Unjust Obscurity? (II)

Unjust Obscurity? By Leon Botstein Written for the concert Unjust Obscurity? (II), performed on March 10, 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. This concert explores one aspect of the American Symphony Orchestra’s mission. We would like to offer a challenge to the habits by which orchestras set their repertoire. Why are some works…

Psalm 114, “When Israel Out of Egypt Came,” for Double Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 51 By Felix Mendelssohn Written for the concert Unjust Obscurity? (II), performed on March 10, 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. As a composer of sacred texts, Mendelssohn is chiefly remembered today for the oratorios Paulus (1836) and Elijah…

Concerto (Quasi una fantasia) for Violin and Orchestra in B-flat major, Op. 21 By Chris Walton, Head of Music Section at the Central Library of Zurich Written for the concert Unjust Obscurity? (II), performed on March 10, 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Othmar Schoeck was born in Brunnen, a village on the…

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1956) By Andrew Imbrie, Professor Emeritus, University of California at Berkely, and former student of Roger Sessions Written for the concert Unjust Obscurity? (II), performed on March 10, 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. The music of Roger Sessions is generally acknowledged to be of crucial historical importance:…

Stabat Mater for Solo Voices, Chorus, and Orchestra, Op. 53 (1926) By Richard E. Rodda, Case Western Reserve University Written for the concert Unjust Obscurity? (II), performed on March 10, 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Karol Szymanowski (pronounced shee-man-ov-skee) was the preeminent Polish composer of the first half of the twentieth century.…