Concert Review: A Pair of Aces

Two debuts spark Mostly Mozart.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Dynamic debut: Sol Gabetta.
Photo by Marco Borggreve.

The Mostly Mozart Festival's adherence to familiar composers and repertories makes the month-long festival invaluable: not just as a summer retreat for the music lover but as a working laboratory for New Yorkers to hear new artists and new conductors, some of whom are making their first appearances at Lincoln Center.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Il Trovatore

Verdi's blood and thunder melodrama returns...twice!
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Dolora Zajick (left) and Dmitri Hvorostovsky (center) in Il Trovatore.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2015 The Metropolitan Opera.

Verdi lovers might want to make two trips to the Metropolitan Opera to see Il Trovatore twice this season. The role of the fiery, devout and ultimately suicidal heroine Leonora will be sung by Anna Netrebko in the fall and Angela Meade in the spring. The strong cast also features Dolora Zajick and Dmitri Hvorostovsky in key roles.

Concert Review: It's Gotta Be the Shoes

Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Emerson String Quartet at Mostly Mozart.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Steve Madden Caviarr Rhinestone Slip-On. In Men's Sizes.

The annual visit to Mostly Mozart by the Emerson String Quartet is a joyous occasion, a cnahnce for New Yokrkers trapped in the sweltering and ever deepening canyons of  gotham to hear one of the best chamber music ensembles in the country without leaving the fortress of Manhattan. On Monday night at Alice Tully Hall, the eminent Emersons were joined by French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet for a program of Mozart, Beethoven and Fauré at Alice Tully Hall.

Concert Review: The Sinister Urge

Jeremy Denk at Mostly Mozart. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The pianist Jeremy Denk played Mostly Mozart on Friday night.
Photo from JeremyDenk.net © 2015 Nonesuch Records.

The Chaconne from Bach's Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin is one of the most challenging pieces to perform for great length (14 minutes) and technical demands on the solo performer. On Friday evening, pianist Jeremy Denk opened his appearance at this year's Mostly Mozart festival with an even more difficult version of this piece: the transcription for solo piano written by Johannes Brahms, designed to be played by the left hand only.