I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And “Thou shalt not” writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore;
And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briers my joys and desires.
– William Blake (1757 – 1827)
Riccardo Muti conducts a performance of Pergolesi’s STABAT MATER with soloists Barbara Frittoli and Anna Caterina Antonacci.
Watch and listen here.
Above: basso Otto von Rohr
From 1952 comes this performance of Act I of Wagner’s DIE WALKURE with Gunther Treptow, Hilde Konetzni, and Otto von Rohr, with the RAI-Rome Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler.
Listen here.
Friday June 24th, 2022 – Richard Lin (above), Gold Medalist at the 2018 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, in recital at Carnegie Hall, with Thomas Hoppe at the Steinway.
Earlier this season I heard Mr. Lin in his debut performance with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and was very impressed with his playing. I met Thomas Hoppe many years ago while he was at Juilliard; he has since developed a stellar reputation as a collaborative pianist and teacher.
The concert fell on a day when a life-altering ruling by the Supreme Court cast a pall over everything…a ruling that bodes ill for my humble desire to live out my remaining days in peace. How did it come to this? My companion for the evening and I were extremely depressed and angry, and we debated skipping the concert; but in the end we found peace – at least for a couple of hours – in the sanctuary of Carnegie Hall and in the timeless beauty of the music, so marvelously played by Mssrs. Lin and Hoppe.
T.A. Vitali’s Chaconne in G-Minor opened the program; this captivating piece opens with ghostly music from the piano; the violinist then takes up a yearning melody. As the music become more animated, the combined artistry of the two players makes for a very pleasing sonic experience; they share a gift for dynamic variety and for great clarity, especially in some delicate fiorature. And there is a gorgeous sheen on Mr. Lin’s timbre.
Richard Strauss’ Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18, a chamber work by the composer of my two favorite operas, was an engrossing experience as played by Mssrs. Lin and Hoppe tonight. From its joyous start, the opening Allegro, ma non troppo, was filled with wonderful and subtle passages: with rippling keyboard figurations, exquisite themes in the violin’s high range, moments of dreamy softness…and the occasional touch of drama.
The central movement brings us a Viennese-style cantabile, possibly a bow to the composer’s ardent love for the soprano Pauline de Ahna, who he had met in the year of the sonata’s composition (1888) and who he would later marry. In fact, Strauss eventually allowed this movement to be published separately. Mr. Hoppe’s perfect playing here entwined with the sweet song of the violin, creating an enchantment of piano/pianissimo music-making of great poetic appeal. A flurry of agitato may presage the storminess that sometimes developed in the Strauss/de Ahna marriage. The extreme delicacy achieved by the players as the music moved on was a display of their amazing control.
The sonata’s finale begins with a hushed, almost sombre prelude for the piano; then the music bursts forth in the energetic main theme, which is audibly related to the opening (and closing) passages of the first movement. The music is both emotionally and technically demanding; a sort of downhill piano cadenza leads to the sonata’s thrilling finish. The audience, wonderfully attentive throughout the evening’s first half, called the players back for a bow with persistent applause.
Above: pianist Thomas Hoppe
The second half of the program was less interesting musically, though impeccably played. Pairing Corigliano with a Igor Frolov’s arrangement of tunes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess had the feeling of a pops concert. Both of these pieces place high demands on the players, but the music – while entertaining – is not engaging on a deeper level.
John Corigliano’s Violin Sonata, written during 1962-63, is a long piece in four movements. Originally entitled Duo, it treats the two instruments as co-partners. Virtuosity is called for, but it seems lacquered on rather than an integral part of the piece. There’s some quirky technical stuff to be dealt with, and traces of blues influence. The third movement, Lento, feels overly long, despite being superbly played, and with a remarkable final sustained note from the violinist. The sonata’s final Allegro is exuberant, full of light and dazzle, but it later calms and overstays its welcome.
To end his recital, Mr. Lin gave us Igor Frolov’s “Concert Fantasy on Themes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess”; here, one by one, the celebrated Gershwin tunes are rolled out in sterling renditions by Mssrs. Lin and Hoppe: “Bess, You Is My Woman Now”; “My Man’s Gone Now”; “I Got Plenty of Nuthin’”; “Summertime”, and “It Ain’t Necessarily So”. Mr. Lin’s violin soared with distinction it it highest range, and the two players seemed to urge one another on to feats of virtuosity.
To eager applause, the players returned for two encores: Debussy’s “Beau soir” was luminously played, and they followed this with the demanding Kreisler showpiece, “Tambourin Chinois“. It seemed a third encore was in the offing as we left the Hall.
Mr. Lin will be back with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center next season, and I look forward to hearing him again.
~ Oberon
Yvonne Minton (above) sings Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.
Listen here.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo (above) play Carl Nielsen’s MASKARADE overture at the First Night of the Proms, 2015.
Watch and listen here.
Annelies Burmeister (above) sings Johannes Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody with the Leipzig Radio Symphony and Choir, conducted by Heinz Bongartz.
Listen here.
Above: Eva Randová as Kundry
Horst Stein conducts Wagner’s PARSIFAL at the Bayreuth Festival 1981. Watch and listen here.
Cast:
Amfortas: Bernd Weikl ~ Titurel: Matti Salminen ~ Gurnemanz: Hans Sotin ~ Parsifal: Siegfried Jerusalem ~ Klingsor: Leif Roar ~ Kundry: Eva Randová ~ 1st Knight of the Grail: Toni Krämer ~ 2nd Knight of the Grail: Heinz Klaus Ecker ~ 1st Squire: Marga Schiml ~ 2nd Squire: Hanna Schwarz ~ 3rd Squire: Helmut Pampuch ~ 4th Squire: Martin Egel ~ Flower Maidens: Norma Sharp, Carol Richardson, Hanna Schwarz, Mari-Anne Häggender, Marga Schiml, and Margit Neubauer ~ Alto Solo: Hanna Schwarz
Mary Curtis-Verna sings the “Vissi d’arte” from Puccini’s TOSCA on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1950.
Watch and listen here.
She sent me the above photograph after I sent her a fan letter. Ms. Currtis-Verna has a special place in my heart: she was my first-ever Turandot, at The Met in 1965, making a vivid impression.
Above: Kristin Draucker in Paul Taylor’s Images and Reflections
Some images from Paul Taylor Dance Company‘s June 2022 season at The Joyce; the photos are by Ron Thiele. Read about the Company’s opening night performance here.
Lisa Borres in Paul Taylor’s FIBERS
John Harnage in Paul Taylor’s Images and Reflections
From Michelle Manzanales’ HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS
Lisa Borres and Devon Louis in Paul Taylor’s FIBERS
Eran Bugge, Madelyn Ho, Alex Clayton, and John Harnage in Paul Taylor’s PROFILES
Shawn Lesniak and the Company in Michelle Manzanales’ HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS
Devon Louis and Maria Ambrose in Paul Taylor’s AUREOLE
Madelyn Ho, John Harnage, and Eran Bugge in Paul Taylor’s PROFILES
All photos by Ron Thiele, courtesy of the Paul Taylor Dance Company
Oberon's Glade 