Night After Night

Jacob Greenberg and Reinier van Houdt at Spectrum, March 25, 2014

Reinier van Houdt, by Michelle V. Agins for The New York Times

Jacob Greenberg and Reinier van Houdt at Spectrum, March 25, 2014
The New York Times, March 27, 2014

Two separate recitals by brilliant pianists heard most frequently in group settings: Jacob Greenberg with the International Contemporary Ensemble, and Reinier van Houdt in the Ives Ensemble and Ensemble MAE (which, I learned at length, was once bassist Maarten Altena's band).

One remarkably broad span of avant-garde piano, from Ludwig van Beethoven to Michael Pisaro. The playing was brilliant, the instrument outstanding, and I've never heard a better mix of piano, electronics and amplification than during van Houdt's program, the Pisaro and Luc Ferrari pieces in particular.

Two subsequent revelations: Via Facebook, I learned that the Alvin Curran piece that ended van Houdt's second set was in fact discreetly amplified, something that evidently neither I nor van Houdt noticed, so subtly was it enacted. And via email, I learned that Greenberg's rendition of Helmut Lachenmann's treacherous Serynade was his first public performance of the work. Look forward to more chances to hear it, and to hear it grow in Greenberg's hands.

Emerson String Quartet at Alice Tully Hall, March 23, 2014

Emerson String Quartet at Alice Tully Hall, March 23, 2014
The New York Times, March 26, 2014

My first time to see and hear the Emersons with their new cellist, Paul Watkins. Nice to know that it all still works, and that youngblood has lit a new fire in his crew.

Colin Stetson with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Merkin Concert Hall, March 22, 2014

Colin Stetson and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, by Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times

Colin Stetson with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Merkin Concert Hall, March 22, 2014
The New York Times, March 25, 2014

This one came out really, really quickly, despite some hair-splitting fact-checking that ran up to deadline hour. Once I had that lede – don't ask me where it came from; I just accepted its arrival – the rest of the review just fell into place as it needed to.

Given conversations going on among many of my more music-literate friends following Ted Gioia's recent Daily Beast article about music criticism degenerating into lifestyle reporting, arguably I could have spoken more exactly and in greater detail about the structural makings of Stetson's songs, especially as regards the choral component. But when you're faced with a tight word count, a looming deadline and a general audience, those aren't always the first things that occur to you. Should they be? That's worth thinking about. (If the notion is resonant for you, DO NOT miss this Owen Pallett analysis of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" on Slate.)

I do hope that Stetson will complete his wondrous arrangement of Gorecki's Symphony No. 3, and his colleagues from this concert's second half will commit the whole thing to disc. I could very easily imagine it being something that would really work on the Constellation label, for which Stetson already records – the arrangement is faithful to Gorecki, yet for me it also had an unmistakeable whiff of postrock à la Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky or Mono.

John Zorn: Masada Book 3 at the Town Hall, March 19, 2014

John Zorn: Masada Book 3 at the Town Hall, March 19, 2014
The New York Times, March 21, 2014

The biggest surprise about this particular concert was the fact that I was there; I'd originally been scheduled to cover a different event, but a sick colleague prompted a last-minute shuffle, and here we are. Because of a last-minute space crunch, a few things were excised from the review without my knowledge. I reckon that at least a few people might be interested in the bits that were lost.

First, the paragraph about Masada numerology originally ended with an interesting announcement.

The reason? 215 plus 306 plus 92 equals 613, the number of commandments that Jews are obliged to observe, according to the Torah. A 614th commandment introduced after World War II, he added, will prompt a final, long-form Masada composition that he intends to write next year.

Keen-eyed Zornithologists will note that the first two numbers are actually 205 plus 316, a point we quickly corrected. My original draft as submitted and edited also identified the trio of Steve Lehman, Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey by their collective name, Fieldwork.

Finally, lost entirely in the cut was my final paragraph. While there's no way that I could have cited all the worthy performers who participated in Zorn's shuffle-concert, I did in fact name more than saw print. These things happen all the time, and no hard feelings – but for those who might be curious, here's the original ending.

Many Arms, a Philadelphia trio, read “Panim” in a manner that recalled the Nels Cline Trio in its punk-jazz-vinyl salad days. The guitarist Gyan Riley and the art-rock band Secret Chiefs 3 wrested adrenalized fusion from their respective selections. The singer Sofia Rei brought out a throaty romantic sway in “Setumah.” And Zion80, a joyous ensemble that usually patches Shlomo Carlebach’s songs into Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat template, found “Hod” amenable to its positively Zornian hybrid approach.

Classical Playlist: George Antheil, Haydn, Sibelius and More

Third Coast Percussion, by Saverio Truglia

Classical Playlist: George Antheil, Haydn, Sibelius and More
The New York Times ArtsBeat, March 19, 2014

My contribution:

DAVID T. LITTLE: ‘Haunt of Last Nightfall’
Third Coast Percussion
(New Amsterdam)

Coming soon: Elliott Carter; Gil Shaham; Jeffrey Mumford; David Bowlin; Henri Dutilleux; Catherine Christer Hennix

Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, March 15 & 16, 2014

Zubin Mehta, Diana Damrau and the Vienna Philharmonic, by Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times

Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, March 15 & 16, 2014
The New York Times, March 17, 2014

The whole time Diana Damrau was cavorting on the Carnegie Hall podium – during a long evening's third and final encore, understand – I was praying aloud to my companion, "Please let the Times photographer be getting this." Had I seen that Hiroyuki Ito was on duty, I'd have known not to worry – Hiro's always got exactly the shot I've hoped for, only better.

New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, March 12, 2014

Alan Gilbert, by Karsten Moran for The New York Times

New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, March 12, 2014
The New York Times, March 14, 2014

In which I describe Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 4, "The Inextinguishable," like so: "A seamless sequence of vivid episodes, the piece is a craggy MacGuffin that shouldn’t work but does, stapled together with a hiccupping three-note motto and capped with a raging duel between two timpanists."

Yeah, that still makes me smile. No photos snapped on this night, so I grabbed an image from a previous concert review.

Classical Playlist: John Adams, Prokofiev, Harrison Birtwistle and More

BBC Singers, by John Wood

Classical Playlist: John Adams, Prokofiev, Harrison Birtwistle and More
The New York Times ArtsBeat, March 12, 2014

My contributions:

MORTON FELDMAN: ‘For Philip Guston’
John Tilbury, pianist; Carla Rees, flutist; Simon Allen, percussionist
(Atopos)

HARRISON BIRTWISTLE: ‘The Moth Requiem’
Roderick Williams, baritone; BBC Singers, Nash Ensemble, conducted by Nicholas Kok
(Signum)

Agenda.

Frustrating to be posting an ostensibly timely feature a day late, but life and work sometimes collude to prevent free time. On the other hand, curiously enough, I hadn't made note of any particular events for Monday or Tuesday — go figure. My agenda for The New York Times this week is lively and diverse, including two visits to the Ecstatic Music Festival and a first date with a familiar ensemble recently reconfigured.

Wednesday, March 19: Timo Andres, Gabriel Kahane, Ted Hearne, Becca Stevens & Nathan Koci
Merkin Concert Hall; 7:30pm; $25

Polymath pianist and composer Timo Andres gathers a small group of similarly multifarious artists for the world premiere of a new song cycle, Work Songs, based on texts by authors and poets who've written about their working processes. Further selections by Kahane, Hearne and Stevens round out the program, which repeats in St. Paul, MN, on Friday and Saturday.

Saturday, March 22: Colin Stetson and Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Merkin Concert Hall; 7:30pm; $25

Multi-instrumentalist Colin Stetson is widely celebrated for his rigorous yet songful unaccompanied saxophone pieces, but he's also proved adept at integrating his conception with those of song-based bands like Bon Iver and Arcade Fire. Here, he's presenting a new piece with the unfailingly bold Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and also leading an all-star avant-rock band in a rendition of Gorecki's Symphony No. 3. "What's it got to do with classical music?" one colleague demanded. Let's find out.

Sunday, March 23: Emerson String Quartet
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center; 5pm; $45–$100

I've been privileged to hear the Emerson Quartet many times before, but never with cellist Paul Watkins, who joined the band last year. That alone would make this concert worthwhile, but hearing Shostakovich's Quartets Nos. 11 and 12 (with a Mendelssohn intermission) is a major plus.

Elsewhere and -when

Wednesday, March 19: Matt Ingalls at the Old Stone House of Brooklyn (more)

Wednesday, March 19: John Zorn: Masada, Book 3 at the Town Hall (more)

Thursday, March 20: Thomas Buckner with Bradyworks at Roulette (more)

Thursday, March 20: Mellissa Hughes at the Kaplan Penthouse, Lincoln Center (more)

Thursday, March 20: Object Collection at Trans-Pecos (more)

Thursday, March 20: thingNY plays Jonathan Zorn and Dave Ruder at the Firehouse Space (more)

Thursday, March 20: Jude Traxler, Joey Van Hassel, Sayun Chang and Stuart Sanders Smith play Sanders Smith at the Gershwin Hotel (more; repeats on Saturday at Spectrum)

Friday, March 21: Coppice and Anne Guthrie & Richard Kamerman at Issue Project Room (more)

Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22: Okkyung Lee at the Kitchen (more)

Friday, March 21: Gregory Oakes and Amir Khosrowpour play Louis Andriessen, Giacinto Scelsi, Andy Akiho, Reiko Füting and others at the Firehouse Space (more)

Saturday, March 22: Bruka Band plays Milica Paranosic at Gallery MC (more)

Saturday, March 22: Eco-Music Big Band plays Jay Rodriguez, Fred Ho, Cal Massey and Marie Incontrera at IBeam Brooklyn (more)

Saturday, March 22: Trevor Saint and Bill Solomon play Matt Sargent at the Firehouse Space (more)

Saturday, March 22: Jude Traxler, Joey Van Hassel, Sayun Chang and Stuart Sanders Smith play Sanders Smith at Spectrum (more)

I solemnly swear to post Agenda on time next Monday, since two of the week's most important, inviting events — this one and this one — both happen that night.

Trinity Choir at Trinity Wall Street, March 9, 2014

Trinity Choir, by Tina Fineberg for The New York Times

Trinity Choir at Trinity Wall Street, March 9, 2014
The New York Times, Mar. 12, 2014

A very impressive new concert series is underway at historic Trinity Church: six concerts (not five, as I erroneously reported at first) running each Sunday afternoon through April 13. You can see details and buy tickets here, and you can watch the entire concert I wrote about here.