Concert Notes
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 8
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 8 By Christopher H. Gibbs Written for the concert Fiftieth Birthday Celebration, performed on Oct 26, 2012 at Carnegie Hall. “On the first day of the holidays, I went up to the hut in Maiernigg with the firm resolution of idling the holiday away (I needed to so much that year)…
Read MoreGeorge Crumb
George Crumb By Leon Botstein Written for the concert Crumb, performed on April 19, 2012 at Carnegie Hall. We have become accustomed to assuming that composers who are employed by universities deserved the designation “academic.” Indeed, with the exception of John Adams and Philip Glass, since the 1960s composers who were not also performers (e.g.…
Read MoreProgressive Trailblazer, Experimental Pioneer
Progressive Trailblazer, Experimental Pioneer By Robert Carl Written for the concert Crumb, performed on April 19, 2012 at Carnegie Hall. George Crumb is a rare artist: on the one hand, he projects an immediate, gripping poetry in his music. On the other, he has also developed a rich and innovative toolbox of extended instrumental and…
Read MoreTrapped in the Web of History
Trapped in the Web of History By Leon Botstein Written for the concert The Hunchback of Notre Dame, performed on March 8, 2012 at Carnegie Hall. Today’s performance of Franz Schmidt’s opera Notre Dame, which he completed in 1906 and which was premiered in 1914, is perhaps the first effort to present this work on…
Read MoreFranz Schmidt, Notre Dame
Franz Schmidt, Notre Dame By Christopher H. Gibbs Written for the concert The Hunchback of Notre Dame, performed on March 8, 2012 at Carnegie Hall. Gustav Mahler famously predicted that “his time would come,” and it did with a vengeance. Franz Schmidt, who played cello for ten years under Mahler’s direction at the Vienna Court…
Read MoreOrientalism in France
Orientalism in France 02/10/2012 at 08:00 PM – Carnegie HallIn the late-19th and early-20th centuries, Europe was fascinated with Eastern culture, and many artistsput their own spin on what they thought the Middle East looked and sounded like. These five Frenchpieces show Turkey, India, Egypt, and others as they existed only in the heads of…
Read MoreExpanding the French Musical Palette
Expanding the French Musical Palette By Jann Pasler Written for the concert Orientalism in France, performed on Feb 10, 2012 at Carnegie Hall. Expressing the complexity of French attitudes toward its Oriental “Other,” both imagined and real, Orientalism has appeared in myriad forms in French music. With aggressive marches representing imperialist desire, veiled dancing girls…
Read MoreStravinsky Outside Russia
Stravinsky Outside Russia 01/20/2012 at 08:00 PM – Carnegie HallThough he was the most well-known Russian composer of the 20th century, Stravinsky spent much ofhis life in Europe, and later, America. These six pieces represent his work in France, Venice, Los Angeles,and beyond. All-Igor Stravinsky Program Keith Miller, bass Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano Heather Johnson, mezzo-soprano…
Read MoreIgor Stravinsky, Song of the Volga Boatmen
Igor Stravinsky, Song of the Volga Boatmen By Joseph Landers Written for the concert Stravinsky Outside Russia, performed on Jan 20, 2012 at Carnegie Hall. In 1996, an orchestration of “Song of the Volga Boatmen” was discovered among the holdings of the Mapleson Music Library in Lindenhurst, New York. This arrangement for bass-baritone and full…
Read MoreA Migrant Cosmopolitan
A Migrant Cosmopolitan By Tamara Levitz Written for the concert Stravinsky Outside Russia, performed on Jan 20, 2012 at Carnegie Hall. Igor Stravinsky lived for most of his adult life outside of his homeland, Russia. Raised largely by his German nanny, Bertha Essert, in the cosmopolitan theater world of St. Petersburg, where his father performed…
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