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Continuum: Celebrating Ursula Mamlok
Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY January 13, 2010 Continuum’s commemoration of Ursula Mamlok’s 87th birthday spanned the 50 years of her journey as a composer. And this revealing concert showed us that this important composer was steadfastly devoted to her unique style, which for the most part follows serialism. Due to inclement weather and…
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Nadejda Vlaeva, piano
Nadejda Vlaeva, piano Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY December 10, 2009 The odds of hearing Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 1 in recital are rather slim (compared to the seventh, eighth, and others), but when a pianist combines it with the Piano Sonata No. 2 of Ukrainian-born Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877-1952), a composer whose works are seldom…
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Gergiev and Berlioz at Carnegie
Gergiev and Berlioz at Carnegie Valery Gergiev is a ubiquitous musical presence, seemingly able to conduct operas and concerts on several continents simultaneously. Director of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre since 1988, he is touring North America with its orchestra, chorus and soloists; they stopped off in New York’s Carnegie Hall for three concerts devoted…
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A Quartet of… Cellists
Sometimes certain works are absent from concert programs for several years and then re-discovered by everybody simultaneously. This season may have set a record in duplications of cello sonatas: within a few weeks, Debussy’s was performed three times, and Schubert’s, Faure’s, Poulenc’s, and Prokofiev’s twice each. They were played by two audience favorites – Steven…
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Cello-Piano Duos Prove Popular This Winter
Formed in 1980, the Timothy Eddy/Gilbert Kalish cello-piano duo is another remarkable collaboration. The two players are ubiquitous on the music scene: in addition to giving concerts together, they are active as soloists, chamber musicians and pedagogues. Eddy is the cellist of the Orion Quartet, in residence at Mannes, in whose intimate concert hall the…
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Despite snow, Ax and Bell recitals attract large audiences to Carnegie Hall
Despite a huge snow storm and a prediction of one, people came out in droves to the large Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall to see Emanuel Ax and Joshua Bell. In many ways, violin and piano recitals sound best in smaller, more intimate spaces for which they were intended, but Ax and Bell sell lots…
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James Levine’s New Baton Technique… and Superhero Status
January 24th, 2010 at Carnegie Hall James Levine, who just recovered from spinal surgery, has returned to the Metropolitan Opera pit and the concert stage in fine fettle. At his January 24th Carnegie Hall appearance with the MET Orchestra – their second this season – his high-voltage energy, fiery temperament, exuberance, and emotional—as well as…
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“Houston, We Have a Problem”
January 28, 2010 at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY If any orchestra should tour with Holst’s “The Planets”, the Houston Symphony should—due to its relationship with NASA and the Johnson Space Center. But a film experiment directed by Duncan Copp called “The Planets: an HD Odyssey” didn’t work: the space images and video, though extraordinarily…
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Diana Damrau’s Versatility includes Acrobatics
January 23, 2010 at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY The German soprano Diana Damrau recently sang eight songs by Richard Strauss, and Zerbinetta’s aria from his opera “Ariadne auf Naxos” with the MET Orchestra under James Levine. Her voice is ravishingly beautiful, with enough power to cut through and sail above the orchestra, clearly showing…