by James Hogan
Some of the biggest classical music news last week came–no surprise here–as a result of the Inauguration, which featured a John Williams arrangement of “Simple Gifts” played by renowned musicians Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero, and Anthony McGill. But the buzz was overwhelmed later in the week when the committee in charge of the program revealed that the music spectators and television viewers heard was prerecorded. The cold temperatures, the announcement said, made it too difficult to consider using the live performance.