This afternoon Peoples’ Symphony Concerts presented a recital by Hungarian-born musicians, Kristof Barati (violinist) and Klara Wurtz (pianist), at New York’s Town Hall. They presented a conservative program that could have been presented more than a century ago without raising an eyebrow: Beethoven’s Sonatas Nos. 4 & 9, Op. 23 and Op. 47 (the “Kreutzer Sonata”), and Brahms’ Sonata No. 1, Op. 78. These are all masterpieces and I have no objection to their presentation, … <Read More>
Music
Nico Muhly’s “Two Boys” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York
This afternoon I attended a performance of Nico Muhly’s opera, “Two Boys,” presented by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. There are a few more performances left in the run. Anybody interested in seeing and hearing a new direction in opera for the 21st century who has not already gotten a ticket should move fast!
I’ve been a fan of Muhly since a profile by Alex Ross in The New Yorker brought him to my … <Read More>
NY Philharmonic: Salonen Violin Concerto with Leila Josefowicz
Tonight I attended the New York Philharmonic and heard the second of five scheduled performances of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto (2008-09) with soloist Leila Josefowicz. I can only say “Wow”! This is one terrific concerto, and I’m delighted to have heard it performed by the violinist for whom it was written with the composer – also one of the world’s leading conductors – on the podium. In four inventive movements, this piece is full of … <Read More>
Weekend Culture – “The Landing”, Garrick Ohlsson at PSC, ASO’s Classics Declassified Mendelssohn 5th at Symphony Space
Busy cultural weekend for me.
Saturday afternoon I attended a performance at the Vineyard Theatre of “The Landing,” a new musical by Greg Pierce (book and lyrics) and John Kander (music). This is Kander’s first full-length show with a new collaborator since the passing of his former writing partner, Fred Ebb. It is a modest three-part show with a four-member cast, on this occasion Julia Murney, David Hyde Pierce (uncle of Kander’s collaborator), Frankie Seratch … <Read More>
NY Philharmonic Surrounds Penderecki with the Sounds of Ravel
This week’s subscription concert from the New York Philharmonic, which I attended Thursday night for the first performance of the cycle, surrounds the Concerto Grosso by Krzysztof Penderecki (a work for three cello soloists and orchestra) with music by Maurice Ravel. Both Ravel pieces, originally conceived for the piano, were subsequently orchestrated to sumptuous effect, and provided an opportunity to revel in the sheer virtuosity of the New York Philharmonic, which is conducted this week … <Read More>
Orchestra of St. Luke’s Begins Carnegie Hall Season for 2013-14
I had a mixed reaction to tonight’s concert by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, led by Principal Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, at Carnegie Hall.
The centerpiece of the concert was Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Op. 31, with soloists Ian Bostridge (tenor) and Stewart Rose (horn). As prelude, the orchestra performed Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After intermission, they played Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9.
The Britten was splendid, as one could … <Read More>
A Britten Weekend – With a 17th century interlude!
Three-quarters Britten. That was my weekend. On Saturday I attended the afternoon performance of Britten’s opera, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” at the Metropolitan Opera. Then in the evening I attended the first concert of Columbia University’s Miller Theater Early Music Series, by Le Poeme Harmonique, a French early-music ensemble led by Vincent Dumestre, in music by Monteverdi and some contemporaries under the program title “Combattimenti!” On Sunday, I attended two recitals, at 1 and 4, … <Read More>
NY Philharmonic Debuts: Arabella Steinbacher & Joshua Weilerstein
The NY Philharmonic’s most recent subscription program presented debuts for the soloist and the conductor. Violinist Arabella Steinbacher, already an established recording artist in Europe, performed the Violin Concerto in E Minor by Felix Mendelssohn, and Joshua Weilerstein, an assistant conductor of the orchestra, made his subscription concert debut. (Presumably he has already led the orchestra several times in non-subscription events, such as the Young Peoples’ Concerts.) I attended the last performance of this program, … <Read More>
Peoples’ Symphony Concerts Launch 114th Season with Piano Recital by Lise de la Salle
The Peoples’ Symphony Concerts organization launched their 114th season on Saturday night, October 12, 2013, presenting a piano recital by Lise de la Salle in the newly-renovated auditorium at Washington Irving High School in Manhattan. Miss de la Salle, who has play previously at PSC, offered a program of Bach-Busoni, Debussy, and Schumann, with two encores of Liszt elaborations of songs by Schumann and Schubert.
I first became acquainted with de la Salle’s playing through … <Read More>
“Alarm Will Sound” Initiates Met Museum Residency with “The Permanent Collection” Concert
On October 11 I attended the first concert of the contemporary-music group “Alarm Will Sound” in its residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The Met has a splendid small auditorium which is perfectly sized for a “sinfonietta” group like “Alarm Will Sound,” which is smaller than a chamber orchestra but larger than a chamber music ensemble.
AWS Music Director Alan Pierson explained in the program note that the group will … <Read More>