Mahler's Symphony No. 7, sometimes subtitled “Song of the Night,” is the composer’s most wayward symphony. It’s not one of the pretty ones. With five seemingly mismatched movements, the 80-minute piece doesn’t cooperate with itself in the manner of other Mahler symphonies — and certainly not with the history of western music. The final movement can be so bewildering that … [Read more...] about The Berlin Philharmonic dares us to love it – and we do
Music that changes the world – one catacomb at a time
Music - it is often said - is about one thing: Music. It only conveys itself. But it has magical adhesive qualities when in the company of words, ideas, subtexts, which is why the classical world has evolved into a medium for social justice. If the Supreme Court won't stand up for saving the planet, the composers will - but with an abstraction that, in its best instances, hits … [Read more...] about Music that changes the world – one catacomb at a time
Beethoven rewrites himself (with help from the Philadelphia Orchestra)
Between February 22 and June 5th, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (“Choral”) rewrote itself — though the notes, orchestra, conductor and chorus were the same. The earlier performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra and its music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin was at Carnegie Hall as a finale to the orchestra’s Beethoven cycle there; the later one concluded the 2021-2022 season at … [Read more...] about Beethoven rewrites himself (with help from the Philadelphia Orchestra)
NYC Ballet Stravinsky Festival: Revelations at last.
Do you really know a piece of music when it’s only heard and not seen? With Stravinsky, possibly not. The composer always had an instinctual sense of three-dimensional physicality in his pieces, so much that even his Violin Concerto has been choreographed and his Three Pieces for String Quartet are partly based on a dance piece titled David that he worked on briefly with … [Read more...] about NYC Ballet Stravinsky Festival: Revelations at last.
Piffaro, the Philadelphia Renaissance Band: A new sun rises again and again
Once the upstart child of the early-music counterculture, Piffaro, the Philadelphia Renaissance Band is now, at age 40, downright venerable, as its founders are ceding leadership to a generation who learned about pre-Bach wind band literature by memorizing their recordings. Starting next season, Priscilla Herreid moves up from the ranks as the new director, replacing Joan … [Read more...] about Piffaro, the Philadelphia Renaissance Band: A new sun rises again and again