The New York Times: Anthony Davis’s Malcolm X Opera Finally Arrives at the Met
The epigraph of Anthony Davis’s opera “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” is a quote from an interview in which, asked about the cost of freedom, Malcolm responds, “The cost of freedom is death.”
That tension — between hope and reality, between liberation and limitation — courses through a new production of “X” that opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, in the work’s company premiere. This staging dreams of a better future, with a towering Afrofuturist spaceship that, at the beginning, appears to be calling Malcolm X home. But the beam-me-up rays of light are pulled away to reveal a floating proscenium, gilded at the edges and decorated with a landscape mural. It is a replica of the podium at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where he was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965.
The New York Times
By Joshua Barone
The epigraph of Anthony Davis’s opera “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” is a quote from an interview in which, asked about the cost of freedom, Malcolm responds, “The cost of freedom is death.”
That tension — between hope and reality, between liberation and limitation — courses through a new production of “X” that opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, in the work’s company premiere. This staging dreams of a better future, with a towering Afrofuturist spaceship that, at the beginning, appears to be calling Malcolm X home. But the beam-me-up rays of light are pulled away to reveal a floating proscenium, gilded at the edges and decorated with a landscape mural. It is a replica of the podium at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where he was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965.
Read more here.
The New York Times: The Family That Turned Malcolm X’s Life Into Opera
“X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X,” which arrives at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, was a family affair. The meditative yet dramatic work has a score by Anthony Davis to a scenario by his younger brother, Christopher Davis, and a libretto by their cousin Thulani Davis.
When they were working on the opera, in the early 1980s, the three were living in New York. Christopher appeared as Malcolm X in a play in Jamaica, Queens, and Anthony was playing experimental, improvised music in ensembles alongside Thulani’s poetry in productions downtown.
“There was a lot of energy in the air,” Christopher, 70, said in a recent interview at the Met alongside Anthony, 72 — with Thulani, 74, joining by video from her home in Madison, Wis.
The New York Times
By Zachary Woolfe
“X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X,” which arrives at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, was a family affair. The meditative yet dramatic work has a score by Anthony Davis to a scenario by his younger brother, Christopher Davis, and a libretto by their cousin Thulani Davis.
When they were working on the opera, in the early 1980s, the three were living in New York. Christopher appeared as Malcolm X in a play in Jamaica, Queens, and Anthony was playing experimental, improvised music in ensembles alongside Thulani’s poetry in productions downtown.
…
ANTHONY DAVIS When we moved to New York, Thulani and I were part of this scene of music and poetry, what were called choreopoems; Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls” was the most famous. And Thulani and I worked with Ntozake and Jessica Hagedorn on “Where the Mississippi Meets the Amazon.” We ran at the Public Theater for several months.
Read more here.
Gramophone: Video of the Day: Weiyin Chen performs Mozart at London Fashion Week
Pianist and fashion designer brings the worlds of music and haute couture together
Today's video of the day takes us to London Fashion week where pianist and designer Weiyin Chen gave a piano recital with a couture twist. The international pianist performed at the ballroom at the Savile Club in Mayfair surrounded by a total of nine concert gowns designed by Chen herself based on each of the works in the recital. Between each piece she changed into the gown that represented the relevant work.
Gramophone
Pianist and fashion designer brings the worlds of music and haute couture together.
Today's video of the day takes us to London Fashion week where pianist and designer Weiyin Chen gave a piano recital with a couture twist. The international pianist performed at the ballroom at the Savile Club in Mayfair surrounded by a total of nine concert gowns designed by Chen herself based on each of the works in the recital. Between each piece she changed into the gown that represented the relevant work.
Read more here.
Oregon Arts Watch: Choose your own adventure: Oboist Ben Price talks about their life at the Curtis Institute of Music
Discussing American and European oboe styles, musical studies, dry halls and the Curtis Sound with the Portland-raised musician.
Ben Price, age 19, is an oboist in their second year of studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where they hold the Anderson and Daria Pew Fellowship at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Price performs as a member of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and as a soloist and chamber musician in the Curtis Student Recital Series.
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Oregon ArtsWatch: What led you to playing the oboe?
Ben Price: I had a couple of false starts. I played violin for about five minutes when I was three, but I was more interested in the keychain around my violin teacher’s neck than the violin. I started playing piano when I was five, but the practicing aspect of that turned me off initially. Then I really started studying piano when I was eight. I studied piano with oboe for nine or ten years. We all take piano lessons here at Curtis once a week as well. So, I still study piano, but it became clear pretty early on that oboe would become my primary instrument, especially after I heard a recording of the Philadelphia Orchestra playing Scheherazade. That really got to me.
Oregon Arts Watch
By James Bash
Discussing American and European oboe styles, musical studies, dry halls and the Curtis Sound with the Portland-raised musician.
Ben Price, age 19, is an oboist in their second year of studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where they hold the Anderson and Daria Pew Fellowship at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Price performs as a member of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and as a soloist and chamber musician in the Curtis Student Recital Series.
…
Oregon ArtsWatch: What led you to playing the oboe?
Ben Price: I had a couple of false starts. I played violin for about five minutes when I was three, but I was more interested in the keychain around my violin teacher’s neck than the violin. I started playing piano when I was five, but the practicing aspect of that turned me off initially. Then I really started studying piano when I was eight. I studied piano with oboe for nine or ten years. We all take piano lessons here at Curtis once a week as well. So, I still study piano, but it became clear pretty early on that oboe would become my primary instrument, especially after I heard a recording of the Philadelphia Orchestra playing Scheherazade. That really got to me.
Read more here.
Portland Tribune: Bang on a man: A night at the symphony like no other
Andy Akiho, the Oregon Symphony's composer-in-residence, plays 'Sculptures: Concert for Orchestra and Video' in response to Jun Kaneko’s art
Bashing away on a giant head is one way to get butts in seats at any American symphony, as the appetite for another night of Mahler in tuxedoes wanes. The Oregon Symphony is working hard to make its concerts more edgy, more postmodern and even a little more diverse.
A member of the Oregon Symphony’s Creative Alliance, Andy Akiho is the Oregon Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence. The Nov. 4-6 show at first glance looks like a night of old chestnuts such as Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” and Dvořák’s “Othello Overture,” but it also contains Akiho’s “Sculptures: Concert for Orchestra and Video.”
Portland Tribune
By Joseph Gallivan
Andy Akiho, the Oregon Symphony's composer-in-residence, plays 'Sculptures: Concert for Orchestra and Video' in response to Jun Kaneko’s art
Bashing away on a giant head is one way to get butts in seats at any American symphony, as the appetite for another night of Mahler in tuxedoes wanes. The Oregon Symphony is working hard to make its concerts more edgy, more postmodern and even a little more diverse.
A member of the Oregon Symphony’s Creative Alliance, Andy Akiho is the Oregon Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence. The Nov. 4-6 show at first glance looks like a night of old chestnuts such as Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” and Dvořák’s “Othello Overture,” but it also contains Akiho’s “Sculptures: Concert for Orchestra and Video.”
Read more here.
Oregon Arts Watch: Footloose and fancy free: Leonard Slatkin with Oregon Symphony
After a gap of many years, the conductor/composer/author returns to Portland for a concert of Mason Bates, Beethoven, and Elgar’s ‘Cello Concerto’ with Joshua Roman.
Leonard Slatkin is footloose and fancy free. No longer tethered to the music directorship of a particular orchestra, the internationally acclaimed conductor can pick and choose which orchestra he gets to lead. This weekend (October 14-16), it will be the Oregon Symphony in a program that includes works by Beethoven, Elgar, and American composer Mason Bates.
Over a 50-plus-year career, Slatkin has racked up six Grammy awards, 35 Grammy nominations, over 100 recordings, and directed every major orchestra around the world. And the concerts in Portland are not the first time that he has visited the Rose City.
Oregon Arts Watch
By James Bash
After a gap of many years, the conductor/composer/author returns to Portland for a concert of Mason Bates, Beethoven, and Elgar’s ‘Cello Concerto’ with Joshua Roman.
Leonard Slatkin is footloose and fancy free. No longer tethered to the music directorship of a particular orchestra, the internationally acclaimed conductor can pick and choose which orchestra he gets to lead. This weekend (October 14-16), it will be the Oregon Symphony in a program that includes works by Beethoven, Elgar, and American composer Mason Bates.
Over a 50-plus-year career, Slatkin has racked up six Grammy awards, 35 Grammy nominations, over 100 recordings, and directed every major orchestra around the world. And the concerts in Portland are not the first time that he has visited the Rose City.
“My parents were members of the Hollywood String Quartet and used to play a series in Portland,” he said in a Zoom conversation. “That would have been in the ‘50s. I know that I came to Portland with them at least once.”
Read more here.
The Berkshire Edge: Preview: Dover String Quartet in new lineup at South Mountain, October 15
Pittsfield — Up until just a few weeks ago, the Dover String Quartet’s reputation was excellent. But now it is about to soar, as Julianne Lee has departed the Boston Symphony Orchestra to join the group as violist. Lee played in the BSO’s first desk of second violinists, having joined the orchestra in her early 20s before she had even graduated from New England Conservatory. A wunderkind of staggering talent, Lee plays violin and viola with equal ease.
The Berkshire Edge
By David Noel Edwards
Pittsfield — Up until just a few weeks ago, the Dover String Quartet’s reputation was excellent. But now it is about to soar, as Julianne Lee has departed the Boston Symphony Orchestra to join the group as violist. Lee played in the BSO’s first desk of second violinists, having joined the orchestra in her early 20s before she had even graduated from New England Conservatory. A wunderkind of staggering talent, Lee plays violin and viola with equal ease.
All members of the Dover Quartet studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia’s uber-elite school for prodigies. So, yes, they all play at Lee’s level. Still, notwithstanding their proximity at Curtis to innumerable viola virtuosos, they must be pinching themselves over their extraordinary luck at welcoming Lee into their group.
Read more here.
Broadway World: The Azrieli Foundation And Analekta Release NEW JEWISH MUSIC, VOL. 4 - AZRIELI MUSIC PRIZES
The Azrieli Foundation is pleased to announce the October 6th release of New Jewish Music, Vol. 4 - Azrieli Music Prizes on Analekta. The album features the world-premiere recordings of three prize-winning works by the 2022 Azrieli Music Prizes Laureates Iman Habibi (2022 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music), Aharon Harlap (2022 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music) and Rita Ueda (2022 Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music). These works are brought vividly to life by the Orchestre Métropolitain under the direction of Artistic Partner Nicolas Ellis.
Broadway World
By Chloe Rabinowitz
The Azrieli Foundation is pleased to announce the October 6th release of New Jewish Music, Vol. 4 - Azrieli Music Prizes on Analekta. The album features the world-premiere recordings of three prize-winning works by the 2022 Azrieli Music Prizes Laureates Iman Habibi (2022 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music), Aharon Harlap (2022 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music) and Rita Ueda (2022 Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music). These works are brought vividly to life by the Orchestre Métropolitain under the direction of Artistic Partner Nicolas Ellis.
Read more here.
The Dallas Morning News: Dallas Symphony Dazzles: Fabio Luisi Conducts Schuman, Copland and Liszt’s Faust Symphony
The all-American first half — William Schuman’s flashy American Festival Overture and Aaron Copland’s sublime Clarinet Concerto — fine. But then 70 minutes of Lisztian rumination and bombast on Goethe’s Faust?
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Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic (and brother of former DSO principal flutist Demarre McGill, now with the Seattle Symphony), played most expressively, with plenty of pizzazz when called for. Luisi and the orchestra were right with him.
The Dallas Morning News
By Scott Cantrell
It seemed an odd way to start a symphony season, but I was convinced Thursday night.
It did seem an odd way to start a symphony season.
The all-American first half — William Schuman’s flashy American Festival Overture and Aaron Copland’s sublime Clarinet Concerto — fine. But then 70 minutes of Lisztian rumination and bombast on Goethe’s Faust?
…
Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic (and brother of former DSO principal flutist Demarre McGill, now with the Seattle Symphony), played most expressively, with plenty of pizzazz when called for. Luisi and the orchestra were right with him.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Sylvia Elzafon
Blogcritics: Exclusive Interview: Parlando Founder and Music Director Ian Niederhoffer Previews October 4 ‘Odysseys’ Concert, with Music of Tchaikovsky, Jimmy Lopez, Joey Roukens
The New York City-based chamber orchestra Parlando aims to bridge the gap between audience and performer.
That might sound a bit self-evident – doesn’t every artist and ensemble want to connect with listeners?
But for Parlando and its founder and music director Ian Niederhoffer, “bridging the gap” means something special: truly direct communication, and engagement in creative and fun ways.
Blogcritics
By Jon Sobel
The New York City-based chamber orchestra Parlando aims to bridge the gap between audience and performer.
That might sound a bit self-evident – doesn’t every artist and ensemble want to connect with listeners?
But for Parlando and its founder and music director Ian Niederhoffer, “bridging the gap” means something special: truly direct communication, and engagement in creative and fun ways.
Niederhoffer engages with the audience before each concert, explicating the theme of the program. The selections vary widely, but each concert’s theme connects standard works with new or underrepresented music. The upcoming “Odysseys” concert, October 4 at Merkin Hall, brings together two contemporary pieces, Jimmy Lopez’s Guardian of the Horizon and Joey Roukens’ Visions at Sea, with Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Rebecca Fay