Concert Review: Moon Dreams and Street Players

The New York Philharmonic makes CONTACT!
by Paul J. Pelkonen

An astronaut footprint from the Apollo 11 mission, on the Sea of Tranquility.

The New York Philharmonic's biannual CONTACT! series allows Alan Gilbert and company to break free of their usual digs at Avery Fisher Hall to explore works by cutting-edge composers. On Friday night, the wood panels of Grace Rainey Rodgers Auditorium (tucked neatly between Arms and Armor and the Egyptian Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art) resounded to the sounds of the 21st century.

The Superconductor Interview: Liang Wang

The Philharmonic's principal oboe makes CONTACT!
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Oboist Liang Wang and friend. 

"Many oboe players are a little crazy."

The speaker is Liang Wang, principal oboist of the New York Philharmonic. will play the first performances of Poul Ruders' Oboe Concerto at  CONTACT!, the orchestra's twice-a-year exposition for new music and modern composers.

Concert Review: When the Flutes Exploded

The New York Philharmonic makes CONTACT!
by Paul Pelkonen

Conductor David Robertson.

At New York Philharmonic subscription concerts, the performance of new music or works by still-living composers can be an afterthought, wedged between familiar slabs of Brahms and Beethoven. The CONTACT! concerts are different. They take place away from Avery Fisher Hall, and offer nothing but modern music. Saturday night's concert was at Symphony Space.

This spring's CONTACT! program, curated by Philharmonic composer-in-residence Magnus Lindberg and led by conductor David Robertson, featured two premieres. opened with a Philharmonic commission from New York's own Elliott Carter: Two Controversies and a Confrontation. Mr. Carter is one of this city's most celebrated composers, and at 103 years old, the dean of modern American music.

Conducting Up a Storm

The June Philharmonic Preview
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Cartoon by Ward, reproduced from the Stockhausen Cartoon Archive. © the artist.

The Metropolitan Opera has shifted into ballet hosting/fund-raising mode. Carnegie Hall is hosting graduation ceremonies. So the eyes and ears of New York's classical music cognoscenti turn to Avery Fisher Hall, the longtime home of the New York Philharmonic.

During Alan Gilbert's term as music director, June has become an exciting time for experimentation for New York's oldest orchestra. The ensemble offers an exciting slate of concerts, from the traditional (lots of Mozart) to the experimental (the season-ending Philharmonic 360 concerts, held in the Drill Hall of the Park Avenue Armory.

Here's what's scheduled:

On June 1 and 2, the Philharmonic offers the last two performances of Carl Orff's massive Carmina Burana under the baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. A stellar cast of singers (including tenor Nicholas Phan) is scheduled.

Concert Review: Cords, Chords, and Crossed Clarinets

The Philharmonic makes Contact! at the Met.

Austrian composer H.K. Gruber performs Frankenstein!!
Photo: Intermusica page on H.K. Gruber. 

On Friday night, the New York Philharmonic unveiled its third season of Contact! the intimate series which features ultra-modern music played by a chamber-sized orchestra. Music director Alan Gilbert, finally returned from giving concerts in Europe, conducted. The program was held at the Grace Rainey Rodgers auditorium in the Egyptian wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (The program will repeat tonight at Symphony Space.)