Above: composer George Lewis
~ Author: Oberon
Tuesday February 17th, 2026 – I’ve been under the weather for the past few days, but I’d been looking forward to tonight’s concert by Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect since the program was announced many moons ago. By late afternoon I was feeling pretty poorly, but I decided to head down to Weill Hall, thinking the fresh air might do me good after a couple of days of not venturing out.
The concert opened with George Lewis’s Broke, a Carnegie Hall commission having its New York premiere this evening. The composer spoke briefly, insinuating that the music might not be to all tastes, but adding that “It’s short!”
Above: playing Mr. Lewis’s Broke; photo by Fadi Kheir
The players took the stage: Cameron Cullen (flute), Nicole Martin (clarinet and bass clarinet), Grace O’Connell (trumpet), David Seder (trombone), and Joseph Vaz (piano). The music started, and I was soon scribbling notes as fast as I could…for there was much to take in. Here are the words I scrawled: cacophonous, weird, fun, growling, stuttering, sighing, fast, furious, piercing, rippling bass clarinet, alarming, deafening, kozmic, sighing, muted brass motifs, massive slashing sounds from the piano’s strings, mind-blowing, messy…marvelous!
I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this piece, smiling and laughing to myself. The audience reception was more staid than I expected, but I applauded vigorously. The composer came onstage for a bow, and I decided that I would meet him and thank him after the concert ended.
Valerie Coleman’s Portraits of Langston (composed in 2007) brought Ms. Martin and Mssrs Cullen and Vaz back to the stage. The piece, in six movements – each having a title – was most appealing; the music shone with the composer’s trademark lyricism and her mastery of rhythms and moods. The entwining voices of the winds, and the pianist’s impressive dynamic range, engaged us from start to finish; dancing tempos and the alternating of pensive and light-hearted passages gave the players ample opportunities to shine. I thought the spoken-word introductions to each movement were superfluous, and held up the musical flow; but overall, the work was intriguing.
Unfortunately, I’d been feeling increasingly ill as the music played on; at the interval, I decided to head home, foregoing the music of Samuel Barber, Scott Joplin and – most especially – of Charles Ives, which was what had lured me to the concert in the first place.
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 