G . S chirmer 257 Park Avenue South, 20th Floor New York, NY 10010 tel 212 254 2100 fax 212 254 2013 News from G. Schirmer, Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, Inc. Members of the Music Sales Group www.schirmer.com April ’05 “Augusta Read Thomas is one of my favorite living American composers.” George Steel, director of Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, declares his enthusiasm for her music as she is featured this month in its portrait concert series. “It has been my wish for a long time to have a portrait of Augusta,” he elaborates. “Her music is exciting, vibrant, colorful, and wonderfully made. I think we have put together a diverse program — with a great ensemble, Alarm Will Sound (conducted by Alan Pierson) — that will show off many different sides of her work.” The concert Michael Tilson Thomas at Carnegie Hall In 1997, Carnegie Hall’s “Making Music” concert series debuted. Since then, 13 of our composers have been featured on these portrait programs. On 10 April, Michael Tilson Thomas takes center stage as number 14 for an evening of informal chat and performances that includes the world premieres of three new chamber works: Notturno, Rilke Songs, and Tea with Maggie. Moderated by Carnegie’s artistic advisor Ara Guzelimian, the concert also highlights Tilson Thomas’s recent percussion work Island Music. A Pair of Composer Portraits Augusta Read Thomas at Miller Theatre highlights a number of premieres: the first performance of her new work Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour (written especially for Alarm Will Sound for this concert); and the New York premieres of In My Sky at Twilight , Silver Chants the Litanies, and Spirit Musings. Also this month: the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts the choral group Chanticleer as they present the New York premiere of Purple Syllables, and Thomas’s cello compositions are the subject of an article in Strings Magazine. Next month, Thomas expands her catalogue with four world pre- mieres: the San Diego Symphony presents Credences of Summer; the Lincoln Trio performs Moon Jig; the Newman and Oltman Guitar Duo introduces Memory: Swells; and violinist Rachel Barton Pine premieres Caprice at the Musicorda Festival (MA) and then takes the work to DC for the annual US Supreme Court Musicale, a private concert which will be later broad- cast on NPR’s “Performance Today.” illustration: Richard Vecchio Augusta Read Thomas photo: Susan Schelling, courtesy San Francisco Symphony I have been writing solo and chamber pieces for the last year or so while sketching and gathering thoughts towards something new. ‘Rilke Songs’ [is] an examination of the curious way in which Schubert, Mahler, and cowboy songs overlap — something my father pointed out to me when I was child. Imagine a Jewish pianist in a cowboy bar in Durango who channels Mahler and Schubert. ‘‘ — As told to James M. Keller ‘Notturno’ is my take on old- fashioned étude de concert [inspired by flutists Paula Robison and Paul Renzi, the San Francisco Symphony’s principal flutist for nearly 50 years]. It has the shape of a big operatic scene... Five or six years ago, [press representative Margaret Carson] came to tea and I demonstrated for her my new Sibelius com- posing software. We sat down together and started to impro- vise using three sounds from the sound-bank of that computer... What [we] impro- vised was a monstrous concoction, but I’ve returned to it from time to time, and the result is this piece of pure music conjecture. [‘Tea with Maggie’] is my tribute to the kind of music I performed a good deal in my younger days, an affectionate send-up of a certain severe, bygone style that was formerly known as ‘avant-garde.’ ’’ Notturno fl; hp, 2vn, va, vc, db Rilke Songs Baritone, piano (three songs of the five-song cycle will be premiered) “Ich lebe mein leben” “Lied des Trinkers” “Immer wieder” Tea With Maggie electronics Alarm Will Sound
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G.Schirmer257 Park Avenue South, 20th FloorNew York, NY 10010tel 212 254 2100fax 212 254 2013
News from G. Schirmer, Inc.and Associated Music Publishers, Inc.
Members of the Music Sales Groupwww.schirmer.com
April ’05
“Augusta Read Thomas is oneof my favorite living Americancomposers.” George Steel, directorof Columbia University’s MillerTheatre, declares his enthusiasm forher music as she is featured thismonth in its portrait concert series.
“It has been my wish for a longtime to have a portrait of Augusta,”he elaborates. “Her music is exciting, vibrant, colorful, and wonderfully made. I think we have put together a diverse program — with a great ensemble, Alarm Will Sound (conducted by Alan Pierson) — that will show off many different sides of her work.” The concert
Michael Tilson Thomas at Carnegie Hall
In 1997, Carnegie Hall’s “Making Music” concert series debuted. Since then, 13 ofour composers have been featured on these portrait programs. On 10 April,Michael Tilson Thomas takes center stage as number 14 for an evening ofinformal chat and performances that includes the world premieres of three newchamber works: Notturno, Rilke Songs, and Tea with Maggie. Moderated by Carnegie’sartistic advisor Ara Guzelimian, the concert also highlights Tilson Thomas’s recentpercussion work Island Music.
A Pair of Composer PortraitsAugusta Read Thomas at Miller Theatre
highlights a number of premieres:the first performance of her newwork Final Soliloquy of the InteriorParamour (written especially forAlarm Will Sound for this concert);and the New York premieres of InMy Sky at Twilight, Silver Chants theLitanies, and Spirit Musings.
Also this month: the MetropolitanMuseum of Art hosts the choral
group Chanticleer as they presentthe New York premiere of PurpleSyllables, and Thomas’s cellocompositions are the subject of anarticle in Strings Magazine.
Next month, Thomas expands hercatalogue with four world pre-mieres: the San Diego Symphonypresents Credences of Summer; theLincoln Trio performs Moon Jig; theNewman and Oltman Guitar Duointroduces Memory: Swells; andviolinist Rachel Barton Pinepremieres Caprice at the MusicordaFestival (MA) and then takes thework to DC for the annual USSupreme Court Musicale, a privateconcert which will be later broad-cast on NPR’s “Performance Today.”illustration: Richard VecchioAugusta Read Thomas
photo: Susan Schelling, courtesy San Francisco Symphony
␣ ␣ ␣ ␣ ␣ I have been writing solo and chamber pieces forthe last year or so whilesketching and gatheringthoughts towards somethingnew. ‘Rilke Songs’ [is] anexamination of the curiousway in which Schubert,Mahler, and cowboy songsoverlap — something myfather pointed out to mewhen I was child. Imagine aJewish pianist in a cowboybar in Durango who channelsMahler and Schubert.
‘‘
— As told to James M. Keller
‘Notturno’ is my take on old-fashioned étude de concert[inspired by flutists PaulaRobison and Paul Renzi, theSan Francisco Symphony’sprincipal flutist for nearly 50years]. It has the shape of a bigoperatic scene...
Five or six years ago, [pressrepresentative Margaret Carson]came to tea and I demonstratedfor her my new Sibelius com-posing software. We sat downtogether and started to impro-
vise using three sounds fromthe sound-bank of thatcomputer... What [we] impro-vised was a monstrousconcoction, but I’ve returnedto it from time to time, andthe result is this piece of puremusic conjecture. [‘Tea withMaggie’] is my tribute to thekind of music I performed agood deal in my younger days,an affectionate send-up of acertain severe, bygone stylethat was formerly known as‘avant-garde.’ ’’
Notturnofl; hp, 2vn, va, vc, db
Rilke SongsBaritone, piano
(three songs of the five-song cycle will be premiered)“Ich lebe mein leben”
“Lied des Trinkers”“Immer wieder”
Tea With Maggieelectronics
Alarm Will Sound
John CoriglianoCircus Maximus 35'
...[the] wild ride...is spatially conceived, with ahuge ensemble onstage, eleven trumpets ringingthe first tier, a saxophone trio at the edge of thesecond tier immediately above, and directlyacross from them, a horn duo. Additional
percussion could be heard from upstairs,somewhere in the back....Oh, I neglected tomention the small marching band that enteredfrom the back, paraded up to the front of thestage and then returned via the other aisle...
Review
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SneakPeek
Those trumpets began the slightly maddiversions with a unison blast that seemed tocircle the auditorium...the result was as ifblinding searchlights had been flipped on,which spread feverishly through the ensembleuntil all sections of the group were in full cry,including some impressively braying clarinets.And as in his First Symphony (and perhaps hisscore to Ken Russell’s “Altered States”),Corigliano’s language is eclectic...and wiselytaps this excellent group’s youthful exuberance,without sacrificing discipline....The audiencereaction was almost as humorously over-the-topas some of Corigliano’s ideas, but bully forthem: it’s always heartening to see peoplestanding to cheer a new piece.
— Bruce Hodges, MusicWeb.uk.net
“I’ve long had a deep, andprivate, enjoyment of mydream life.” Gabriela LenaFrank lures us into her innersanctum of inspiration, as shecontemplates the 10 Aprilworld premiere of her newtwo-movement piano quintetGhosts in the Dream Machine,performed by pianist SimoneDinnerstein and the ChiaraString Quartet in Philadelphia.
Ghosts in the Dream Machine isinspired by two sources: thestudies of Malcolm Godwin, anoted expert in the field ofdream research, and theartwork and creative mind ofSimon Dinnerstein (the fatherof the pianist). Frank contin-ues, “Godwin’s concept ofdreams refers to the transitory,hallucinatory images andimpressions from our wakinglife, which visit us in ourdreams...Simon’s work is
“Ghosts in the Dream Machine”
fantastically evocative, castingordinary subjects in a decidedlyunordinary light. He accessesthat imaginative spirit tuckedaway in the recesses of ourdream world, and the recurringthemes of mystery, night andwonder are what drives thisquintet. Originally, I heldMussorgsky’s Pictures at anExhibition as a blueprint —[Victor Hartmann’s] pictures ofRussian daily life are straight-forward and pictorial. ButSimon’s work is complex andeven elusive without being coy,much like a dream. Oneminute, it is serene; the next,highly disturbing. Thischimera-like quality cries outfor music that is psychologicallyrich, and in reworking myinitial ideas, I wrote a workwhich focuses intensely onmood and color.” Onthe 12th, Dinnersteinand the Chiara String
photo: Chris Lee
Jerry Junkin (left) and John Corigliano (right)
Quartet bring the work to theAaron Copland School ofMusic in Queens for its NewYork premiere.
More Frank news: This month,she also travels to LincolnCenter where she is featured ina portrait concert at the NewYork Public Library for thePerforming Arts. Next month,Frank goes to Brazil for theOrquesta Sinfonica da Bahia’sSouth American premiere ofIllapa: Tone Poem for Flute andOrchestra.
Marching band: pic, Ebcl, 2tpt, 2tbnUniversity of Texas Wind Ensemble/Junkin
27 February 2005; Carnegie Hall, New York CitySimone Dinnerstein
costume design: Paul Tazewell, courtesy Michigan Opera Theatre
Costume design for the character of Edward Gaines, whombaritone Rodney Gilfrey brings to life on 7 May in RichardDanielpour’s opera “Margaret Garner,” presented by theMichigan Opera Theatre. With a libretto by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, Danielpour’s first opera willbe directed by Kenny Leon and conducted by Stefan Lano.Based on an historical incident, “Margaret Garner” (a co-production with the Cincinnati Opera and Opera Companyof Philadelphia) runs for five performances, and is afeatured highlight at the 2005 Opera America Conference.
Subsequent performances at CincinnatiOpera in July 2005 and Opera Companyof Philadelphia in February 2006.
Margaret Garner (2004) full evening3(pic).2(ca).3(bcl).3(cbn)/4.3Ctpt.2+btbn.1/
timp.3perc/hp.pf(cel).stage pf/str
Principal Roles:
Mezzo-soprano, Lyric Baritone,
Dramatic Soprano, Lyric Baritone
Secondary Roles:
Dramatic Tenor, Light Lyric Soprano,
Tenor, Lyric Tenor
SATB Black Chorus, 32 voices suggested
SATB White Chorus, 40 voices suggested
3
Mark AdamoLysistrata, or The Nude Goddess 135'
A sumptuous love story, poised between comedy and heartbreak....It works: a minuteafter the music began, I knew that I was in the hands of a brilliant theatre composer.Adamo’s effortless expertise was on display in his 1998 maiden effort, Little Women,
but he has taken several bigleaps forward, particularly inintegrating his proudly tonalmelodies with more dissonantconnective material. Adamo’saccompaniments would make agood primer for any young
composer learning to write for and around singers. Each strand of the vocal line ispunctuated by some perfect short gesture: the orchestral writing is often little more— or nothing less — than a play of light around the voices. Slow dotted rhythms,reminiscent of Britten in his ceremonial mode, give the music a sudden grandeur; asthe cities work their way toward reconciliation, the women sing radiant, flowingchorales....It’s almost shocking how deep this seemingly lighthearted opera goes.
—␣ Alex Ross, The New Yorker
Review
photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Grand Opera
Premierea tragicomedy for singers and orchestra
English libretto by the composer after AristophanesMichael Kahn, stage director
Stefan Lano, music director
Principals: 17 to play 24 characters4S, 3Mz, 2C, 4T, Bar, Bar[=B-Bar], 2B-Bar
In April 1943, Americancomposer WilliamSchuman won the firstPulitzer Prize ever awardedfor musical composition forhis work, A Free Song,Secular Cantata No. 2. Thiswas not a bad achievementfor the recently appointedDirector of Publications ofG. Schirmer, and formerprofessor of music at SarahLawrence College, who,though an establishedcomposer at the time of hisaward, had earlier showedno great interest in seriousmusic at all, being en-thralled, like so many
1943 William Schuman A Free Song, Secular Cantata No. 21947 Charles Ives Symphony No. 31949 Virgil Thomson Music for the film Louisiana Story1950 Gian Carlo Menotti The Consul1955 Gian Carlo Menotti The Saint of Bleecker Street1956 Ernst Toch Symphony No. 31958 Samuel Barber Vanessa1960 Elliott Carter String Quartet No. 21961 Walter Piston Symphony No. 71963 Samuel Barber Piano Concerto No. 11967 Leon Kirchner String Quartet No. 31969 Karel Husa String Quartet No. 31973 Elliott Carter String Quartet No. 31983 Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Symphony No. 11985 Stephen Albert RiverRun1987 John Harbison The Flight Into Egypt1990 Mel Powell Duplicates: A Concerto for Two
Pianos and Orchestra1994 Gunther Schuller Of Reminiscenes and Reflections1995 Morton Gould Stringmusic1998 Aaron Jay Kernis String Quartet No. 2 (musica
instrumentalis)2000 Lewis Spratlan Life is a Dream, Act II, Concert version2001 John Corigliano Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra
young American men, by jazz and popular song.
This vitality served the more mature composerwell. Leonard Bernstein, who famously recordednumerous Schuman works, including all of hissymphonies, observed William’s “lust for life,” his“vigor and propulsion” and his “buoyancy andenergetic drive,” traits reflected time and again in
the three-movement work using poems takenfrom Walt Whitman’s Drum-Taps, written inresponse to a previous, emotionally-fraughtbattle, the Civil War. Matched perfectly inSchuman’s cantata, the poems “Long, Too Long,America,” “Look Down Fair Moon,” and “Songof the Banner at Daybreak,” successively build toa climactic cry of hope.
Since 1943 the Pulitzer Prize has honored excellence inmusical composition. G. Schirmer is endowed with agenerous legacy of Pulitzer Prize winning works:
the exuberant, life-affirming voice whichmarked Schuman’s music.
A Free Song was com-pleted in October of1942, as the tide wasbeginning to turn in theSecond World War andthe Allies were justbeginning to experiencetheir first glimmers ofsuccess. Nationalsentiment was high onthe side of the boysfighting in the war. So itis no accident thatSchuman, an experiencedchoral composer, built
The opening lines of “Long, TooLong, America” sound a summonsand a challenge that goes straightover the footlights.
— Boston Herald-Tribune, April 1943
The composition is clear cut, finely feltand expertly fashioned, and foundimmediate favor with the listeners.
— Musical Courier, April 1943
Of William Schuman’s A Free Song letit be said here is a work of significantmeaning. He paints with bold vividstrokes and has a particular leaningtoward choral music.
— Music News, June 1945
Mr. Schuman understands how tohandle voices and orchestra andthere are moments of poignantbeauty in this score.
— Musical Leader, May 1943
A Free Song, Secular Cantata No. 2 (1942) 22'Text: Walt Whitman
Tan Dun (PPI)Paper Concerto forPaper Percussion andOrchestra(April 28 - May 1)Los AngelesPhilharmonicComposer-in-ResidenceWyner (AMP)Memorial MusicPartita for PianoKansas CityConservatory
1 Joan TowerStepping Stones premiered 1993
2 Wallingford Riegger died 1961
3 Tan DunConcerto for Six premiered 1998
4 Morton GouldThe Jogger and the Dinosaurpremiered 1993
6 Andrew Imbrie born 1921
André Previn born 1930
Igor Stravinsky died 1971
7 John HarbisonCello Concerto premiered 1994
Yehudi WynerCommedia premiered 2003
8 Aaron Jay KernisNew Era Dance premiered 1994
Walter PistonSymphony No. 1 premiered 1938
9 Samuel BarberKnoxville Summer of 1915premiered 1948
Aulis Sallinen born 1935
11 Peter LiebersonAh premiered 2002
10 Joan TowerClarinet Concerto premiered 1988
13 Morton GouldSymphony No. 4 (Symphony for Band)premiered 1952
14 Leon KirchnerLily premiered 1977
18 Miklós Rózsa born 1907
Augusta Read ThomasRise Chanting premiered 2002
21 John HarbisonFour Psalms premiered 1999
John McCabe born 1939
23 Sergei Prokofiev born 1891
23 Mel Powell died 1998
Augusta Read Thomasborn 1964
Joan TowerViolin Concerto premiered 1992
24 John Alden Carpenterdied 1951
25 Giya KancheliNight Prayers premiered 1992
26 Robert KapilowCity Piece: Shuttlecocks premiered 1996
Bright ShengTibetan Swing premiered 2002
28 John Jacob Niles born 1892
29 Lan Adomian 100
Duke Ellington born 1899
Sofia GubaidulinaTwo Paths premiered 1999
30 Ellen Taaffe Zwilichborn 1939
Lang (RP)memory piecesDanny Holt, pianoCambridge, MA
Prokofiev (GSR)Romeo and Juliet(April 30 - May 8)San Francisco Ballet
Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
Sanford Sylvan
Present MusicbringsAzerbaijanicomposerFranghiz Ali-Zadeh toMilwaukee onApril 8. Thismonth, Yo-YoMa and the SilkRoad Ensembletake her musicon tour.
On April 6 atNew York’s92nd St. Y,BaritoneSanford Sylvanperforms“Flashes andIlluminations”of JohnHarbison,accompanied byDavid Breitman.
photo: Internationale Musikverlage Hans Sikorski
photo: www.alliedartists.co.uk
On TourJennifer Koh, violin
Salonen (CH)Lachen verlerntSeoul, Korea ★★,␣ April 15Daewon, Korea,␣ April 16Tokyo, Japan ★★,␣ April 19New York City, April 28
Composer Portraits in New York CityApril 7Thomas (GS)
Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour ★★★In My Sky at Twilight ★Silver Chants the Litanies ★Spirit Musings ★Alarm Will SoundMiller TheatreColumbia University
Tilson-Thomas (KON)
Notturno ★★★Rilke Songs ★★★Tea With Maggie ★★★Island MusicCarnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall
Frank (GS)
Cuatro Canciones AndinasLeyendas: An Andean WalkaboutSueños de ChambiBruno Walter AuditoriumLincoln Center
On TourJamie Laredo, violin;Sharon Robinson, cello;Curtis Institute of Music
Danielpour (AMP)In the Arms of the BelovedAllentown, PA,␣ April 25New York City ★,␣ April 26Philadelphia, PA, April 29
On TourChanticleer
Thomas (GS)Purple SyllablesNew York City,␣ April 22Boston, MA, April 29
Purcell Room, London“A Musician of Our Time”Maxwell Davies (CH)
April 19Naxos Quartet No. 1Maggini QuartetSongs of HoyPurcell Contemporary Ensemble
April 22De Assumtione Beatae Mariae Virginis ★★Blind Man’s BuffLondon Sinfonietta
April 24A Dance of the Hill ★★★London Sinfonia
April 26, 27Naxos Quartet No. 6 ★★★Maggini Quartet
April 28Two MotetsChoir of Westminster CathedralAcademy of Music Brass Ensemble
Topeka Symphony and Chorus/Strickler5 March 2005; Topeka, KS
Review
Charles IvesPiano Sonata No. 2, “Concord”Steven Mayer, pianoNaxos CD 8559127
Dmitri ShostakovichJazz Suites Nos. 1 and 2The Bolt (Ballet Suite)Russian State Symphony/YablonskyNaxos SACD 6110104
William Grant StillAfro-American SymphonyFort Smith Symphony/JeterNaxos CD 8559174
Recent Recordings
George AntheilComplete Works for String QuartetLithuanian NightSix Little Pieces for String OrchestraString Quartets Nos. 1, 2, and 3Del Sol String QuartetOther Minds OM 1008-2
Hans Werner HenzeL’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe(“The Hoopoe and the Triumph of Filial Love”)Dieter Dorn, stage directorBrian Large, film directorSalzburg FestivalVarious soloistsVienna Staatsopera ChoirVienna Philharmonic/StenzEuroarts DVD 2053929
Max AttackLondon’s Royal Festival Hall is the place to bewhen Peter Maxwell Davies is feted as “AMusician of Our Time,” 17–30 April.
This festival underscores his distinct and far-reaching influence on contemporary music, notonly in Britain but worldwide. “A Musician ofOur Time” presents lectures, informal discussionsand concerts performed by such groups as thePhilharmonia Orchestra and ensembles of theRoyal Academy of Music. Also featured are twoworld premieres: A Dance on the Hill given bymezzo-soprano Pamela Helen Stephen and theCity of London Sinfonia led by Richard Hickox,and the Maggini Quartet’s first performance ofNaxos Quartet No. 6. The composer’s AssumtioneBeatae Mariae Virginis receives its UK premiere bythe London Sinfonietta conducted by OliverKnussen.
Max (as he is affectionately known) made hismark in the 1960s and 70s with his expressionistscores, biting film music and provocative theatrepieces. Since then, he has prolifically expanded hiscatalogue with operas, ballets, concertos, sympho-nies, chamber music, and works for voice. He hasalso spent much of his career as an educationaladvocate and has composed a number of engagingworks for children.
Maxwell Davies currently serves as Master of TheQueen’s Music, and is in discussions withBuckingham Palace about new pieces and events.
photo: Gunnie Moberg, courtesy: Royal Festival Hall
Kirke MechemSongs of the Slave 34'
What a work it was. With 130 voices...andtwo vocal soloists...Strickler led the singersand musicians in performing Songs of theSlave, a suite that the Wichita-born,Topeka-raised composer Kirke Mechemdrew from his opera, John Brown.
...Songs of the Slave proved stirring. And itwas not just for the lush and lively score by
Mechem but also for the text he chose fromhistory....The fiery abolitionist John Brownarrived 150 years ago in what was “BleedingKansas.”...But slavery’s legacy didn’t endwith the South’s defeat.
When Shepperd sang...words from a speechby Frederick Douglas, the former slave whochampioned liberty for his race...it served asa reminder of another moment decades laterthat put Topeka’s name in the historybooks....Mechem cemented that historicalconnection by closing his cantata with aphrase from the Declaration ofIndependence....That wasn’t the suite’s onlydramatic moment....Mechem [composed] amovement based on a letter that a slave,Harriet Newby, wrote to her husband. Shetells him she fears she will be sold if hedoesn’t soon return. [He] was killed inBrown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. She wassold.
...a memorable concert.— Bill Blankenship,
The Topeka Capital-Journal
Kirke MechemSongs of the SlaveVocal score 50482274 $8.95
To an Absent Love —␣ Song CycleThe first song is Harriet Newby’s letter ofher husband, from “Songs of the Slave”Soprano and pianoVocal score 50482690 $5.95
6
7
Poul RudersKafka’s Trial 105'
Ruders is a prodigiously skilled anddaringly imaginative craftsman, andKafka’s Trial is a brilliant achieve-ment: a grotesquely comic, bitterlysatirical and, ultimately, deeplymoving work that hooks you fortwo onrushing and uninterruptedhours...
...Bentley...andRuders settledon theingeniousdevice ofcombining thenovel withelements ofKafka’s life...In1912, Kafka,living inPrague, metFelice Bauer ofBerlin andstarted a two-year courtshipthrough letters.This conflictedcorrespondencetook a bizarreturn whenBauer’s bestfriend, GretaBloch, enteredthe picture as ago-between butwound up getting involved withKafka. Naturally the truth cameout, with recriminations on allsides. Kafka channeled his tormentand guilt into The Trial.
In the opera, scenes from Kafka’sthree-way relationship with Bauerand Bloch are seamlessly inter-spersed with episodes from thebook...The lead tenor plays bothJoseph K. and Kafka, and as Bentley
Reviewshoped, you care about the haplessand beleaguered author, who livesonly though his agonized writing.
But what makes you care and shakesyou up is Ruders’s stunning score.Stylistically, as usual, he is all overthe place. The madcap scenes aredriven by garish, frenzied musicthat nods to Prokofiev. Elements of
spiky atonality mix withMinimalistic riffs. When characterssnipe at one another, the orchestraerupts in pugnacious bouts ofcounterpoint. Kvetching bureau-crats are captured through whiningwoodwinds and sniveling strings.
But every time the ranting energyand pummeling dissonance get outof hand, the score turns momen-tarily pensive as Ruders captures a
character’s reflectionsthrough luminous, quietlysustained and weirdlybeautiful music...
— Anthony Tommasini,The New York Times
W.A. Mozarted. Paul Badura-SkodaPiano Concerto No. 26,“Coronation Concerto”reduction for two pianosSet 50483628 $14.95
Robert Kapilowfrom “03, This New Immense,Unbounded World”
the mississippi riverempties into the gulffor SATB and chorusOctavo 50485592 $1.60
Proverbfor SATB and chorusOctavo 50485591 $1.60
photo: Martin Mydtskov Rønne, Royal Danish Opera
Johnny van Hal and Marianne Rørholm in “Kafka’s Trial”
New Publications
Yehudi WynerPiano Concerto, “Chiavi in Mano” 20'
Spook a thoroughbred, see how fast it runs...composer Yehudi Wyner senta jolt through the Boston Symphony Orchestra...with his world premierepiano concerto, Chiavi inMano. “Chiavi in Mano” — it’sa phrase stolen from Italiansalesmen: basically, “if you gotthe keys, you own it.” The keys here are both under the soloist’s fingersand in the musical suggestiveness, which hints at the work’s eventualoutcome, but subtly...
Chiavi offers many chances for admiration. From its simple beginning, itexpands to larger explorations, all following a thread that comments onprevious material and moves quickly on. In one movement...Wyner’s Chiavibrings Ives, the great incorporator of popular idiom, to a new generation.
— Keith Powers, Boston Herald
PremierePiano; 2(pic).2.2.2/4231/timp.perc/str
Robert Levin, piano; Boston Symphony/Spano17 February 2004; Boston, MA
Michael GordonGotham 30'
Gotham...will undoubtedly be the most discussed piece of new orchestralmusic played in London this year. Like its spiritual ancestor, EdgardVarèse’s epic 1922 ear-basher Amériques, its theme is the New World in allits brash, brilliant, multifarious intensity — and particularly, of course,New York. But this is no lullaby of Broadway.
True, the first movement is compara-tively mild. Rising and falling scalesshift in and out of syncin...minimalist fashion, while, on thebig screen behind the orchestra, BillMorrison’s collage of newsreels
flickers and shudders through primordial footage of sheep in Central Park.But the second and third movements are a different matter. As skyscrapers,subway trains and crowds whirl across the screen, Gordon’s score crashes...
Imagine a dozen police sirens, each a quarter-tone apart from thenext....Add a pounding beat. And then, just when you think that theheavily amplified orchestra can’t produce anything more...imagine a kind ofdanse macabre for our times: a relentless, ferocious jig that starts with asingle fiddle, then splinters into a myriad different lines, none quite alignedwith the next, until the whole band is spinning in a mega-decibel vortex.
— Richard Morrison, The Times (London)
UK premiere2(afl,pic).2.0.0/2320/pf/2perc/egtr.5str-ebgtr/str(min 33331)London Sinfonietta/Brabbins
11 March 2005; Queen Elizabeth Hall,London, England
Libretto by Paul Bentley(available in English or Danish)
S, 2 Mz, 4T, 3 Bar, B; SATB4.1+ca.3+bcl.sx.3+cbn/6441/
timp.4perc/hp.epf.kbd.acn/strFrancisco Negrin, stage director
Royal Danish Opera/Schønwandt12 March 2005; Copenhagen, Denmark
Premiere
G. Schirmer, Inc.Associated Music Publishers, Inc.257 Park Avenue South, 20th FloorNew York, NY 10010
purposes provided that credit is given to G. Schirmer News
as the source.
On the Internet at
http://www.schirmer.com/
Jonathan Biss, piano
8 March 2005; Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall,
New York City
Deborah Horne, Editor
Ed Matthew, Managing Internet Editor
Dmitri ShostakovichThe Bolt full eve.
Leon KirchnerPiano Sonata No. 2 14'
Ballet in Three Acts
3333/6331/timp.perc/hp/str
Alexei Ratmansky, choreography; Bolshoi Ballet
25 February 2005; Moscow, Russia
There was the Berg Sonata...and as acounterbalance, Leon Kirchner’s SonataNo. 2 in all its crowded, heart-on-sleevepassion.
Mr. Kirchner is well into his 80’s and thepiece here only two years old, but itslanguid, limpid periods bear the seeds ofan enormous eruptive energy. The musicsurges and expands from states of calminto great rushes of complexity.
— Bernard Holland,The New York Times
The choreography, sets, costumes and,above all, Shostakovich’s masterful scoreconspire to make The Bolt one of thosetheatrical events that can cause even themost jaded viewer to stand up and cheer.Despite the ballet’s inauspicious theme— industrial sabotage during the earlydays of Stalin’s rule — it comes across asrollicking good fun, with delicioussatirical overtones that can be grasped byanyone with even the vaguest notions ofSoviet life in that tumultuous era.