Archive for February, 2012

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New York Was His “Howieland”

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

by Sedgwick Clark

It’s a most improbable New York story: Broadway salutes a theater critic, of all things, by dimming its lights during prime box-office time prior to curtain. How often has that happened? No one would have been more astonished to receive this honor than its recipient, Howard Kissel, theater critic of the New York Daily News for 20 years, who died on Friday (2/24) at age 69 of complications from a 2010 liver transplant.

Howard and I shared a Midwestern upbringing and undying gratitude for living in New York City and being able to partake of its wonders. He was as unassuming, knowledgeable, and gentlemanly a member of the Fourth Estate as one could imagine. His critical judgments were direct, perceptive, and never gratuitously personal, laced with a droll, understated wit that always left one smiling. I had met Howard at the Russian Tea Room back in the 1970s when he was arts editor of Women’s Wear Daily and W magazine but only got to know him well in the ’90s. In between, he appeared in his one and only film as Woody Allen’s manager in Starlight Memories (1980). He wrote a biography of David Merrick and a study of Stella Adler’s teaching techniques. We saw each other frequently at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, when we would compare notes and I could grill him about shows I should try to sandwich between my concertgoing. I never received a bum steer.

An S.R.O. audience at Howard’s funeral yesterday shared many tears and much laughter as he was remembered. His sisters, Anne and Judy, affectionately eulogized their big brother, saying that he always seemed to be from another planet, which they called “Howieland.” A friend recounted that Howard had been on a list for a liver transplant for some time, but when the hospital finally called he discovered he had tickets that evening for City Center’s Encores! presentation of Stephen Sondheim’s cult musical Anyone Can Whistle and opted for the show. It would be months before he got a second chance for a new liver.

Musical America was fortunate to have Howard writing theater reviews for its Web site on occasion in recent years, and he blogged under the title “The Cultural Tourist” for the Daily News and, more recently, the Huffington Post, in which he filed his last, bittersweet entry three days before his death. Both the News and the Times printed obits worthy of his charmed life.

And then, on Tuesday at 7 p.m., Broadway dimmed its lights for a minute in recognition of one of its own.

Looking Forward

My week’s scheduled concerts:

3/2 Carnegie Hall. Vienna Philharmonic/Lorin Maazel. Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1, 5, and 7.

3/5 Zankel Hall. Making Music, Jeremy Geffen, moderator. Soloistes XXI. Saariaho: Echo; Nuits, Adieux; Lonh; From the Grammar of Dreams; Tag des Jahrs.

3/6 Carnegie Hall. Boston Symphony/John Oliver. Tanglewood Festival Chorus/John Oliver. Christine Brewer, soprano; Michelle DeYoung, mezzo; Simon O’Neill, tenor; Eric Owens, bass-baritone. Beethoven: Missa solemnis.

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Crystal Pite’s Futuristic Choreography

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

By Rachel Straus

Seeing The Matrix in 1999 made my heart sink. It wasn’t Keanu Reeves’s acting that depressed me; it was the advances in live action animation. In the final battle scene, Reeves and Hugo Weaving engage in mortal combat. With millisecond timing, they evade each other’s rocket-force punches by bending their head to their feet (like a slinky) and by levitating into the air (like a twister). How, I thought, can dance compete with this technological display of bodily virtuosity?

Then, ten years later, I saw Crystal Pite’s Dark Matters. Her choreography augured a new movement style, a Matrix-esque sense of physical wonder. On January 24 at Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC), Pite’s choreography enthralled the audience. At the end of The You Show, made in 2010 with her company Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM, Pite and her eight dancers received a standing ovation.

Photo by Chris Randle

Pite’s style is not lyrically based (like Isadora Duncan), predicated on the balletic idiom (as with George Balanchine), psychologically motivated (in the case of Martha Graham) or in rebellion against concert tradition (Judson Dance Theatre). Its subject is the futuristic body—that’s faster and more intricate than machines. In the beginning of The You Show, Peter Chu falls backward in slow motion onto the floor; he folds like an accordion. Later Cindy Salgado undulates her prone body off the floor—in a blink of an eye. These moments don’t look like stunt work. They are part of a skein of movement, which occurs in inner-space pitch darkness (thanks to lighting designer Robert Sondergaard). They create a dream-like world, which seems only possible in the imagination.

Because Kidd Pivot is celebrating its tenth anniversary, has been a resident company at Künstlerhaus Mousonturm in Frankfurt since 2010, and is only now giving its New York performance debut, Pite has become something of cause célèbre for New York dance-interested audiences. In describing her style, writers often allude to her seven years dancing in William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt. But it’s reductive to see Pite’s work as merely a derivation of Forsythe’s. While Forsythe’s performers looked loopy and frenetic in recent works presented in New York (Three Atmospheric Studies and I don’t believe in outer space), Pite dancers never look out of control. Rather than resembling epileptic victims, they resemble Marine fighters.

In the program notes, Pite writes how The You Show derives from her “fascination with familiar storylines of love, conflict and loss, and the body’s role in providing the illustrative shapes of those stories.” While some observers might find Pite’s relationship theme as captivating as her movement vocabulary, I did not. The three sets of duets, and one group dance, all ended the same way: the significant other leaves the beloved. These departures began to feel a bit pat. What was not pat was Pite’s definition of a relationship in section two, titled “The Other You.” In the duet, Eric Beauchesne and Jiří Pokorný are the same people. Pokorný pushes his alter ego, Beauchesne, around. He resembles a ventriloquist with his dummy. The duet, to an array of atmospheric and classical music, including Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, seemed to reveal a deeper message: The dancer fights each day with her self. The enemy isn’t the other person; it’s the voice that says, “I want to rest!”

Photo by Michael Slobodian

Pite makes fun of this dancer-as-fighter conceit in the last section of The You Show. There, Jermaine Maurice Spivey dons a red cape and becomes a super hero. Later he fights Tron-style with his mate (Sandra Marín Garcia). Their mechanized armor is composed out of three dancers who weld their bodies to either Spivey or Garcia’s. The result is that Spivey and Garcia’s body mass quadruples to resemble armor-clad gladiators. Audience hooted with laughter, when they recognized that Pite was satirizing her combative style. But after this scene, Pite returned to her ardent tone. Four women danced Pite’s electric-shock gestures and buttery, spiraling, back bending floor-to-standing phrases with total seriousness. Their commitment to pushing their bodies beyond what most dancers deem possible is what made Pite’s The You Show entirely captivating. It’s what makes Pite’s choreography part of the zeitgeist, where conversations about the the blending of man and machine abound.

 

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Charles Anthony, No Unsung Hero

Monday, February 27th, 2012

by James Conlon

On February 15, one of the great men of opera passed away. Charles Anthony will be long remembered for the stunning statistics of his career at the Metropolitan Opera: 2,928 performances of 111 roles in 69 operas in 57 years. He appeared there more than any other artist in the Met’s history. For those who love facts and figures, his accomplishments are staggering. They can earn him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records or Ripley’s Believe It or Not. But for those of us who knew him, worked with him, and loved him, however extraordinary the numerical data, it only tells part of the story.

Charlie, as he was almost universally called, brought sunshine into the theater and the lives of his colleagues every day he went to work. He loved opera, he loved his work, and he loved his colleagues. This coming June would have marked 40 years since I first worked with him. I met him the first day of rehearsals for a production of Falstaff, which was in fact my first professional engagement to conduct an opera.

Any singing artist who holds the stage for over a half century into an advanced age is noteworthy. But it is not the quantity of performances but the quality of his shining gifts that is the essence of Charlie’s greatness. His devotion to a single institution belongs to the values another era. It is almost unheard of today among opera singers. He could have had a career singing leading roles all over the world, but chose not to. He incarnated the ideal of an ensemble singer, whose loyalty was to the team as much as, or more than, to himself.

We live in an increasingly celebrity-obsessed culture. Evolving technologies have vastly multiplied the means of distribution that promote latter-day stars. It is increasingly difficult for the public, given these means, to differentiate between notoriety and quality. At the altar of personality, we celebrate superstar singers, instrumentalists, directors, and conductors. As it is easy to overlook the fact that symphonic orchestras are made up of very accomplished individual musicians who are not in the limelight, we must remind ourselves that the core of an opera house is to be found in its orchestra, chorus, resident singers, stage and technical staff, and in the countless individuals who work behind the scenes, literally and figuratively. “Star” singers, guest soloists and conductors are rented for the duration of their visit to an institution, but do not represent its spirit. The true spirit a musical ensemble is defined by its permanent members and constituent parts.

There are many persons, not celebrities, who have devoted their lives to music and the performing arts. Their role needs to be brought back to our attention, lest we forget how essential they are. Just as it easy to overlook the importance of general practitioners, schoolteachers and team players, it is tempting to be distracted by the glamor and glitter “at the top.”

Those of us who are able to practice our art, and earn a living thereby, are among the most privileged eople on this earth. I think Charlie knew that in a very special way, and he communicated it to all around him on daily basis for over half a century. The radiance and warmth he brought to work with him every day won him universal admiration and a special place in the hearts of all of his colleagues. I never heard a bad word spoken by him, nor about him. He reminded all of us how lucky we are.

There are many others in our symphony orchestras and opera houses around the country who, like him, deserve our admiration. But for those of us who knew him, we recognize that there was only one Charles Anthony, and he is irreplaceable.

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Finding Your Unique Path to Success

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

It has been pointed out to me that in my column last week, I inadvertently misspelled the name of the author of an article entitled “Being a Professional Chorister” which appeared on Laura Claycomb’s website. His correct name is Martin L. Poock. My apologies to Mr. Poock for this oversight on my part.

Congratulations to violinist, Mina Um, winner of the First Prize in the First Anniversary Ask Edna contest. Mina has won a free career consult with me and I look forward to meeting her soon.

Dear Edna:

How does a classical musician get to the international status of someone like Yo-Yo Ma or Itzhak Perlman? In the 21st century when classical music is no longer the “popular music”, do classical musicians need to make themselves look “hip” or “fun” to attract audiences? How did these people rise to fame and success, and would their methods work for students who are beginning their career now, in the 21st century? —Mina Um

Dear Mina:

It is interesting that you say that classical music is no longer the “popular music”, as if it was when Mr. Perlman and Mr. Ma were young. Regretfully, I don’t think that was ever the case, especially  in the United States. What is true is that the world of entertainment was very different then than it is now. With the absence of e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Netflix and text messaging, there were much fewer distractions competing for people’s leisure time. Music tended to be a more regular part of the school curriculum, thereby exposing people to the beauties of classical music and helping to build future audiences. When Itzhak Perlman appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show at the age of 13, he was an instant success. A huge mainstream audience who may not have ever before heard the music he played was captivated by him, eagerly awaiting more.  Yo-Yo Ma also appeared on American television at an even younger age in a concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Despite this early exposure, the careers of these artists were handled with great care and sensitivity, with Mr. Perlman cementing the early impression he had made by winning the prestigious Leventritt Competition six years later. Both artists were taken on by the legendary impresario, Sol Hurok, who had the contacts to book them in high profile tours throughout the world.

So you see, there were no real “methods” that worked for these artists which could be applied to aspiring artists today. Perhaps there was a smaller number of gifted and promising artists populating the music scene in those days but the key to success then was the same as it is now – extraordinary talent and accomplishment, and the ability to communicate with audiences in a very personal, heartfelt and memorable way. You didn’t need to listen to too many measures of music performed by Mr. Perlman or Mr. Ma to know that you were hearing something very special. These artists clearly loved to perform and were not afraid to take risks on stage. Their talent was totally natural, and there was no need to think about superimposing anything additional in order to please an audience.

It is rare today for a classical artist to become an “overnight sensation”. Mainstream television shows are rarely interested in presenting them. As always, careers with longevity are largely built by word of mouth. And what gets people talking? Artists with extraordinary ability who have something special to say and to offer their audience. The challenge for young artists, therefore, is to determine what makes them special. If they can identify what that is and let it guide them in choosing the music they want to share with their audience, they will stand the highest chance of building a devoted following. They can help to introduce themselves exactly as they would like to be known by creating an informative, appealing website and by uploading samples of their performances on YouTube. If part of their nature is a wonderful sense of humor, they shouldn’t hesitate to show that in their performances, especially if they choose to give spoken introductions to any of the works. If fashion is a passion for them and they want to reflect that passion in their performances, they can certainly do that and, in all likelihood, it will come across as genuine. It is only when artists try to be “hip” for the sake of being different that it is likely to backfire.  If you look at the genres of music that are reflected in both Mr. Perlman’s and Mr. Ma’s extensive discographies, you can conclude that they were very inventive in coming up with projects and collaborations that would engage their public. However, it is important to realize that Mr. Ma’s ventures into Appalachian music and the rich heritage of the Silk Road came out of a tremendous intellectual curiosity and awareness of a diversity of cultures. He was fascinated by this music and wanted to make it part of his concert life. Similarly, Mr. Perlman’s irresistible recordings and concerts of klezmer music were inspired by music he heard in his childhood and learned from his father. He was thrilled at the thought of sharing this music with his classical music audience. I feel confident that if young artists today bring this same kind of genuine excitement and imagination to the decisions they make regarding programming, they will stand the greatest chance of attracting a sizable and diverse audience, as well as gaining the attention of people with the stature and influence to help them advance in their careers.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2012

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MA Bloggers Span the U.S.

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

by Sedgwick Clark

First New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert as a Musical America blogger and now Los Angeles Opera Music Director James Conlon. Welcome Maestro Conlon!

His blog, entitled “A Rich Possession,” made its debut last Thursday, February 16, and demonstrated that those who love the arts really can make a difference. All of us have seen government funding for the arts tank during the current money crunch. But when the L.A. School Board proposed cutting all arts instruction in elementary classes, Conlon writes, “The public outcry against these cuts was loud and clear—and effective.”

The elementary school years are the most impressionable time for introduction to the arts. Thank goodness for Mrs. Kirk, the music teacher at Westview Elementary in Muncie. She taught me clarinet in second grade, and every Halloween she played a recording of Saint-Saëns’s Danse macabre, which fired my imagination and a love for classical music that burns unabated.

Read Conlon’s eloquent letter to the superintendant of the L.A. Board of Education and watch for his further contributions in the list of blogs on the right side of the Web site home page.

Copland House Comes to Manhattan

For years I’ve been tempted by Music from Copland House concerts, at Aaron Copland’s National Historic Landmark home in New York’s lower Hudson Valley, but they always seemed out of reach. On Monday (2/20), however, the Mountain came to Mohammed when several of the ensemble’s artists played a tasty program of mostly lightish American music at a dual benefit concert at Christ and St. Stephens Church on West 69th Street.

Following a performance by students and teachers of UpBeat NYC, a “grassroots organization” in the South Bronx modeled after El Sistema, the Copland House portion began with a world premiere by Rob Smith of Chaw, followed by works by Pierre Jalbert, Paul Schoenfield, Derek Bermel, Copland, and Grainger. All were executed winningly, especially Copland’s Vitebsk, which was given a stunning reading by violinist Harumi Rhodes, cellist Nicholas Canellakis, and pianist Michael Boriskin.

Music from Copland House next performs in Manhattan at the Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Hall on March 28.

Callas in My Dotage

This being the video and audio age, it seems asinine that people would watch films on computers, in the air, or, god forbid, on a cell anything. Lincoln Center to the rescue!

LC has been offering live-performance and documentary films for many years at Walter Reade Theater. I’ve attended numerous screenings even when I own the DVDs for the same reason I go to old movies in a theater: They were made for each other. I have a lot of Bernstein videos, but I still go to the Reade when they are shown. (How about his Verdi Requiem, Jane?) I hope that one of these days a Carlos Kleiber video festival will pop up. But I especially go for the artists I never experienced live, and this year it’s Maria Callas.

I often say that I’m saving such-and-such for my dotage, when there are no performers around anymore capable of producing what I want to hear in, say, Mahler, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, et al.—and that’s happening with alarming rapidity! Most music before Haydn, Schubert, and grand opera fall into my dotage category. Of course I have Callas’s irreplaceable 1954 recording of Tosca but none of her bel canto efforts. (Tristan, Otello, Pelléas, Bluebeard’s Castle, and Lulu are my favored operatic speed.)

So I’m looking forward to the first two Callas on Film presentations at the Reade on March 17. There’s one on the 18th too, but I can’t resist another of Leon Botstein’s last-chance-in-a-lifetime concerts over at Carnegie at the same hour—this time of Franz Schmidt’s opera Notre Dame.

Looking Forward

My week’s scheduled concerts:

2/22 Alice Tully Hall. Britten Sinfonia/Thomas Adès (conductor and piano); Pekka Kuusisto (violin). Couperin: Les baricades mistérieuses. Couperin (arr. Adès): Les baricades mistérieuses. Adès: Three Studies After Couperin. Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin. Stravinsky (arr. Dushkin): Airs du rossignol et March chinoise; Suite Nos. 1 and 2. Adès: Violin Concerto, Concentric Paths.

2/24 Carnegie Hall. Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle. Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (completed performance edition by Samale-Phillips-Cohrs-Mazzuca, rev. 2011).

2/25 Carnegie Hall. Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle; Camilla Tilling, soprano; Bernarda Fink, mezzo; Westminster Symphonic Choir. Wolf: “Elfenlied”; “Der Feuerreiter”; “Frühlingschor” from Manuel Venegas. Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”).

2/26 at 3 p.m. Avery Fisher Hall. Pittsburgh Symphony/Manfred Honeck; Hilary Hahn, violin. Stucky: Silent Spring. Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5.

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The Fight for Arts Education

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

by James Conlon

Public school districts throughout the country are struggling to meet mandated requirements with shrinking budgets. In such times, school boards are forced to make wrenching choices. The Los Angeles School Board met on February 14 to consider the elimination of a number of programs, including all elementary school arts instruction. The public outcry against these cuts was loud and clear—and effective. The Board decided to reconsider the cuts and to explore alternatives. The outcome of all this remains far from certain, but it is clear that the Board was influenced, at least for the moment, by the many letters, emails and comments it received. It is encouraging to know that if those of us who value the arts raise our voices, they can be heard.

Below was my own contribution to the discussion. To be continued, I’m sure.

—————————–

TO: Dr John Deasy, Superintendent, and Members of the LAUSD Board of Education

I write to you today having learned of the proposed funding cuts and possible elimination of the art and music program in LAUSD Elementary Schools.

As Music Director of Los Angeles Opera since 2006, and as one who, for the last forty years has been privileged to enjoy an international conducting career, I am deeply concerned. I myself am a product of the New York City Public School System, and I can personally attest to the importance that arts education plays in children’s lives.

The arts are for everyone, not a selected few. They historically have been, and must remain, an integral part of public education. A society without music and art is a society without a soul. A society that does not educate its young people endangers that soul. Art is not a frill, but an essential part of every child’s (and adult’s) intellectual, emotional and spiritual development. It is indispensable for the character development of a generation upon whom we count to constitute an informed and responsible citizenry for the future of our country.

Public arts education has suffered massive cutbacks over the past thirty years. That trend must be reversed, not made worse by further cuts. The relatively small fiscal benefit that these cuts would represent is far outweighed by the human toll of a generation of Los Angeles’ children being deprived of the joy and enrichment that the arts provide.

I understand that difficult choices must be made in these complex times. I also recognize and appreciate that you, as the leaders of the LAUSD, have no desire to make these, or any other, painful cuts.

However, the Los Angeles community looks to the District’s leadership to do what is best for its children, not only to manage, in all good faith, shrinking resources in difficult fiscal times. The creativity, compassion and wisdom required at this moment are the essence of what the arts represent in our—or any civilized –society. Standing up for artistic expression and its enduring value is, in fact, the best evidence of a society’s best intentions.

With very best wishes,

James Conlon

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Which Matters More: What You Sing or Where You Sing It?

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

Congratulations to soprano, Amy Oraftik, whose question below won Second Prize in The Ask Edna First Anniversary contest. Amy wins a free review of her press kit or website.

Dear Edna:

I am an opera singer who recently graduated from school. In my first year out, I had a variety of opportunities. I sang at a well-respected young artist program, sang in the chorus of a B level opera house and have been singing lead roles at very small/low budget opera companies. At every turn, I’ve had to decline one opportunity in order to pursue another. For example, to sing chorus I had to turn down outreach work with the young artist program and to do a lead role at a small house, I had to turn down a chorus opportunity that would have paid more. I know that what matters most is talent, but I’m just not sure what the best choices are to build a resume and a career. It’s exciting and fulfilling to have roles but the venues are anything but impressive; whereas the young artist programs and chorus positions I get are with opera companies that are impressive and pay more, even though I don’t get to be a featured singer. My question is this: When casting directors and agents consider engaging an artist, do they care more about what the artist has performed or where they performed it? —Amy Oraftik

Dear Amy:

It is actually a bit hard to answer your question in a vacuum without knowing more about your overall career aspirations and financial realities. If your dream is to be a “featured singer” and you have reason to think that you will achieve that some day, based on feedback from your teachers and other professionals who know your work, it probably makes sense for you to go on singing lead roles, even in smaller houses, in order to build your repertoire and gain experience in those roles. Working in a young artist program can also prove beneficial, as many such programs are watched by agents and casting directors, provided that they are at a certain level. If your financial situation is such that you need to do chorus work from time to time to make ends meet, perhaps you can fit that in whenever possible.

To answer the question in your last sentence, agents and casting directors are definitely influenced by where you have sung. If your experience has only been in small companies and there is no evidence that you are advancing to new levels or attracting the attention of their colleagues, they are unlikely to make offers to you. This could well prove frustrating to you after a while and have a significant impact on your income. If you truly enjoy chorus work and feel that you could be very satisfied with the potential income, as well as the opportunity to sing in high quality productions that you find inspiring, this might be an equally good option for you. You might even find yourself singing alongside individuals who, at some point, enjoyed active careers as soloists. These are difficult economic times and everyone needs to find stability in their lives, especially if they have a family to support.

Soprano Laura Claycomb has a very interesting and informative blog on which she offers career advice in the “Young Artist Corner”. A recent column, written by bass, Martin L. Poock, shared the rewards of being a professional chorister. It sounds to me like Mr. Poock found himself in a situation exactly like yours at one point. He writes very honestly about his past quandaries and how he resolved them. While his decisions will not necessarily dictate your own, I think you will find it beneficial to read what he has written. All the very best of luck to you!

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2012

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The Gershwins’ Electronic Porgy

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

by Sedgwick Clark

Am I the only one who found Audra McDonald’s Bess jarring?

The controversial pared-down adaptation of Porgy and Bess now on Broadway—updated, rewritten, politicized, feminized, call it what you will—was initially attacked by Stephen Sondheim prior to its Cambridge tryout last summer, sight unseen, for having the audacity to change the text. But whatever problems the critics had with the adaptation by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre L. Murray, Diane Paulus’s directorial concept, or the other actors/singers, McDonald emerged triumphant and, as Susan Elliott wrote in her Musicalamerica.com review, will probably get a Tony.

My problem with McDonald—who may be my favorite singer in the world—is that she is playing neo-realism, complete with a nasty scar on her left cheek and a downright ugly tone of her alluring voice. Alright, I get it: Bess is a drug-addicted ho, and the rest of the cast could be right out of Gone with the Wind. Crown (Phillip Boykin) could take a lesson from Wagner’s Hunding, and David Alan Grier’s drug-dealing Sportin’ Life is no more reptilian than a garter snake. Norm Lewis portrays a noble Porgy but can’t compete vocally with the aggressive Audra, whose show this clearly is.

Today being today, the set is as deliberately depressing as possible. The choreography is crippled (was this deliberate too?). Perhaps worst of all, Gershwin’s lush orchestral writing is reduced to a hideously tinny, gratingly amplified 20-piece band, clodhopperishly conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulos. I knew we were in for a rough evening when the piano jumped out clangorously in the texture early in the overture.

No amount of bowdlerization by the current Broadway production will stop sold-out audiences from standing and cheering, however, and the run has been extended. At intermission, a woman behind me said to a friend, “I’m caught up in the music. What did they cut?” Just goes to show ya’ that even pockmarked by an unmusical rendering, Gershwin’s songs can’t be beat.

Many critics referred to Simon Rattle’s recording as an interpretive touchstone. I’ve not heard it, but I was struck when I listened again this weekend to the excellent 1977 Houston Grand Opera recording on RCA by how the music could only have been composed in the 20th century. I happily recall the Met’s fine production from the 1980s, but the most memorable production I’ve seen was at Radio City Music Hall in 1983, unerringly conducted by C. William Harwood. I recall thinking how much I looked forward to hearing him conduct again; tragically he succumbed to AIDS a year later at age 36.

The Unpredictable Jed Distler

Jed once composed a string quartet styled as a set of variations on the Mister Softee theme, in which the final variation was a triple fugue combining the Mister Softee and Mister Ed themes with Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge.

Friday (2/17) is the 30th anniversary of the great jazz composer-pianist Thelonius Monk’s death. At the Cornelia Street Café (29 Cornelia Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Manhattan) Jed will play two sets of what he calls “The Complete Works of Thelonius Monk,” at 9 and 10:30. The complete works? That seemed preposterous even for Jed, so I called him.

“Basically I’m interweaving all the pieces into one continuous fabric. Sometimes there might be seven blues themes played in quick succession over a pedal point, but in contrast Blue Monk provides a framework for more extensive, complex improvisation. In a few instances I’ll be playing the songs exactly as written.  In others the themes might suggest Shostakovich or Strauss, but of course through my own demented filters.”

My Night with Gluck  

Being a picky opera and baroque fancier, the combined Met+Juilliard alliance in a concert performance of Gluck’s Armide (1777) at the School’s Jay Sharp Theater may have been and is likely to be my sole encounter with this composer’s music, which struck me as formulaic/uninspired. The plot is set at the time of the First Crusade and deals with the sorceress Armide, princess of Damascus, who has, shall we say, issues with men and is horrified to find that she is falling in love with the one who alone has withstood her charms. Look to Tommasini’s glowing review in the Times for a more informed appreciation. But I must say that I agreed with Tony completely on the quite impressive performances by the young cast. I’ll list them in full below and bet that several of these names will be well known in the near future. Emalie Savoy in the title role and Renée Tatum as La Haine, in particular, were dramatic dynamite.

The cast: Emalie Savoy (Armide), Alexander Hajek (Hidraot), David Portillo (Renaud), Alexander Lewis (Artémidore), Luthando Qave (Ubalde), Noah Baetge (Le Chevalier Danois), Wallis Giunta (Phénice), Devon Guthrie (Sidonie), Evan Hughes (Aronte), Renée Tatum (La Haine), Soo Yeon Kim (La Naïade), Pureum Jo (2nd Coryphée), Deanna Breiwick (Une Bergère), Lilla Heinrich-Szász (Lucinde), and Raquel González (Mélisse). The British conductor Jane Glover was the workmanlike leader.

To give full due to the presenters: The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in partnership with the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School.

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Telling the Truth about Injuries

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

Congratulations to Patricia Goodson who is Third Prize winner of the Ask Edna First Anniversary contest, affording her a free review of her resume. I am grateful to all of you who submitted questions and will be answering many of them in the coming months. Please keep them coming!

Dear Edna:

How should one handle having an injury? I recall a friend being advised to keep a hand problem quiet as presenters might avoid him, thinking he might cancel. He found himself unable to commit to concert dates because he did not know when, or even if, he would be up to playing again, and he felt nervous about revealing why. As it is not uncommon for musicians to suffer from some sort of career-slowing injury at some point, should we have contingency plans ready? — Patricia Goodson

Dear Patricia:

As with so many situations in life, I think that honesty is the best policy. I have heard of artists who were unable to perform due to a hand injury but who publicly canceled their concert due to the flu.  This can become problematical if the injury doesn’t heal as quickly as anticipated. The flu no longer seems like a credible reason. And who wants to stay home for weeks on end to cover up for a hand injury? Based on my experience, most presenters are very understanding about artists suffering injuries. They take it in stride and may agree to canceling or rescheduling the concert without giving a specific reason. However, they may be pushed by the press for more information, in which case a sprained wrist, infected finger or even tendinitis or a bone spur will not be a cause for alarm. Matters get a little more complicated if an artist has a chronic hand problem and the prognosis for complete recovery is uncertain. Even then, it is best for the artist or manager to be up front with the presenter, saying that they want to help them avert any last minute problems and therefore they are putting them on notice that the concert date could be in jeopardy. In such cases, the presenter might look for a substitute artist who is available, if needed. The presenter wouldn’t be booking the artist if they didn’t admire them and value having them on their series. Consequently, they will wholeheartedly hope for their recovery. If an artist or manager is dishonest with a presenter, only revealing the truth at the last minute, it could cause resentment and erode the trust that had existed between both parties, thereby making the presenter a bit hesitant the next time the artist’s name comes up.

As for contingency plans, I don’t think that most people go through life worrying about what they would do if they could no longer enjoy their current profession. They will hopefully have disability insurance, which will help to mitigate the potential financial loss that could accompany an injury. Artists should also have disability insurance. Beyond that, many artists also teach, or could turn to teaching, if necessary, in relatively short order. They might prefer to go in a totally new direction, such as artistic administration. I think there are enough pressures on any performing artist that they don’t need to live with the constant fear of possible impending injury.  They should trust that if faced with an unexpected disability that brings an end to their performing on stage, they will have many colleagues and friends who will offer their support and help them transition to the next phase of their career.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2012

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A Genuine Jolt at the NY Phil

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

by Sedgwick Clark

Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic are on a European tour for a couple of weeks, and for a change I didn’t roll my eyes in despair when I saw the list of repertoire. His predecessors as music director, Kurt Masur and Lorin Maazel, for all their superb work at building the ensemble, utilized Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony (1894) as the orchestra’s calling card. But not only has Gilbert leapt ahead half a century to show off the ensemble with another Philharmonic commission conducted by its composer at its premiere, Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements (1946), on February 17 he has included the U.K. premiere of Thomas Adès’s hot-off-the-press Polaris, which the Phil played in its New York City premiere only a month ago. Moreover, he has also programmed Composer in Residence Magnus Lindberg’s 1997 Féria three times.

The repertoire list below must come as a genuine jolt to anyone who has looked at how the orchestra presents itself to the world. Not even Zubin Mehta, who was not averse to contemporary music during his tenure, had the nerve to acknowledge the 20th century so thoroughly on tour. The only German chestnut here is the Beethoven Violin Concerto. And while Lang Lang plays the First Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto three times, he also plays Bartók’s Second Concerto thrice on a bracing program that begins with the Lindberg piece and ends with Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony.

Don’t get me wrong. These programs are hardly the adventures of the Boulez years. But when it seems that everyone’s idea of selling tickets these days is to advance to the rear, I applaud Gilbert and my home orchestra for making a statement on tour with meaty works by Bartók, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev and hors d’oeuvres by Adès and Lindberg.

EUROPE / WINTER 2012
New York Philharmonic
Alan Gilbert, conductor

Feb. 2, 8:00 pm (Cologne, Philharmonie)
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2

Feb. 3, 8:00 pm (Luxembourg, Salle de Concerts)
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2

Feb. 4, 8:00 pm (Luxembourg, Salle de Concerts)
Lang Lang, piano
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Feb. 6, 8:00 pm (Paris, Salle Pleyel)
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2

Feb. 7, 8:00 pm (Paris, Salle Pleyel)
Lang Lang, piano
Lindberg: Féria
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Feb. 8, 8:00 pm (Frankfurt, Alte Oper)
Lang Lang, piano
Lindberg: Féria
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Feb. 9, 8:00 pm (Frankfurt, Alte Oper)
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2

Feb. 11, 8:00 pm (Düsseldorf, Tonhalle)
Lang Lang, Piano
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Feb. 1, 8:15 pm (Amsterdam, Concertgebouw)
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2

Feb. 14, 8:15 pm (Amsterdam, Concertgebouw)
Lang Lang, piano
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Feb. 16, 7:30 pm (London, Barbican)
Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Feb. 17, 7:30 pm (London, Barbican)
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Adès: Polaris (U.K. Premiere)
Berlioz: Les nuits d’été
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2

Feb. 18, 4:00 p.m. (London, Barbican)
Young People’s Concert: Bernstein’s New York
Leonard Bernstein’s New York
Jamie Bernstein, host
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
Bernstein/Peress: Overture to West Side Story
Copland: “Skyline” from Music for a Great City�
Strayhorn: “Take the ‘A’ Train”
Bernstein: “Ain’t Got No Tears Left,” from On the Town
Bernstein: “The Masque,” from Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety
Bernstein: Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
                        The Great Lover
                        Lonely Town Pas de Deux
                        Times Square 1944

Feb. 18, 8:00 p.m. (London, Barbican)
Lang Lang, piano
Lindberg: Féria
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Stage Door Johnny Dept.
Tuesday night while picking up tickets for Porgy and Bess, I found myself standing next to playwright Neil Simon. I try not to bother celebrities, and I succeeded for a few seconds, but I couldn’t resist telling him that on my first night after moving to New York from Muncie over 43 years ago I saw George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton in his Plaza Suite on Broadway, and what a great introduction it was to my new home. He seemed genuinely pleased and thanked me for telling him. A nice man.

Looking Forward
My week’s scheduled concerts:

2/8 Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Gluck: Armide. Juilliard Orchestra/Jane Glover. Emalie Savoy (Armide), Alexander Hajek (Hidraot), David Portillo (Renaud), Alexander Lewis (Artémidore), Luthando Qave (Ubalde), Noah Baetge (Le Chevalier Danois), Wallis Giunta (Phénice), Devon Guthrie (Sidonie), Evan Hughes (Aronte), Renée Tatum (La Haine), Soo Yeon Kim (La Naïade), Pureum Jo (2nd Coryphée), Deanna Breiwick (Une Bergère), Lilla Heinrich-Szász (Lucinde), and Raquel González (Mélisse).

2/14 Carnegie Hall. Philadelphia Orchestra/Charles Dutoit; James Ehnes/violin. Martin: Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto. Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra.

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