Concert Review: Prophets and Losses

The Collegiate Chorale travels The Road of Promise.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Wholly Moses: Mark Delevan in The Road of Promise at Carnegie Hall.
Photo by Erin Baiano © 2015 The Collegiate Chorale.

The Nazi persecution of Jewish composers and musicians remains a permanent blood-stain on the history of 20th century art music. On Thursday night, the Collegiate Chorale presented Kurt Weill's The Road of Promise to close out their season at Carnegie Hall. This is a new condensed concert version of Weill's little heard magnum opus Der Weg der Verbeissing (presented originally as The Eternal Road), a massive opera-oratorio written as a vehement protest against the encroaching darkness of Hitler's Germany.

Opera Review: A Fish This Big

Peter Grimes marks the Britten centennial at Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Scallop, sculpture dedicated to Benjamin Britten, sits on the beach in his hometown of Aldeburgh.
The inscription "I hear those voices, they will not be drowned" is from the libretto of Peter Grimes.
Sculpture by Maggi Hamblin © 2003 the artist. Photo under license from Wikimedia Commons.

Benjamin Britten's 1945 opera Peter Grimes remains the most enduring of the composer's stage works. One of the few major works from the mid-20th century that has a secure place in the international operatic repertory, it was the ideal choice for a celebration of the composer's 100th birthday on Friday night at Carnegie Hall. And there was no better choice for this tale of an individual against the oppression of a community than the St. Louis Symphony, here under the baton of its music director David Robertson.

Concert Review: Ozawa Returns, War Requiem Transcends

The conductor returns to Carnegie Hall.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

He's back: Seiji Ozawa.

Seiji Ozawa and the Saito Kinen Orchestra concluded their week-long residency at Carnegie Hall on Saturday night with a glowing performance of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. The concert concluded the first part of the JapanNYC Festival, a Carnegie Hall celebration with Mr. Ozawa at its center.