Ars longa, vita brevis.

21c Liederabend, Night One, at the Kitchen
The New York Times, April 9, 2011

An outstanding event, but not my favorite piece of writing. Deadlines, word counts and basic human frailties are a continual challenge, and you don't win them all.

Comments

[Susan Scheid]

Maybe not your favorite piece of writing, but I've now re-read it a few times and am sitting here thinking, how do you do it? For every piece you mention, you have a particularized and nicely-stated line. Here's one I liked especially: "Russell Platt wrangled iconic poetry in 'Two Whitman Panels' with stately decorum and unruly chromatic lines." You definitely leave me wishing I could have heard what that sounded like live.

[Jeffrey Edelstein]

Among the many virtues of your review is candor -- it was a long concert (and for me the length detracted from its merit). I think it's a service that you bring to light Gregory Spears, an emerging composer who hasn't received much critical attention. I've presented his music at Crane Arts and reviewed two of his recent compositions. Here are links:

"Requiem"
http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2010/Jan-Jun10/Spears_Requiem_1606.htm

"Paul's Case"
http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2009/Jul-Dec09/Pauls_Case_1309.htm

[CBCarey]

Steve,

I think you got an awful lot of information and vivid description into a short review. Enjoyed it, particularly since I was writing about something else that night!

Best,
C