Concert Review: The Price of Perfection

Joshua Bell and the New York Philharmonic play The Red Violin.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Here's looking at you, kid: Samuel L. Jackson peers into The Red Violin.
Image © 1998 Mikado Pictures

Is it worth it to create the greatest instrument in the history of Western music, even if it costs you everything?

That is the question asked by the 1998 François Girard film The Red Violin, which tracks the creation, birth and long life of its titular object from a workshop in Cremona in the 16th century to an auction house in modern day Montreal. However, more notable than the film is its Academy award-winning score, which is being played this week in conjunction with the film by Joshua bell and the New York Philharmonic. Michael Stern conducted.

The Devil Came From Georgia

Superconductor witnesses The Death of Stalin.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A civilizing force: Olga Kurylenko as Maria Yudina in The Death of Stalin.

The most dangerous dictator in Russian history was Josef Stalin. And unfortunately for the composers, artists and musicians who lived in the Soviet Union up until 1953, Stalin loved music. His untimely but welcome demise is the subject of the hilarious new film The Death of Stalin by director Armando Ianucci. This review is not going to focus on the film itself, which is a startling, smart and well-written black comedy. But this isn't a conventional movie review: this is Superconductor. And we're going to talk about Comrade Stalin and the music in the movie.

Concert Review: The Long Dark Road

The Lord of the Rings concludes at Lincoln Center.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Down with the King: Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Photo © 2003 New Line Cinema/Wingnut Films.

On Friday night, at Lincoln Center, the 21st Century Orchestra and Chorus, under the baton of music director Ludwig Wicki, premiered the score from The Return of the King, the third and final chapter in his ground-breaking film trilogy The Lord of the Rings. The performance, at a packed David H. Koch Theater, presented the performers with a considerable challenge, a three-hour gesamstkunstwerk that incorporated the motifs from the previous films, forcing conductor and massive ensemble to keep shifting gears to keep up.

Concert Review: The Road to Isengard

The 21st Century Orchestra and Chorus takes on The Two Towers.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Gollum (played by Andy Serkis) in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Frame from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers © 2002 Wingnut Films/New Line Cinema.
Used here for promotional purposes only. 

The 21st Century Orchestra and Chorus took the next steps on their journey to Mordor on Thursday night, with the first live performance in New York of the complete orchestral score to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. This is the second volume of Peter Jackson's award-winning film trilogy based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and a film that won two Academy Awards after its premiere in 2002. Towers was the third concert of the orchestra's five-day stand at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. As before, the score was conducted by music director Ludwig Wicki with the movie shown on a wide screen above the stage.

Concert Review: A Journey in the Dark

The 21st Century Orchestra and Chorus plays The Fellowship of the Ring.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
 Credit: © 2001 New Line Productions/Wingnut Films. Screen capture by Pyxurz

The long tradition of concert music in Western culture has spent much of the last century intersecting with the motion picture industry, starting with composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold's emigration to Hollywood in 1935. On Tuesday night at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater, the 21st Century Orchestra and Chorus and their music director Ludwig Wicki took the next steps in that journey, performing the complete score to the 2001 movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in concert with a screening of Peter Jackson's film.

Movie Review: Behind the Planks

Documentary Wagner's Dream shines (some) light on the Lepage Ring
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Wagner's Dream offers an inside look at the Met's new Ring Cycle.
Image from Wagner's Dream © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

There are many memorable moments in Wagner's Dream, the new documentary by Susan Frömke, delving into the inner workings of the Metropolitan Opera's multi-million-dollar mounting of Wagner's Ring Cycle. However, nothing is more telling than what happens after Deborah Voigt fell off the set.

The soprano, who was making her debut in the key role of Brunnhilde took her tumble in the opening moments of Act II of the premiere of Die Walküre. The movie shows the build-up to the accident, and the fall itself. The cameras track Ms. Voigt afterwards, recording her embarrassment at tripping over her long Valkyrie skirt, and her determination to have that precarious entrance altered in the following performances.

The next day, her decision was abruptly overruled by Met general manager Peter Gelb.

Songs from Steeltown, USA

Two songs from Marc Blitzstein's superb (and pro-union) musical Cradle Will Rock, which was subject to a government shutdown before its premiere, and then taken down the street and performed anyway. Ms. Patti LuPone as Moll.




"I'm Checking Home Now"




"The Nickel Under Your Foot"

Two songs from Marc Blitzstein's superb (and pro-union) musical Cradle Will Rock, which was subject to a government shutdown before its premiere, and then taken down the street and performed anyway. Ms. Patti LuPone as Moll.

The story of the show was made into a movie by Tim Robbins, also called Cradle Will Rock. For the movie, Emily Watson played Moll opposite John Turturro as the actor who originated the role of Larry Foreman in the show. Hank Azaria played piano and did his own singing as Marc Blitzstein.

Posted in support of the Wisconsin union workers, and their struggle in the streets of Madison, Wisconsin against Governor Scott "Mr. Mister" Walker.

To help the protestors, and make a donation to make sure they stay fed in their fight for  collective bargaining rights,  visit Pastrami for Protesters and make a donation today!

Movie Review: Topsy-Turvy

Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert in Topsy-Turvy. © 1999 USA Films

Mike Leigh's affectionate, (mostly) factual and painstakingly detailed account of the partnership of William Schwenck Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan--and the near dissolution of their partnership before writing The Mikado--might be the greatest backstage opera movie in recent memory. And it's being released on March 29 as part of the Criterion Collecton.

The film is set in 1884. Gilbert & Sullivan were coming off Princess Ida, a box-office bomb. Sullivan, newly knighted, was itching to write "serious" music. Gilbert was working on a new story idea, involving a magic lozenge--which Sullivan wanted nothing to do with. At a creative impasse, Gilbert hit upon the idea of setting an English farce in far-away Japan. The result: The Mikado.

Mr. Leigh's film takes you inside the world of these two creative geniuses, thanks to tour de force performances by Jim Broadbent and Alan Corduner as the librettist and composer, respectively. Mr. Broadbent plays Gilbert as a curmudgeon--the funniest man in England who can amuse the masses but barely cracks a smile. He is an irascible jerk, cold and distant to his wife, and absolute hell on his actors.

Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan in Topsy-Turvy. © 1999 USA Films

Mr. Corduner does not pull punches with the portrayal of Sir Arthur. The composer is a drug-addicted mess who goes whoring in Paris and can barely get out of bed to conduct the Ida premiere. But the depravities of both men are redeemed by their respective creative genius, and the sheer alchemy that results when they put their minds together on a project.

And what alchemy it is. The core of Topsy-Turvy is a cracking series of lovingly staged excerpts from The Mikado, The Sorceror and Princess Ida, showcasing the multi-talented cast of singig actors--who all did their own work. Timothy Spall is memorable as Richard Temple, the bass whose booming "Mikado" aria nearly meets Gilbert's snicker-snee. Martin Savage is sufficiently decayed as the opium-addicted George Grossmith who originated the role of Ko-Ko. The supporting cast includes brief (but brilliant turns from Andy Serkis, Dexter Fletcher and

The female leads are strong as well. Shirley Henderson, (Leonora Braham/Yum-Yum) Dorothy Atkinson (Jessie Bond/Pitti-Sing) and Lesley Manville (Mrs. Gilbert) are all appealing. The elegant Eleanor David plays singer Fanny Ronalds: Sullivan's mistress. A scene where she and the composer duet on his song "The Lost Chord" at a recital provides the most sublime moment of the early going, while Ms. Henderson's verion of "The Sun Whose Rays" ends the film on a perfect, wistful note.

Movie Review: Bride of the Wind

Behind many a great composer there stood a great woman.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Sarah Winter as Alma Mahler-Gropius-Werfel in Bride of the Wind.
Photo © 2001 Paramount Pictures.

This fascinating, overlooked 2001 film by Australian director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy) focuses on the life of Alma Mahler Gropius, wife and widow of the famous composer Gustav Mahler. Sarah Wynter (The Sixth Day) an Australian actress, plays the lead role. In her hands, Alma is pure fire and ice, a Viennese answer to Princess Turandot without the body count.

Movie Review: Meeting Venus

The comedy chronicling a particularly troubled production of Wagner's Tannhaüser was mostly ignored when it was released in 1991. At long last, Warner Archives has released it on DVD for the U.S. market.

Venus is the story of Hungarian conductor Zoltan Szanto, (Dutch actor Niels Arestrup) who has come to the "Opera Europa", a Paris-based international company "where you can be misunderstood in six different languages" to lead a new production of Tannhaüser.

Wagner's opera is the story of the medieval knight who is torn between his love for the saintly Elisabeth and his unearthly lust for the goddess Venus. As the married conductor begins an affair with his leading lady (played by Glenn Close and sung by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa), his personal life begins to mirror the complex world of Wagner's opera.

István Szantó's film captures the vibrant energy and backstage chaos of post-Communist Europe as the opera company's members try to overcome ego issues and language barriers to mount Tannhaüser. When a last-minute stagehands strike nearly kills the performance, the opera company's unique solution makes the entire film worth seeing.

At its heart, this is a movie about making music, and Meeting Venus includes some excellent excerpts from the opera, featuring the Philharmonia Orchestra led by Marek Janowski. The soundtrack includes the Pilgrim's Chorus, Elisabeth's "Dich, teurer Halle", and Wolfram's "Song to the Evening Star." Soloists include Rene Kollo (Tannhaüser), Waltraud Meier (Venus) and Håkan Hagegård (Wolfram.) Unfortunately, this cast only recorded highlights for the soundtrack and never got around to doing the entire opera.

Meeting Venus is released under the Warner Special Products label. The only way to get a copy is to order it direct from the studio, who will then manufacture the DVD and send it to you mail-order. It's not a perfect solution, but this underrated comedy is worth the effort for the opera lover.