Concert Review: Killing Mozart

The New York Philharmonic rocks Amadeus.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

He died for our sins: Tom Hulce as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus.
Photo from the 1984 film, © The Saul Zaentz Group.

(Ed. note. Superconductor went to press last night before we had learned of the death of director Milos Forman, the man behind Amadeus. The filmmaker was 86. He will be missed.)

The New York Philharmonic's ongoing The Art of the Score initiative seeks to expand the audience of America's oldest orchestra by having them play in a darkened theater underneath movies with classic (and classical) scores. This week saw the most ambitious entry in the series yet: a set of synchronized performances of the 1984 film Amadeus that featured the musicians and the Musica Sacra choir accompanying the Oscar-winning smash. The performances marked the debut of conductor Richard Kaufman, and were enhanced with the addition of three keyboard instruments including a portative organ.

Concerning Hobbits, Wizards and Leitmotifs

An introduction to the other Ring cycle.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood, center) Sam Gamgee (Sean Astin, left) and
Gollum (Andy Serkis, right)in a tense moment from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Image from The Two Towers © 2002 New Line Cinema/Wingnut Films, used for promotional purposes only,

This week Superconductor will visit the other massive Western art-work concerned with some dwarves, some heroes and a Ring of Power that these creatures will kill to possess. We will be attending and writing about the 21st Symphony Orchestra and Chorus's current stand at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. There,  conductor Ludwig Wicki will lead 250 musicians and singers in composer Howard Shore's orchestral score of The Lord of the Rings in conjunction with screenings of the Academy Award-winning trilogy.