Getting your Gruppen On

A performance of Stockhausen's spatial masterpiece.

I'm out of New York this weekend, so I wasn't able to attend the Philharmonic 360 concerts at the Park Avenue Armory. Normal Superconductor coverage resumes next week. (Even bloggers get a vacation!)

To tide you over, we are proud to present this Youtube video of Stockhausen's Gruppen, featured in the concerts. This unique work is written for three separate orchestras with three conductors and the audience in the middle.

Enjoy.

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.