Opera Review: The Treasure Hunters

Manhattan School of Music unearths Die Zigeunerbaron.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

True love wins the day in the last scene if Die Zigeunerbaron.
Photo courtesy Manhattan School of Music.

Johann Strauss Jr. was the most popular composer of the Austrian Empire, and his waltzes still provide the social soundtrack of Vienna for the tourists that visit that city every year. However, with the exception of Die Fledermaus, his stage works have disappeared from the operatic repertory. This is a reflection of the general state of light opera and the changing tastes of a fickle public. The Manhattan School of Music has taken a huge step to correct this by choosing to end their spring season with Der Zigeunerbaron (”The Gypsy Baron”) an energetic operetta that is rarely seen anymore outside of a Viennese theater.

Concert Review: Diamonds on Velvet

Rudolf Buchbinder joins the Vienna Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Rudolf Buchbinder played Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 at Carnegie Hall on Friday night.
Photo by Marco Borggreve.

In The Holcroft Covenant, a thoroughly mediocre 1980s film version of a Robert Ludlum novel, there is an apt description of everyday concert programming. In this Michael Caine vehicle, the main characters attend a rehearsal at the Philharmonie, the home building of the Berlin Philharmonic. They are invited to the concert that evening by the conductor:

Concert Review: An Angel Came Down

The Vienna Philharmonic's matinee at Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Frank Peter Zimmermann and his 1711 Stradivarius. 

On Sunday afternoon, Franz Welser-Möst and the Vienna Philharmonic concluded their three-concert stand at Carnegie Hall with two works by Austrian composers that have a deep association with the orchestra. The concert featured Alban Berg's Violin Concerto with soloist Frank Peter Zimmermann, and Anton Bruckner's epic Fourth Symphony, known as the Romantic.

Concert Review: New Songs, Old Tricks

The Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Franz Welser-Möst. Photo © 2009 The Cleveland Orchestra.

On Saturday night at Carnegie Hall, Franz Welser-Möst and the Vienna Philharmonic gave the second of three concerts this weekend. The program featured the Carnegie premiere of Lied, a new piece by composer Jörg Widmann. This was framed by playful compositions by Franz Schubert and Richard Strauss: the former’s “Little” Sixth Symphony and the latter’s Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche.

Concert Review: The Nostalgia Factory

The Vienna Philharmonic returns to Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Möst. Photo by Roger Mastroianni © IMG Artists.

The annual arrival of the Vienna Philharmonic under the arched plaster vault of Carnegie Hall is a cause for New York's most conservative music lovers to rejoice. After all, this is an orchestra that rarely plays music that isn’t at least 50 years old, and wouldn't think of playing those unruly creations of the 20th century that can cause older patrons to ride out part of a concert in Carnegie's comfortable Citi Café.