The last thing that Alan Gilbert or the New York Philharmonic needs is another affirmation that they have done something important and memorable by producing Le Grand Macabre in May. There were three (perhaps more?) New York Times articles over 11 days (May 18th, 23rd, 28th), an nice summary over on Anne Midgette’s Washington Post blog, and from just a few days ago there was this over at Newsweek. Of course our own site added to the frenzy of press/buzz here, here, here, here, here, here, and here – and with good reason! I’m quite happy to throw my hat
Read moreIn his 5/23 article for the NY Times, Daniel Wakin asked ,”A contemporary surrealist opera at the NY Philharmonic? About the end of the world? On Memorial Day weekend? What are they thinking over there at Avery Fisher Hall?” He then went on to report that “2/3 of the Philharmonic’s regular concert goers were having none of it… subscription sales averaged about 33 percent, the Philharmonic acknowledged…” When I went to the Philharmonic website last night, I was greeted with message that the entire run is SOLD OUT! Apparently, the NY Philharmonic was thinking that there might be other audience members interested in the
Read moreFor our friends in Southern California… Soprano Susan Narucki (Professor of Music at UC San Diego) and her new ensemble, Kallisti, will debut this week with the West Coast premiere of Pascal Dusapin’s chamber opera To Be Sung (text by Gertrude Stein). Check out To Be Sung on May 26, 27 and 28 at 7 p.m. in the Black Box Theater at the Conrad Prebys Music Center on the UC San Diego campus. General tickets are $25, but get this: $1 student rush tickets available one hour before the concert. Did you see that? $1 student rush tickets!
Read more[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4SW9Zvtd9E[/youtube]
Read moreCongratulations to Joseph Rosenzweig, the first correct answerer to yesterday’s Ligeti question. Yes, Ligeti’s Poeme Symphonique is for 100 metronomes, and with that Mr. Rosenzweig & friend will be attending The New York Philharmonic’s May 27th production of Le Grand Macabre. But there is still one more pair of tickets to give away, and one more question for some speedy answerer to, well, answer: In 1986 Ligeti was an early winner of the prestigious Grawemeyer Award. For what work was it given? Answers to: sequenza21@gmail.com Will you be the first person e-mailing us the correct response? Will you be the lucky
Read moreThat was György Ligeti speaking about his opera Le Grand Macabre, in a 1978 interview with Herman Sabbe. Almost sounds sweet, doesn’t it? One little snag: to get to that end, you’re going to have to endure — or better yet, revel in — the hellish, absurd and grotesque. But Ligeti leads you through all this with a gleam, wink and half-smile, and the end result is a hellishly good time. Since its 1978 premiere Le Grand Macabre has had a wealth of performances all around the world; yet it’s only now that New York is getting its first full and fully-staged presentation.
Read moreComposer Oscar Bettison sent along this report about student opera performances in Baltimore, Maryland. Opera Etudes at Peabody Every other year at Peabody, the month of May means one thing for the composition and opera departments: ‘Opera Etudes.’ This project, which has been running for twenty-five years under the guidance of the Director of Opera Programs Roger Brunyate, is a year-long collaboration between graduate composition students and the opera department. Starting in the fall, composers are paired with librettists and singers to work on the creation of short staged opera scenes. These are then fully staged in Friedberg Hall, the
Read moreDennis Báthory-Kitsz has been a great friend of new music, a great friend of S21, and a great friend of myself personally for about as long as I’ve been online. Justly (semi-) famous as the “Kalvos” half of the long-running institution that was Kalvos & Damian’s new Music Bazaar (now continued as Kalvos & Damian In the House!), Dennis has never let his rather remote Vermont location interfere with spreading the word about living composers and their music, whether through regular radio and online broadcasts, a steady stream of writings, and endless creative projects. At the same time, he’s also
Read moreThursday, April 15 marked the New York premiere of Louis Andriessen’s latest opera, La Commedia at Carnegie Hall. I was lucky enough to make it up to New York for this event. — Full disclosure: part of my trip to New York was to meet with Andriessen to discuss my plans for performing his 1984-88 opera, De Materie in Washington, D.C. this coming October. I’ll be blogging a lot about that process in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. Frankly, I am as addicted to Andriessen’s music as the composer is to garlic (which I found out over bread and
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