Night After Night

New Music, New York, new look.

Darmstadt Essential Repertoire at Issue Project Room
The New York Times, December 7, 2009

Connie Beckley, Blue Gene Tyranny and Petr Kotik, all in one night... now that's a special program. I happen to think we're living in a pretty amazing time for grassroots art in New York City, but attending a concert like this, much like reading old essays by Tom Johnson from the Village Voice or John Rockwell in the Times, can make me wish I'd been around for the Kitchen's glory days.

The big chill.

DJ Spooky Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
The New York Times, December 4, 2009

"I do not regret this journey; we took risks, we knew we took them, things have come out against us, therefore we have no cause for complaint."

From Captain Robert Falcon Scott's final journal entry, as quoted in the Epilogue of Ralph Vaughan Williams's Sinfonia Antartica.

Subtle as a flying mallet.

Le nozze di Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera
The New York Times, November 26, 2009

The visible man.

Cameron Carpenter at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin
The New York Times, November 23, 2009

Women on the verge.

Il Trittico at the Metropolitan Opera
The New York Times, November 23, 2009

Delayed gratification.

Hafez Nazeri: Rumi Symphony Project at Carnegie Hall
The New York Times, November 17, 2009

Even though it's accurate, the first paragraph of this review (and the last sentence of the paragraph in particular) is still cause for mild embarrassment.

We are the world.

Juilliard Opera: Ariodante at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater
The New York Times, November 13, 2009

With each visit to a Juilliard Opera production comes a new slate of promising young singers to watch. Here, the stand-out performers were Anthony Roth Costanzo, an intense (and increasingly visible) countertenor; Haeran Hong, a soprano with a lovely voice and impressive bearing; Shenyang, a bass-baritone in steady demand; and Tharanga Goonetilleke, a soprano whose bright, pealing sound didn't immediately indicate the genuine dramatic depth she went on to demonstrate.

China today.

The New Juilliard Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall
The New York Times, November 11, 2009

Hammer time.

Galina Ustvolskaya Composer Portrait with Fifth House Ensemble at Miller Theatre
The New York Times, November 10, 2009

Life, interrupted.

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Schubert Ascending at Alice Tully Hall
The New York Times, November 10, 2009

And just like that, I managed to let a full month and a half slip past since this blog was last updated. I could offer the usual litany of work-related excuses, but anyone who knows me is well aware of what I've been up to, and anyone who doesn't won't care.

As I type this, I'm regrouping after a very long day spent laboriously scraping linoleum tiles off the hardwood floor in the bedroom closet of the new co-op apartment in Jackson Heights that Dr. LP and I managed to purchase last week after literally months of working, waiting and wondering. Tedious work, but deeply gratifying in context.

What this means in practical terms is that it's going to be a minute or so before I'm back up to speed. But the good news, at least for me, is that thanks to the recent arrival of my most excellent new TONY colleague, Olivia Giovetti, the prospects for me making this blog a going concern again are surprisingly strong.

Meanwhile, here comes the backlog. Apologies to everyone whose feed is about to get temporarily glutted.