Concert Notes
Walter Piston
Walter Piston By Carol J. Oja Written for the concert American Harmonies: The Music of Walter Piston, performed on March 29, 2011 at Carnegie Hall. There are few opportunities these days to hear live performances of the deeply felt, sonorously-shaped music of the New England composer Walter Piston. His colleague and contemporary Aaron Copland called…
Read MoreThe Context of Music: The Spanish Civil War
The Context of Music: The Spanish Civil War By Leon Botstein Written for the concert The Music of Spain: Composers of the Civil War, performed on Feb 25, 2011 at Carnegie Hall. The modern political history of Spain began formally with the declaration of the Second Republic of Spain (the so-called “first” republic was a…
Read MoreThe Music of Spain: Composers of the Civil War
The Music of Spain: Composers of the Civil War 02/25/2011 at 08:00 PM – Carnegie HallThe Spanish Civil War was a period of intense cultural activity that had a dramatic impact on its artists.Hear how the music changed with a pre-war symphonic poem, followed by works by composers who fled the country, but kept Spain…
Read MoreOn Behalf of Albéric Magnard
On Behalf of Albéric Magnard By Leon Botstein Written for the concert Bérénice, performed on Jan 20, 2011 at Carnegie Hall. The conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler defended his tendency to play particular works from the past over and over again, stating that as a musician he was not “a curious wanderer” or driven by “a scholarly…
Read MoreAlbéric Magnard, Bérénice
Albéric Magnard, Bérénice By Steven Huebner Written for the concert Bérénice, performed on Jan 20, 2011 at Carnegie Hall. “Noble melancholy” . . . Thus did Jean Racine describe the tone he sought to create in Bérénice (1670). In a preface to the play, Racine further explained his aesthetic predilections: uncomplicated plots, heroic characters, roiling passions. A…
Read MoreMusic and the Bible
Music and the Bible 11/02/2010 at 08:00 PM – Carnegie HallCommunal singing and sacred oratorios were a vital part of Europe’s religious resurgence in the 1800s. The two major works on this program are by Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix’s sister; and Louis Spohr, whose contemporaries found him as masterful as Beethoven and Mozart. Conductor’s Notes Maestro…
Read MoreFanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Mendelssohn By R. Larry Todd Written for the concert Music and the Bible, performed on Nov 2, 2010 at Carnegie Hall. FANNY MENDELSSOHN (1805–47) Oratorium (nach Bildern der Bibel) (“Scenes from the Bible”) (1831) Fanny Mendelssohn’s Cholera Music Of the diseases that ravaged the nineteenth century, few had more sweeping social and cultural repercussions…
Read MoreLouis Spohr, The Final Judgement
Louis Spohr, The Final Judgement By Clive Brown Written for the concert Music and the Bible, performed on Nov 2, 2010 at Carnegie Hall. LOUIS SPOHR (1784–1859) Die letzen Dinge (“The Final Judgment”) (1827) Premiere: Kassel, Germany, March 24, 1826 Spohr was at the height of his powers when he wrote Die letzten Dinge in…
Read MoreJames Joyce
James Joyce 10/06/2010 at 08:00 PM – Carnegie Hall One of the most influential authors of his time, Joyce was also a composer and singer proficient in many sorts of music. Experience the music of his favorite composers, along with a cantata inspired by his most famous work. Conductor’s Notes Maestro Leon Botstein explains it…
Read MoreBallet mécanique, Buried Alive, Ulysses
Ballet mécanique, Buried Alive, Ulysses By Paul Griffiths Written for the concert James Joyce, performed on Oct 6, 2010 at Carnegie Hall. GEORGE ANTHEIL (1900–1959) Ballet mécanique (1953 version) OTHMAR SCHOECK (1886–1957) Lebendig begraben (“Buried Alive”), Op. 40 (1926) U.S. Premiere MÁTYÁS SEIBER (1905–1960) Ulysses (1947) U.S. Premiere Among the most musical of writers, Joyce,…
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