Human Elements

Human Elements By Leon Botstein Written for the concert Human Elements, performed on Nov 18, 2007 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. It is ironic that the four composers on today’s program, whose work ranges from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth, should be inspired by one of the most ancient theories of human…

Johann Strauss Sr., Die vier Temperamente (The Four Temperaments Waltz), Op. 59 (1832) By Peter Laki, Visiting Associate Professor, Bard College Written for the concert Human Elements, performed on Nov 18, 2007 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. To the first Viennese Waltz King, Johann Strauss Sr., the four temperaments meant little more than an…

Carl Nielsen, Symphony No. 2, “De fire temperamenter” (The Four Temperaments) By Fred Kirshnit Written for the concert Human Elements, performed on Nov 18, 2007 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. While listening to the American Symphony Orchestra this afternoon, take a moment to scan the second violin section. Somewhere in there may be the…

Paul Hindemith, Theme and Variations, “Die vier Temperamente” (The Four Temperaments) By Adrian Corleonis, Fanfare magazine Written for the concert Human Elements, performed on Nov 18, 2007 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Standard accounts of Hindemith’s Four Temperaments have the choreographer, Léonide Massine, calling the composer’s attention to Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s depictions of,…

Frank Martin, Les quatre éléments (The Four Elements) by Byron Adams, University of California, Riverside Written for the concert Human Elements, performed on Nov 18, 2007 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. “Forgive me if I ask you an embarrassing question. I am making up my programs for the winter of 1963-64. Do you…