Symphony No. 1, Op. 7 (1934)

Symphony No. 1, Op. 7 (1934) By David Fanning Written for the concert The Circle of Shostakovich, performed on April 11, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Gavriil Nikolayevich Popov and Dmitri Dmitryevich Shostakovich were close contemporaries, and there are striking parallels in their careers. Both were highly accomplished pianists who decided to…

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Piano Concerto No. 4 (left hand alone) and Orchestra, Op. 53 (1931)

Piano Concerto No. 4 (left hand alone) and Orchestra, Op. 53 (1931) By Fred Kirshnit Written for the concert The Circle of Shostakovich, performed on April 11, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. When Sergei Prokofiev first heard Dmitri Mitropoulos perform and simultaneously conduct his Piano Concerto No. 3 so magnificently in Paris,…

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Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54 (1939)

Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54 (1939) By Maya Pritsker Written for the concert The Circle of Shostakovich, performed on April 11, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. “In the odd hybrid of two diametrically opposed semantic complexes is thus concealed the brutal truth of Soviet reality in the 1930s, when…

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Musical Autobiography

Musical Autobiography 03/14/2003 at 08:00 PM – Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Concert Notes Musical Autobiography – Leon Botstein A Vision: My Youth (1907) – Morten Solvik Viola Concerto (1985) – Gerard McBurney Suk’s Asrael as Autobiography and More – Michael Beckerman

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A Vision: My Youth (1907)

A Vision: My Youth (1907) By Morten Solvik Written for the concert Musical Autobiography, performed on March 14, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. For all of the fame he achieved in his lifetime, Franz Lehár (1870-1948) remained something of a frustrated artist. His most famous composition, The Merry Widow (1905), ranks as…

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Viola Concerto (1985)

Viola Concerto (1985) By Gerard McBurney Written for the concert Musical Autobiography, performed on March 14, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. One of the great advantages of being a composer in the Soviet Union – and there were many disadvantages – was that as long as you had something serious to say…

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Suk’s Asrael as Autobiography and More

Suk’s Asrael as Autobiography and More By Michael Beckerman Written for the concert Musical Autobiography, performed on March 14, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. The writing of explicitly autobiographical works is an essential part of any putative “Czech tradition.” Though the string quartet has always had a reputation for abstraction, Bedrich Smetana…

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The Romantic Soul: Lord Byron in Music

The Romantic Soul: Lord Byron in Music 02/09/2003 at 08:00 PM – Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Concert Notes Parisina, Op. 3 (1835) – Christopher Gibbs, Bard College The Romantic Soul: Lord Byron in Music – Leon Botstein Tasso (1854) – Fred Kirshnit, Le Concertographe Manfred, Op. 115 (1849) – Christopher Gibbs, Bard College

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Parisina, Op. 3 (1835)

Parisina, Op. 3 (1835) By Christopher Gibbs, Bard College Written for the concert The Romantic Soul: Lord Byron in Music, performed on Feb 9, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. “If only there were many artists working in the same spirit as Sterndale Bennett, no one would need fear any longer for the…

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Tasso (1854)

Tasso (1854) By Fred Kirshnit, Le Concertographe Written for the concert The Romantic Soul: Lord Byron in Music, performed on Feb 9, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. “…we are crowded in our solitudes…” Lord Byron, The Lament of Tasso Although now considered apocryphal, the legend of the Renaissance mathematician and poet pining…

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