Californians, a co-production of KUSC in Los Angeles and KDFC in San Francisco. From the official show notes:
This week’s Classical Californian is Brett Mitchell, the new Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony. In an episode recorded before the recent fires, he shares some of the pieces that inspired his love for music as he was growing up. He’s chosen music by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and John Williams. (Note that for their January 25th concerts at the Ambassador Auditorium, the Pasadena Symphony will be offering free tickets to first responders, and those who have been displaced, evacuated or experienced loss during the fires. There’s more information here.)
Listen the complete episode on KUSC or KDFC, or stream it below.
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses John Williams's score for 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'
HOUSTON — As he prepares to lead the Houston Symphony in four performances of John Williams’s Oscar-nominated score for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Brett Mitchell has appeared as a guest on the most recent episode of Houston Matters from Houston Public Media.
In this appearance, Mr. Mitchell speaks with producer Joshua Zinn about Mr. Williams’s work for both the Harry Potter and Star Wars franchises.
To listen to the complete story, please click here; the interview with Mr. Mitchell begins at 6:20.
Brett Mitchell celebrates 'John Williams at 90' with Colorado Public Radio
John Williams poses on the red carpet at the 2016 AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to John Williams at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
DENVER — Brett Mitchell is the featured guest on Colorado Public Radio Classical’s new special, John Williams at 90, a celebration of the legendary composer and conductor’s 90th birthday on February 8, 2022.
It’s virtually impossible to have lived a life without hearing John Williams’ music. From some of the best loved films of the last century to the opening of the Olympics, his music is firmly part of our experience. He’s seen six decades in Hollywood, composed three trilogies of “Star Wars” films over the span of 40 years, and he’s the most Oscar-nominated living human. And at 90, he’s still at it.
Former music director of the Colorado Symphony and John Williams buff Brett Mitchell talked with CPR’s Karla Walker, and explained why Williams’ music sticks with us. “He really understands how to create themes — very memorable, very singable themes. And as John will be the first to tell you, it’s the hardest part of what he does. To come up with these short little ideas” — here, Mitchell hums “Indiana Jones” — “takes 90 percent of the time that he spends on a project.”
Williams has been nominated for 52 Academy Awards, but even being the most nominated living person doesn’t guarantee a win; he’s only brought home five Oscars, four of which were for best original score.
“I find it remarkable, some of the scores he wrote that weren't even nominated for best score, like the entire ‘Star Wars’ prequel trilogy,” Mitchell says. “‘Jurassic Park’ was not even nominated for best score… you can ask yourself ‘my gosh, I mean, how is it possible that this man who has inspired and influenced millions if not billions of people across the planet, that he's only won four Oscars for best original score?’”
In fact, the last time Williams won an Oscar was in 1994. That win came for his deeply felt music to long-time collaborator Steven Spielberg's film, “Schindler's List.” “When they did the spotting session…, Spielberg sits down and shows John the film for the first time,” Mitchell says. “John was understandably very moved and said, ‘I just need five minutes.’ He took a walk around the studio, and he came back in and said to Steven, ‘It’s such a beautiful film, but I think you need a better composer than me.’ And Steven’s response was, ‘I know, but they are all dead.’” Mitchell points to this as an example of the kind of collaboration and deeply felt emotions Williams used to create the Oscar-winning score….
As for how Williams has created legendary film scores for over 60 years? “I think that what John would tell you is that it is a six-day-a-week job,” says Mitchell. “Whether he's working on a specific project or not, he writes music every day. It's a muscle like anything else, and if you don't flex it, if you don't work it everyday, it will go away. And if you sit there waiting for the muse to strike, you may be sitting there for an awfully long time.”
This special will air 13 times between Friday, February 4 and Monday, February 14, all of which may be streamed live at cpr.org (all times Mountain):
Friday, February 4 - 3 p.m.
Saturday, February 5 - 10 a.m. & 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 6 - 12 p.m. & 6 p.m.
Monday, February 7 - 8 a.m. & 5 p.m.
Tuesday, February 8 - 1 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Wednesday, February 9 - 6 p.m.
Friday, February 11 - 11 a.m.
Sunday, February 13 - 1 p.m.
Monday, February 14 - 8 p.m.
Audio: 'Sounds and Reflections from The Cleveland Orchestra's First Rehearsal in 16 Months'
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center on July 3, 2021, marking the orchestra’s first public performance since March 2020. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — WKSU 89.7 has published an audio story about The Cleveland Orchestra’s return to live performances, featuring an interview with Brett Mitchell, who led the orchestra’s first live concerts since March 2020 earlier this month.
Classical music has returned to Northeast Ohio after more than a year of silence.
The first time the world-renowned orchestra was back together to rehearse for its July 4 weekend concerts.
Former Cleveland Orchestra associate conductor Brett Mitchell led the program, serving as guest conductor.
At the opening of its first rehearsal, Mitchell addressed the orchestra as it prepared to play “Soul of Remembrance” by Mary D. Watkins.
“Do we want to do nothing but ‘sis boom bah’ right now, or do we want to acknowledge why we have not been together for the last 16 months? So, that’s why we’re going to do this piece,” Mitchell said.
He addressed the orchestra, stating that it would play in commemoration of the 600,000 Americans who died from the coronavirus and the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in 2020.
“The whole piece is called ‘Five Movements in Color,’” he said. “It’s supposed to be a statement about the African-American experience. And this is the second movement.”
He said the piece is bittersweet is and nostalgic. It’s a song of sorrow and hope.
Mitchell said although so much has happened in the last year and the orchestra had not joined together to play music in some time, it was able to pick back up right where it left off for the rehearsal.
“Have they not played together, all of them, for 16 months? Yes, that’s true. And how long did it take before everything locked back in? I don’t know, 90 seconds or something like that,” he said.
Mitchell said seeing the clarinet players sitting together in a row, without social distancing, was a big change.
During the pandemic, he recorded videos of himself playing piano at home and uploaded them to YouTube.
“But that’s not what I wanted to spend my career doing,” Mitchell said. “I want to be with people. I want to make music with people. As a conductor, I really can’t do what I do without other people.”
Mitchell was on the conducting staff of the Cleveland Orchestra from 2013 to 2017, serving as assistant conductor and then associate conductor. In 2017, he became the music director of the Colorado Symphony.
When he was asked to guest conduct the Cleveland Orchestra for the July 4 concerts, he led the group in performing works by American composers, including Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa.
“What I’ve really thought about is not primarily making music. It’s primarily everybody being together again and what that feels like,” he said.
To read the complete story and hear audio from The Cleveland Orchestra’s first rehearsal after the Coronavirus pandemic, please click here.
Audio: Brett Mitchell on Billy Joel and Beethoven
Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata forms the chorus of Billy Joel’s “This Night”. (Graphic: Classic FM)
DENVER — Brett Mitchell has shared a reminiscence about Billy Joel and Beethoven with Colorado Public Radio as part of CPR Classical’s Beethoven 250 series:
When Brett Mitchell, Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, was a teenager, he watched the 1990s Beethoven biopic “Immortal Beloved” in the living room of his home in Seattle.
“And I asked my mother, ‘Why are they playing a Billy Joel song in the middle of a Beethoven movie?’” Mitchell recalls.
He was a Billy Joel fan as a teenager. He still is, he says.
That Beethoven “tune” in the movie was the Pathétique Sonata. To Mitchell, it sounded just like Joel’s song “This Night”. In fact, Joel credits “L.v. Beethoven” as co-writer of the song on his 1983 album An Innocent Man.
Read Why Beethoven Is Credited In This Billy Joel Song From ‘An Innocent Man’ at CPR Classical, and hear Mr. Mitchell’s full reminiscence below:
Audio: Brett Mitchell on Kurt Masur and the power of Beethoven
Kurt Masur and Brett Mitchell after performing together at the Manhattan School of Music on March 12, 2004.
DENVER — Brett Mitchell has shared a reminiscence about his mentor Kurt Masur with Colorado Public Radio as part of CPR Classical’s Beethoven At 250 series:
Brett Mitchell, Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, worked and studied with the late, great German conductor Kurt Masur from 2004 to 2009.
Mitchell remembers a story Masur told him about the power of Beethoven’s music.
“He was driving through New York City, when he was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic (1991-2002),” Mitchell said.
Masur was stopped at a red light and a man, who appeared to be homeless, knocked on his window.
“Masur rolled down the window and told the gentleman that he didn’t have any money,” Mitchell recounted from Masur. "'No, no no,'" the man said. 'Aren’t you the maestro?' Masur said that he was ... The gentleman said to Masur, 'I was in Central Park last summer for your performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and I just wanted you to know that it changed my life and I have never been the same.'"
Mitchell said he has always remembered that story because it had a profound effect on him.
“I remember really feeling, maybe for the first time, how powerful music can truly be,” Mitchell said. “How broad a section of humanity that his music could really reach.”
Read Beethoven At 250: What’s Your Beethoven Story? at CPR Classical, and hear Mr. Mitchell’s full reminiscence below:
Audio: A Little Help From My Friends: The Colorado Symphony Can Thank The Beatles For Its Conductor
Brett Mitchell at the piano in the CPR Classical Performance Studio.
DENVER — Colorado Public Radio Classical has produced an audio story featuring Brett Mitchell discussing some of his earliest experiences with classical music, exploring works by the Beatles, Antonio Vivaldi, Bernard Herrmann, Samuel Barber, and Felix Mendelssohn:
Do you remember the first time you heard classical music? Brett Mitchell, Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, thinks for him, it may have been the Beatles! Yes, the Beatles.
Classical music is an important part of movies, television, and concealed in the DNA of some of the modern popular music we know and love.
“There are all sorts of ways to get yourself into the world of classical music and it doesn’t necessarily have to be that you’re listening to Mozart from the time you’re in the womb,” said Mitchell. “I came to classical music quite late but what I didn’t know was that even in listening to this great pop music from the 60’s, I was getting a great dose of classical music.”
Listen as Brett Mitchell explains why the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” has hints of Vivaldi. Paul McCartney’s then girlfriend can take some credit for that. Mitchell also teases out the classical influence on Bernard Herrmann’s score to Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and more.
To listen to the complete story, please click here.
Audio: 'From Björk to Black Holes: Kevin Puts and Brett Mitchell on Classical Composition in the 21st Century'
Composer Kevin Puts and conductor Brett Mitchell in the Colorado Public Radio Performance Studio (Photo by Nick Dobreff)
DENVER — From Colorado Public Radio:
CPR’s Monika Vischer welcomed two old friends to the CPR Performance Studio: Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts and Colorado Symphony Music Director Brett Mitchell. Taking turns at the piano, they investigated the mystical process of composing: turning inspiration into music.
Puts won the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his 2011 opera, Silent Night, about the famous "Christmas Truce" of 1914. He talked about his influences, from Beethoven to Björk. He then demonstrated on the spot on our 9-foot Steinway how he’d go about writing a brand new work.
Mitchell and the Colorado Symphony present the Colorado premiere of Puts' piece, The Brightness of Light, with soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry on November 15th and 17th. The inspiration behind this piece: intimate letters between artist Georgia O’Keeffe and her husband Alfred Stieglitz.
To hear this story, please click here.
Conductor Brett Mitchell and composer Kevin Puts (Photo by Monika Vischer)
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses 'The Legacy of John Williams'
Brett Mitchell is the featured guest on the most recent episode of The Legacy of John Williams, a podcast that “celebrates and promotes the cultural and aesthetic importance” of the music of the great American composer:
One of the missions of The Legacy of John Williams is to spotlight how much the music of the Maestro inspired legions of people to become talented musicians. As it’s often already told, a lot of youngsters fell in love with John Williams’ music after hearing it in films like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, Jurassic Park and, more recently, the Harry Potter series. But, after being captivated by the incredible sound of the symphony orchestra accompanying those magical movies, many of those youngsters decided also to learn to play an instrument and begin serious study to become professional musicians.
Talented American conductor Brett Mitchell is certainly one of them, and his successful career is proof of how much influential John Williams has been (and continues to be) in building a new generation of classical musicians, conductors and composers….
Brett Mitchell leads the Colorado Symphony in a performance of ‘Star Wars: A New Hope – In Concert’ in March 2018. (Photo by Brandon Marshall)
Born in 1979 in Seattle…he fell in love with the music of John Williams already as a kid, while watching films such as Star Wars, E.T. and Superman. He pertains to that generation of people who were very young when the popularity of the composer exploded world-wide, influencing young minds: “It’s really impossible to overestimate how influential John Williams is on my career”, says Brett at the beginning of our conversation. This genuine love led him to become not only a successful conductor, but also an enthusiastic ambassador of a wide-eyed attitude toward Williams’ music, and film music repertoire in general. Over the course of his career, he conducted a lot of John Williams’ music (both film and concert works, including rare pieces like Celebrate Discovery, Soundings!, and Air and Simple Gifts), and also live-to-picture concerts of John Williams’ classics like Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jaws, and Jurassic Park.
Brett Mitchell addresses the audience before a performance of ‘Jurassic Park – In Concert’ with the Colorado Symphony in May 2018. (Photo by Brandon Marshall)
In this wide-ranging conversation, Brett talks about how much the music of John Williams played a crucial role in his artistic and personal life. We also talk about the challenges of conducting live-to-picture concerts, the differences between film and concert works, the importance of John Williams in the history of American music, and Brett’s attitude when preparing and programming a concert program.
Listen via the audio player above, or hear the episode on The Legacy of John Williams’s website.
Audio: Brett Mitchell leads the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra on 'Performance Today'
Brett Mitchell leads the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (Houston) in the world premiere of Jim Stephenson’s ROCOmotive.
Today’s episode of Performance Today (American Public Media) features the world premiere recording of Jim Stephenson’s ROCOmotive, performed by the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (Houston) with guest conductor Brett Mitchell in February 2019. To listen to this performance, please click here.
Audio: 'Please Don't Call Me Maestro'
Photo by Jeff Nelson
DENVER — Brett Mitchell is the featured guest on the most recent episode of Podium Time: The Podcast for Conductors and Students:
Today we get into the weeds on assistant conductor auditions and more. Brett Mitchell is starting his second season as the Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, and he has had a whirlwind of activity since conducting CSO for the first time less than two years ago. We get into how he accidentally auditioned, the details of their recent assistant search, and the organic changes that come with a new leader.
This week we discuss:
First encounters conducting the Colorado Symphony
Details of the assistant conductor search
The biggest mistake you can make when applying for anything
Changes with a new Music Director
Listen via the audio player above, or hear the episode on Podium Time's website.
Audio: Brett Mitchell previews the Colorado Symphony's 2018-19 season on KOA NewsRadio
Music Director Brett Mitchell spoke with KOA NewsRadio about the Colorado Symphony's 2018-19 season. (Photo by Peter Lockley)
DENVER — Brett Mitchell spoke with Ed Greene, host of "KOA Q&A" on KOA NewsRadio, about the Colorado Symphony's newly announced 2018-19 season, Mitchell's second as Music Director. To hear this interview, please click here.
Audio: "A Maestro’s Secret for a High-Performing Team"
DENVER — Brett Mitchell is the featured guest on the current episode of The Leadership Podcast, a weekly program featuring in-depth interviews with leaders from around the world. Listen here:
More from the podcast's official website:
Brett Mitchell is the Music Director of the Colorado Symphony. He discusses leadership and teamwork, and how the best orchestras don’t just play with each other… they play for each other. He considers trust to be the first step to leadership and shares his philosophy and methods. He talks about the discipline of music, and how music theory can inform innovation, leadership and teamwork.
Key Takeaways
[2:51] As a young music director, Brett works consciously at leadership.
[4:29] Brett’s last position was with the Cleveland Orchestra, one of America’s Big Five orchestras. He started there in awe of the training and skill of the elite musicians. Brett learned that the better the orchestra, the more they want to be led. The musicians make music with each other and the conductor helps guide them, but does not dictate to them. The conductor is the arbiter of taste.
[10:06] Leonard Bernstein did a video with the Vienna Philharmonic, conducting them with his facial expressions alone in supreme trust and joy. Brett attributes his own career to the path Leonard Bernstein blazed for American orchestral conductors.
[16:20] A Conductor leads an orchestra; the Music Director is responsible for the artistic side; the Executive Director is responsible for the business side; the Maestro is a teacher. Brett studies the score, learns everybody’s part, listens to the orchestra, teaches the orchestra what the composer is saying through the score, and guides them through the execution of the score.
[26:38] John Williams’ film scores gave Brett the inspiration to study composition. Brett discusses how he and the staff at Public Radio Station WCLV happened to create the award-winning documentary on John Williams’ Star Wars movie scores, The Score Awakens.
[34:33] Brett is also an active guest conductor. Trust comes from being reliable, getting right to work, showing you are prepared, and being authentic. The goal is not a flawless performance, but a performance as close as humanly possible to being flawless with passion. Beethoven said a wrong note is nothing, but to play without passion is inexcusable.
[43:00] Brett talks about dealing with mistakes during a performance. The conductor needs to find the mistakes that will not fix themselves, and correct and direct for them.
Audio: Brett Mitchell talks Beethoven (and Nirvana)
Colorado Symphony music director Brett Mitchell speaks with CPR Classical's David Rutherford at the Colorado Public Radio studios. (Photo by Rachel Trignano)
DENVER — During the intermission of the live broadcast of his inaugural subscription concert as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, Brett Mitchell spoke with CPR Classical's David Rutherford about the power of Beethoven's music, a favorite moment in the Fifth Symphony, and what Beethoven has in common with Nirvana. Listen here:
Audio: "Conductor Brett Mitchell Gets Set To Lead The Colorado Symphony"
Music Director Brett Mitchell and the Colorado Symphony (Photo by Brandon Marshall)
DENVER — Brett Mitchell appeared on this morning's episode of Colorado Matters, Colorado Public Radio's daily interview show, to discuss his new position as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony.
Fans of the Colorado Symphony officially welcome a new music director this weekend when conductor Brett Mitchell leads his first official performances. The program includes Ludwig van Beethoven's beloved Symphony No. 5.
Mitchell comes to Colorado from a previous post with the Cleveland Orchestra. He spoke with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner about his vision for the orchestra as he starts his four-year tenure, and some of his favorite music.
Hear this coming Friday night's concert from Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver in a live broadcast on CPR Classical beginning at 7:30 p.m. The program includes music by Beethoven, Mason Bates and Kevin Puts.
To listen to this interview, please click here.
Audio: "Movie Night at Blossom with The Cleveland Orchestra"
CLEVELAND — Brett Mitchell joined Bill O'Connell on WCLV Classical 104.9 to discuss The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming performances of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. These three performances over Labor Day Weekend mark both the close of the 2017 Blossom Music Festival and Mr. Mitchell's final performances as Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra. To listen to this interview, please click here.
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses his final performances with The Cleveland Orchestra
CLEVELAND — Brett Mitchell joined the "Majic Morning Show" on Majic 105.7 in Cleveland to discuss The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming performances of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. These three performances over Labor Day Weekend mark both the close of the 2017 Blossom Music Festival and Mr. Mitchell's final performances as Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra.
To hear this interview, please click here, then advance the player to 67:50. (Note that a free iHeartRadio account is required to access this content.) For more information on these performances, please click here.
Audio: "Special Interview: Former Longhorn conductor Brett Mitchell talks Texas Music Festival"
Photo by Gregg Barckholtz
AUSTIN — Brett Mitchell spoke with KMFA 89.5 (Austin) about his upcoming performances with the Texas Music Festival and his decade of musical experiences in Texas:
Thirty-seven-year-old conductor Brett Mitchell has served as both the assistant and associate conductor of the venerable Cleveland Orchestra for the last four years. Prior to that, he spent six years in Houston where he was the assistant conductor of the Houston Symphony and later, for a brief time, was music director of the Moores Opera Center at the University of Houston. Effective next month, he’ll start a new job as music director of the Colorado Symphony. But before Denver, Houston, and Cleveland, Brett Mitchell was a Longhorn. He received both masters and doctorate degrees from UT’s Butler School of Music, where he was a student from 2001 to 2005. Coincidentally, Mitchell also made his Cleveland Orchestra debut in Austin when they were here on tour back in 2014.
Mitchell returns to Texas this month for a week-long residency with the Texas Music Festival at the University of Houston. He’ll conduct Elgar, Shostakovich, and Salonen in two concerts. Rideshare host Chris Johnson called him last week to catch up while he was in Florida for a residency with the Sarasota Music Festival.
To hear the complete interview, please click here.
"Star Wars: The Score Awakens" wins Best Documentary
Star Wars: The Score Awakens, an hourlong special in which Brett Mitchell explores the music of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has earned Best Documentary at the 2017 All Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards. In this special, which originally aired on WCLV Classical 104.9 in January 2016, Mr. Mitchell joins host Bill O'Connell in the KeyBank Studio for a thorough exploration of John Williams's first new Star Wars score in a decade via original soundtrack recordings and demonstrations at the piano. To listen to Star Wars: The Score Awakens, please click here.
Audio: "Brett Mitchell's final concert with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra"
Brett Mitchell and COYO musician Catharine Baek at the WCLV studios on Wednesday, May 10. (Photo by Mark Satola)
Brett Mitchell spoke with WCLV's Bill O'Connell about the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's upcoming 2016-17 season finale, which also marks Mr. Mitchell's final performance as the ensemble's Music Director. Mr. Mitchell was joined in the interview by COYO member Catharine Baek, who won the orchestra's annual concerto competition, and will perform Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major on the concert, presented on Friday, May 12 at Severance Hall. To hear this interview, please click here.
Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Baek also spoke with WCLV's Mark Satola in an interview that will air during the intermission of Friday's concert. To hear this interview, please click here.