In Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ masterful and emblematic 18th-century epistolary novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the Marquise de Merteuil tickles, delights and at the same time emasculates both her sparring partner Valmont and the reader with artful, witty virtuosity. A razor-sharp, humorous image here, a play on words there, a slightly confounded expectation, an erotic … [Read more...] about Jean-Marie Leclair: Seduction and Rococo Art
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A highly personal note to an international concert program
Plum Blossoms and Fleurs de Lis: War and Peace in the Forbidden City and Versailles Four Nations Ensemble and Music From China Sunday, April 21st at 6 PM Salon Sanctuary Concerts in New York City Thursday, April 25th at 8 PM Market Square Concerts in Harrisburg Pennsylvania I met Albert Fuller in New York in 1967 after his recital on the Hunter College Harpsichord … [Read more...] about A highly personal note to an international concert program
Playing the Texan Palace
We made a final turn off the highway to a country road. We had been driving for an hour, had stopped at a Tex Mex roadside restaurant, and then watched as the highway modulated from urban sprawl to desert austerity but we were not prepared for the romantic vision as we made this turn. The road lead us towards a stone church to the left and a very large, … [Read more...] about Playing the Texan Palace
Court and Concert, notes to a program
Notes for Four Nations concert program for the Pittsburgh Renaissance and Baroque Series (Synod Hall on Saturday, January 12) and at the New Church in New York City (Monday, January 14). Check below blog for details. I prefer that which moves me to that which surprises me. --François Couperin (from the preface of Book One of his harpsichord works) I prefer the bizarre to … [Read more...] about Court and Concert, notes to a program
Francois Couperin: The beginning of a long look.
Open Book One of Couperin’s Pieces de Claveçin and look at the first two pages of music. In contrast to the published volumes of d’Anglebert, Rameau, Le Roux and Marchand, Couperin opens not with a prélude, or improvisatory awakening of the instrument but rather with an Allemande Grave. Four of the five suites of Book 1 (and several in the following three volumes) have … [Read more...] about Francois Couperin: The beginning of a long look.