Painful footsteps are behind me Here you stand so clear and far Through the willows all I see is a lonely burning star –Thor Lange, “Sun at Rest” Cellist Kirstine Elise Pedersen and bassist Mathæus Bech, a.k.a. LuLo, came together through a shared fascination with the singular, often-misunderstood Danish composer Rued Langgaard (1893–1952). Their approach to his music is both reverent and daring. Rather than treating the scores as sacred artifacts, they dismantled them lovingly, listening closely to recordings, transcribing passages by ear, and distilling sprawling works—from piano pieces to string quartets and symphonies—down to a page or less of
Read moreGérard Grisey – Vortex Temporum Ukho Ensemble Kyiv, Luigi Gaggero, conductor Self-released LP Composer Gérard Grisey (1946-1998) employed methods that often involved magnifying seemingly small details into overarching concepts. This is particularly true of spectrographic measurements taken of single pitches, such as the low E on a trombone, which revealed a series of overtones that he would use to craft harmonic systems for a number of pieces. This spectral approach, also employed by Tristan Murail, Hugues Dufourt, James Tenney, and others, was an important feature of French music, and later that in other countries, from the 1970s onward.
Read moreZeelie Brown, the apocalypse is not the end but the unveiling (NWAM202) Essvus, What Ails You (NWAM201) Ruby Colley & EXAUDI, Hello Halo (NWAM200) Travis Laplante & JACK Quartet, String Quartets (NWAM199) Based on the evidence provided by this exciting quartet of recent releases, the sails on New Amsterdam Records’ windmill rotate with ever-increasing productivity, invention and creativity these days. The two most recent recordings, the apocalypse is not the end but the unveiling by cellist and multimedia artist Zeelie Brown and What Ails You by Essvus, deal directly with social, political, and personal issues. Part of NewAm’s new series of
Read moreElliott Carter’s String Quartet No. 1, by Laura Emmery, Cambridge Elements, Music Since 1945, Cambridge University Press. Laura Emmery has done a great deal of analytical research on the music of Elliott Carter, and her book on his string quartets is a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning how he composes. Emmery’s latest publication is part of Cambridge University Press’s Elements series, one of several slender and specific books that each deal with a particular topic. Here, it is Elliott Carter’s String Quartet No. 1, which was composed in 1950-’51 and is widely regarded as a watershed work
Read morePierre Boulez Piano Works, Ralph van Raat (Naxos) The Pierre Boulez centennial year has seen a number of important concerts, publications, and recordings devoted to his music. Boulez (1925-2016) wrote three piano sonatas, which are considered important both in his catalog and in the avant-garde repertory. Contemporary music specialists tend to gravitate towards these totemic compositions – Idil Biret has recorded them for Naxos – but there are several other works for piano by Boulez, and they too are worthy of attention. Ralph van Raat has previously recorded for Naxos two selections by him, the early pieces Prelude, Toccata,
Read moreMonk in Pieces is the latest, and most biographical, in a long line of documentary treatments of Meredith Monk, noted for her synthesis of minimalism, vocalism and theater, and for an informal personality that conceals the stoic tenacity behind this iconic avant-garde performing artist.
Read morePierre-Laurent Aimard in Recital 92nd Street Y November 19, 2025 Published in Sequenza 21 NEW YORK – Pianist Pierre-Laurant Aimard has had a long and fruitful collaboration with the composer George Benjamin. Aimard’s recital program this past Wednesday at the 92nd Street Y was conceived and built around two of Benjamin’s pieces, Shadowlines, a group of six canons for solo piano, and Divisions, a new four-hand piece on which the composer joined him for this New York premiere. The other programmed works were meant to complement the Benjamin pieces and proved to be strong foils for them. Nikolai
Read moreCan art be created during a time of war and conflict? Is it even required when a country is besieged by bombs, ballistic missiles and drone attacks, its borders pushed back by the constant assaults of a belligerent invading army? Should we make time for theatre, dance, music, and song when a far more real, deadly drama is unfolding in a theatre of war on one’s doorstep? These questions are never far from the people of Ukraine. With the country locked in a bloody battle with Russia—three months shy of its grim four-year anniversary—it would be easy for Ukrainians to
Read moreWesoła Immersive New Media Art Center, Krakow, November 22, 2025 One cannot draw too many conclusions from the evidence of one concert, of course, but from the rich wealth and diverse array of live electronics, multimedia, sound design and improvisation presented at Wesoła Immersive New Media Art Center in Krakow on November 22, 2025, it appears that the Polish new music scene is undergoing something of a creative resurgence. In the presence of a packed and enthusiastic audience, Teresa Virginia Salis’s Natural Paths, for alto flute, electronics and video, took the listener out of the performance space and deep into
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Classical Music, Commissions, Concert review, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, jazz, Lincoln Center, New York, Orchestras, Premieres
An expansive palette of colors was on display at the New York Philharmonic concert at David Geffen Hall on Friday. David Robertson shone a light on the performers and the scores, exposing nuances of hues, pastels, brights and brilliance. The entire program – Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka, the Violin Concerto by Wyton Marsalis and the world premiere of a new work by Caroline Mallonee – focused on color and mood. I had high hopes in particular for this performance of Petrushka, to erase my memory of a flaccid reading of the work a couple of years ago. The Philharmonic redeemed themselves,
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