Wait, You Need to Suffer Some More Musicians Grapple With Beethoven January 2, 2015 | The New York Times “Which master managed, as Beethoven did in his late music, to weld together present, past and future, the sublime and the profane?” Alfred Brendel wrote in his recent book for piano ...
Read MoreDeath and Destruction Via the American Symphony Orchestra
Leon Botstein leading the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall through works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gyorgy Ligeti and Alfred Schnittke. Photo by Emon Hassan. Through Survivors’ Dark-Hued Chords, Conveying the Trauma of a Century American Symphony Orchestra Samples the 20th Century December 17, 2014 Concerts of holiday favorites, the ...
Read MoreThe Uneasy Intersection of Politics and Music in Contemporary Turkey
Look East, West and Inward Challenges Test Turkey’s Classical Music Ensembles July 10, 2014 | The New York Times ISTANBUL — On a recent evening here, young people tossed Frisbees on the grassy lawns of an American-style college campus, while elegantly clad patrons sipped wine before a concert featuring ...
Read MoreMorton Feldman’s String Quartet No. 2 (Which I Try, and Fail, To Love)
The Flux Quartet. From left: Felix Fan, Max Mandel, Conrad Harris and Tom Chiu performing Morton Feldman’s String Quartet No. 2 at Park Avenue Armory. Photo by Richard Termine. A Marathon Performance (Aches, Too) April 29, 2014 | The New York Times The music of Morton Feldman, for me, is ...
Read MoreRumi is an Inspiration at the Istanbul Jazz Festival
Istanbul Deftly Takes Contrasts in Its Stride Rumi Is an Inspiration at the Istanbul Jazz Festival July 7, 2014 | The New York Times ISTANBUL — During one particularly eclectic afternoon here at the end of June, I watched the whirling dervishes in their serene ritual at the 15th-century Mevlevi ...
Read MoreDrumming Puts Spotlight on Percussion Works
From left, Christopher Froh, Ayano Kataoka and Ian David Rosenbaum in a percussion-focused show at Alice Tully Hall. Photo by Benjamin Norman. Wood Taps Give Works a Slick Beat ‘Drumming’ Puts Spotlight on Percussion Works February 4, 2015 | The New York Times During a performance of Thierry ...
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