The section for music-related posts.
Joan La Barbara, a pioneer of extended vocal technique, remains a force of nature in the world of new music. Her brief recital at Greenwich House Music School under the aegis of North River Music’s outstanding contemporary music series opened with three brief vocal masterpieces by “New York School” composers Morton Feldman and John Cage.
Continue reading Joan La Barbara @ Greenwich House Music School
I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating: conductor Valery Gergiev is uneven, arguably the most inconsistent major conductor on the international scene. When he’s at his best, he’s sensational.
And yes, I can understand that Gergiev + Mahler + the London Symphony Orchestra = sold-out venue, in this case Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center this afternoon. The problem is that the formula is not necessarily good for the music itself. And though the LSO played brilliantly for teh most part, Gergiev’s sometimes micromanaged, sometimes messy, and completely erratic way with Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 undermined the work’s fury, made too elegant outbursts of rage in the third movement, and completely missed the Kubler-Ross-like home stretch from grief to acceptance. I’ve seen memorable performances of this work under Maazel (with the Cleveland Orchestra during my college years) and Haitink (with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), but if anything, the present performance made me miss the great Klaus Tennstedt more than ever.
Margalit Fox at the NY Times reports on the passing of the 95-year-old viola pioneer. Is it just me, or do violists tend to be nearly as long-lived on average as conductors?
I enjoyed last season’s recital at Alice Tully Hall by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, which I reviewed for Classical Source. This season’s recital on the big stage at Carnegie Hall was even more satisfying.
Rachel Barton Pine brought both her daring approach to programming and dynamic artistic personality to a demanding program of solo violin music last night at Bargemusic.
My review of the New York Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble’s terrific Saturday evening concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was posted to Classical Source yesterday, but I wanted to add a few personal observations here.
Just back from a brief but thoroughly enjoyable concert by Ne(x)tworks, a new music ensemble that deserves more attention.
My review of their terrific recital at Carnegie Hall can be found at Classical Source.
The program: Beethoven and Adams. My review is up at Classical Source.
An out-of-towner may be led to believe, given press coverage and recording activity, that the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra are the only professional small orchestra action in New York City. This is of course far from the case, and one of the most interesting of the lesser-knowns is the Riverside Symphony, now in its 31st season.
Continue reading Quick Take — Riverside Symphony @ Alice Tully Hall
