Okay, posting from the website (not my fave). Any bizarre things, I have very little control over.
Open House New York is, ostensibly, an architectural extravaganza. In reality, for me, it's a really cool way to see things I'd never otherwise get a chance to see in NYC.
As usual, I set an over-achievable agenda for myself. But here’s what I did accomplish.
Saturday, 10am – Brooklyn Academy of Music (1908 construction). A wonderful tour with a very knowledgeable guide. It was a little heavy on the ‘new music’ aspect of the resurgence of the hall, but it covered the basics as well as the more modern aspects. A+ in my book.
After a mad dash to the B38 bus (said dash shared with a couple from San Francisco who come back to NYC every year for OHNY!), we made our way to the Kings County Brewers Collective (381 Troutman Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn – highly recommended). The brewery is visible from the Tap Room. The Tap Room is visible from the street. They have $2.00, 5 oz. tasting glasses available. They have 12 brews available. Hello! They’ve only been in existence for three months. Go there, my NYC peeps.
But I digress. Also on Troutman Street (225) was a design firm which used its own building as an advertising work space. They converted a slim building into a showcase work space cum duplex living space cum apartment building cum green roof— quite a feat. The floors were generic poured concrete (not my favorite, though the designers said they really didn’t mind the cracks). The wood accents were really cool. They bought (cheaply) planks from the Coney Island boardwalk. They shaved off the wear and tear, then split the boards, and then oiled the Brazilian hardwood. Absolutely gorgeous. A little overdone but very effective.
Lift/Next Level was a bit of a bust—sensory deprivation pods making a comeback from the ’70s and ’80s. Not for me. I then went to the Black Lady Theater on Nostrand Avenue, which is being renovated and had some very interesting murals on display. Still, the very loud reggae music was so off-putting that I quickly left.
Sunday at noon found me in the Bronx, at CUNY Bronx Community College. Originally part of NYU, it transformed to BCC. However, one of the crown jewels of the campus—the Gould Library—dates from the early 1900s and is a stunning example of a Stanford White building. I believe that the campus was overwhelmed with the amount of visitors they received, and I’m certainly glad I got there early. The Gould Library tour was stunning. While I did not visit it this time around, I will go back to see the Hall of Fame of Great Americans (check times and availability, but it’s always free).
My next stop on the campus was a set of Marcel Breuer buildings, including (I kid you not!) Meister Hall, Begrisch Hall, and Polowyczk Hall. Very modern, very brash. The docent was extremely knowledgeable and extremely approachable. I followed this with a tour of the new library, built as part of a refurbishment of the quad on campus. It fits in perfectly.
I then went all the way back to Flatbush Avenue to see the newly renovated Kings Theatre—one of the huge movie palaces of the late 1920s. This $95 million restoration was phenomenal. In the lobby is the restored original theater organ console (alas, the pipework and organ itself are lost forever).
A year ago, I volunteered for OHNY, and it was a less-than-enjoyable experience. After seeing and chatting with this year’s volunteers, I may reconsider for October 2017.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Another Openin' (10/8/16)
My first concert of the season of the Carnegie Neighborhood Concerts (all five boroughs, some tailored to all age groups). Saturday found me at a vocal recital by Ryan Thorn, baritone, assisted by Andrew Sun, piano. I'll start out by saying that these two were collaborators, in the truest sense of the word, throughout the recital.
Selections from Gedichte von Eduard Mörike – Auf einer Wanderung, In der Frühe, Abschied – Hugo Wolf (1860–1903)
The Dream, Op. 8, No. 5; She is as lovely as midday, Op. 14, No. 9; I was with Her [their capitalization, not mine], Op. 14, No. 4 – Sergei Rachmaninoff
(1873–1943)
Lieder eines fahrended Gesellen [German's capitalization, not mine!] – Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht; Ging heut' morgens über Feld; Ich hab' ein glühend Messer; Die zwei blauen Augen [at last! one I can decipher] – Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)
Songs of Travel – Ralph Vaughan Williams – (1872–1958)
The first piece (Wolf) was an up tempo, bright song, with a contrasting second verse. The second was darker in tone. The third was pretty much a dramatic patter song that seemed to remind me of the darkness of Kurt Weill. Not a bad way to start a recital.
After a pause, the first Rachmaninoff song was very poignant. The second was calm, with a feeling of yearning, while the third, with a faster tempo, was a hymn to love. I'm not sure whether the four Mahler songs were were from the same work, performed in order, but thy certainly worked well together. The first projected a real feeling of loss. His love is lost – to another. The second was bright and patter-like, as in, all's right with the world. Until it's not. The third was dramatic and dark, even with the rushing tempo. The second verse was calmer, but just as dark; coming to terms with grief. The fourth projected, to me, that life is sometimes sad and unfair. It was straightforward though not maudlin. My take was that it was learning to come to terms with unhappiness.
These vocal recitals are a part of the Marilyn Horne legacy at Carnegie Hall, and in fact, Ms. Horne was there and briefly spoke after the intermission. It was sometimes hard to hear her, but you do not (as one woman behind me did), call out, "Louder!" to a well-established diva. Bad. Form. Anyhoo, the gist of
Ms. Horne's remarks were that recitals, as such, are falling out of favor. And that they should fall more in favor. I agree 100%.
The second half of the program was given over the Vaughan Williams' ten song cycle, and Mr. Thorn and Mr. Sun acquitted themselves quite well, as they had all afternoon/evening (5:00pm on a Saturday is an odd time for a concert/recital to my thinking).
I'm not sure I got a feel for the overarching tone of the song cycle (both performers are young, and will probably grow into various interpretations through the years), but the individual songs came off quite well. From the martial (but not quite military) opening to songs with harp-like accompaniment, from strophic with perpetual motion feelings to calmer, from splashy to then settling down, this was a nice rendition of a song cycle—and cycles aren't heard in their entirety very often (see Ms. Horne and recitals, above).
Both performers received very warm applause and some standing from the audience. In a first for me, the collaborators shook hands and then did a man-bro hug. Not a problem for me; I'd just never seen it before.
Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts. Check them out, my NYC peeps.
ConcertMeister
Selections from Gedichte von Eduard Mörike – Auf einer Wanderung, In der Frühe, Abschied – Hugo Wolf (1860–1903)
The Dream, Op. 8, No. 5; She is as lovely as midday, Op. 14, No. 9; I was with Her [their capitalization, not mine], Op. 14, No. 4 – Sergei Rachmaninoff
(1873–1943)
Lieder eines fahrended Gesellen [German's capitalization, not mine!] – Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht; Ging heut' morgens über Feld; Ich hab' ein glühend Messer; Die zwei blauen Augen [at last! one I can decipher] – Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)
Songs of Travel – Ralph Vaughan Williams – (1872–1958)
The first piece (Wolf) was an up tempo, bright song, with a contrasting second verse. The second was darker in tone. The third was pretty much a dramatic patter song that seemed to remind me of the darkness of Kurt Weill. Not a bad way to start a recital.
After a pause, the first Rachmaninoff song was very poignant. The second was calm, with a feeling of yearning, while the third, with a faster tempo, was a hymn to love. I'm not sure whether the four Mahler songs were were from the same work, performed in order, but thy certainly worked well together. The first projected a real feeling of loss. His love is lost – to another. The second was bright and patter-like, as in, all's right with the world. Until it's not. The third was dramatic and dark, even with the rushing tempo. The second verse was calmer, but just as dark; coming to terms with grief. The fourth projected, to me, that life is sometimes sad and unfair. It was straightforward though not maudlin. My take was that it was learning to come to terms with unhappiness.
These vocal recitals are a part of the Marilyn Horne legacy at Carnegie Hall, and in fact, Ms. Horne was there and briefly spoke after the intermission. It was sometimes hard to hear her, but you do not (as one woman behind me did), call out, "Louder!" to a well-established diva. Bad. Form. Anyhoo, the gist of
Ms. Horne's remarks were that recitals, as such, are falling out of favor. And that they should fall more in favor. I agree 100%.
The second half of the program was given over the Vaughan Williams' ten song cycle, and Mr. Thorn and Mr. Sun acquitted themselves quite well, as they had all afternoon/evening (5:00pm on a Saturday is an odd time for a concert/recital to my thinking).
I'm not sure I got a feel for the overarching tone of the song cycle (both performers are young, and will probably grow into various interpretations through the years), but the individual songs came off quite well. From the martial (but not quite military) opening to songs with harp-like accompaniment, from strophic with perpetual motion feelings to calmer, from splashy to then settling down, this was a nice rendition of a song cycle—and cycles aren't heard in their entirety very often (see Ms. Horne and recitals, above).
Both performers received very warm applause and some standing from the audience. In a first for me, the collaborators shook hands and then did a man-bro hug. Not a problem for me; I'd just never seen it before.
Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts. Check them out, my NYC peeps.
ConcertMeister
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Fall for Dance (9/29/16 & 10/6/16)
First off, not a freebie, but quite the bargain. Fall for Dance presents mixed bill performances at City Center (gorgeous theater with nice leg room in the mezzanine and balcony) with all seats priced at $15.00. You can buy tix in person at the box office or on line. As it turns out, tix went on sale at 11:00am on Sat., 9/10, and I was volunteering in Central Park on Sat., 9/10 from 6:00am(!) to 9:00am, so I decided to take a bus down Fifth Avenue and scope out the in-person situation. Well! When I got there at approximately 9:30am there was already a line. I figured that I was already there, so what they hey!
Unfortunately, it was a very hot morning. Fortunately, I had nice line mates who let me leave the line periodically to go across 55th Street to get out of the sun. One gal was there with her hubby (from South Africa) and one gal was a former dancer who lives in Manhattan with her Chinese husband. We talked food; we talked tourism; we talked (hello! we were there for more than two hours).
Anyhoo, I saw four dance troupes on the Sept. 29 bill (Richard Alston Dance Company, Aszure Barton & Artists, Wendy Whelan and Edward Watson, and Grupo Corpo). I enjoyed them all, but especially the Alston Company, as they danced Rejoice in the Lamb, performed to live accompaniment by Montclair State Vocal Accord, with Vincent Carr, organist. Rejoice in the Lamb, a setting of poetry by Christopher Smart, a mystical and most likely slightly crazy poet, was set to music by Benjamin Britten. But I really liked all four groups, and seeing powerhouses Wendy Whelan and Edward Watson was also pretty cool.
On Oct. 6, I saw four different troupes (Jessica Lang Dance, Royal Ballet Flanders, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and The Sarasota Ballet). It's hard to pick a favorite, but I think the nod goes to Royal Ballet, whose settings and scenery were the most interesting of the evening. The Ailey, Cry, a re-creation of a ballet from 1971, was certainly interesting, but to me more as a historic rendition. And the Sarasota's Marguerite and Armand was yet another retelling of Dumas' La Dame aux camélias, with the grand ballet tradition of having to suspend disbelief just a bit too much. The score, however, Franz Lizst's Piano Sonata in B Minor, played here by Matei Varga, was a big plus.
OK, I probably saved a few bucks by buying in person, and I was already out and about early that Saturday morning of Sept. 10. That said, if I go for Fall for Dance in the future, I just might bite the bullet and fight with online ordering. And pay more for the same cheap seats.
ConcertMeister
Unfortunately, it was a very hot morning. Fortunately, I had nice line mates who let me leave the line periodically to go across 55th Street to get out of the sun. One gal was there with her hubby (from South Africa) and one gal was a former dancer who lives in Manhattan with her Chinese husband. We talked food; we talked tourism; we talked (hello! we were there for more than two hours).
Anyhoo, I saw four dance troupes on the Sept. 29 bill (Richard Alston Dance Company, Aszure Barton & Artists, Wendy Whelan and Edward Watson, and Grupo Corpo). I enjoyed them all, but especially the Alston Company, as they danced Rejoice in the Lamb, performed to live accompaniment by Montclair State Vocal Accord, with Vincent Carr, organist. Rejoice in the Lamb, a setting of poetry by Christopher Smart, a mystical and most likely slightly crazy poet, was set to music by Benjamin Britten. But I really liked all four groups, and seeing powerhouses Wendy Whelan and Edward Watson was also pretty cool.
On Oct. 6, I saw four different troupes (Jessica Lang Dance, Royal Ballet Flanders, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and The Sarasota Ballet). It's hard to pick a favorite, but I think the nod goes to Royal Ballet, whose settings and scenery were the most interesting of the evening. The Ailey, Cry, a re-creation of a ballet from 1971, was certainly interesting, but to me more as a historic rendition. And the Sarasota's Marguerite and Armand was yet another retelling of Dumas' La Dame aux camélias, with the grand ballet tradition of having to suspend disbelief just a bit too much. The score, however, Franz Lizst's Piano Sonata in B Minor, played here by Matei Varga, was a big plus.
OK, I probably saved a few bucks by buying in person, and I was already out and about early that Saturday morning of Sept. 10. That said, if I go for Fall for Dance in the future, I just might bite the bullet and fight with online ordering. And pay more for the same cheap seats.
ConcertMeister
Friday, October 7, 2016
Frank Morelli and His All-Star Bassoon Quartet (10/2/16)
This one came about in a strange fashion. When I was at Songbook recently, one of the pieces incorporated a string quartet. When the string players were asked (the host always asks the performers) what they were up to, the cellist, Ben Larsen, said that he was busy with the running of Concerts on the Slope. That sounded familiar to me, so I checked out their website and, lo and behold, this concert popped up, so I decided to check it out. The Slope involved is Park Slope in Brooklyn, and the concerts take place (for the most part) in St. John’s Episcopal Church, one more new venue for me. The bassoonists were Joey Lavarias, Frank Morelli, Jorge Pacheco, Blair Shepperd, and Jacob Wellman.
Mr. Morelli teaches at the Juilliard School, and the other four are his students.
Highlights of the concert included a clever entrance—all five marching in to Marche funèbre d’une marionette, by Charles Gounod (1818–1893). For those of us of an age, it was instantly recognizable as the opening theme to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, from the 1950s and ’60s. Almost all of the music was presented in arrangements, but I’m not going to bother with naming names (or commenting on each work, for that matter). Two J.S. Bach (1685–1750) pieces followed—Fugue in c, BWV 537 and Air from 3rd Orchestral Suite in D, BWV 1068. The first, for the quintet, was nice, if a little bit muddy. I got most of the fugal entries but the internal themes sort of got lost. The second, for the student quartet, had a prominent theme accompanied by nicely done harmonies, including a bit of a jazz riff in one of the repeats.
The next piece, Thunder and Blazes, by Julius Fučik (1872–1916), would be recognized by all of you. Think of going to a circus and hearing the band play the always popular circus march—YA-da-dadada-YA-da-da-da—got it? This was for the quintet again, with each player at the forefront with different themes, from time to time. A Cantilena by Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) didn’t quite cut it for me, though it obviously hits the spot for Mr. Morelli, in that he did the arrangement himself for solo bassoon and bassoon quartet and has recorded it at least once.
“Le Phénix,” by Michele Corrette (1707–1795), was the only piece that was not an arrangement, essentially a concerto for bassoon and continuo. Mr. Morelli played the continuo part for all three of the movements, with the solo part taken by three different students, while the other students acted as a small bassoon orchestra. My brief notes included (i) bright and energetic, (ii) chorale-style feeling to the opening, and (iii) more jaunty than the first movement, if a little long-winded (no pun intended).
After intermission, three arias from The Barber of Seville, Giacchino Rossini (1792–1868) followed. They also didn’t quite cut it for me. Lascia ch’io pianga, from Rinaldo, George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), fared a little better, with a good choral/organ sound that was simple yet effective in what was really a wonderful arrangement. A pseudo-medley from West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990), consisting of Tonight, Maria, America, and Somewhere, was really quite pleasant. Alas, the same could not be said for
Mr. Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, where I found the scoring to be a little too muddy, again, for my taste. Having many of the individual tunes/phrases in the lower range of the bassoons made them difficult to distinguish.
That said, I liked bassoon quartets and quintets far better than the concert looked on paper. And I’ll probably go back to the Slope again. If you go, while it’s listed as a free concert, they also have a basket for a free-will offering and, as mentioned from the front of the church during intermission, all of the collected funds go directly to the performers. It seems like a bit of a guilt trip to me, and while I didn’t contribute on Sunday, I probably will in the future.
ConcertMeister
Mr. Morelli teaches at the Juilliard School, and the other four are his students.
Highlights of the concert included a clever entrance—all five marching in to Marche funèbre d’une marionette, by Charles Gounod (1818–1893). For those of us of an age, it was instantly recognizable as the opening theme to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, from the 1950s and ’60s. Almost all of the music was presented in arrangements, but I’m not going to bother with naming names (or commenting on each work, for that matter). Two J.S. Bach (1685–1750) pieces followed—Fugue in c, BWV 537 and Air from 3rd Orchestral Suite in D, BWV 1068. The first, for the quintet, was nice, if a little bit muddy. I got most of the fugal entries but the internal themes sort of got lost. The second, for the student quartet, had a prominent theme accompanied by nicely done harmonies, including a bit of a jazz riff in one of the repeats.
The next piece, Thunder and Blazes, by Julius Fučik (1872–1916), would be recognized by all of you. Think of going to a circus and hearing the band play the always popular circus march—YA-da-dadada-YA-da-da-da—got it? This was for the quintet again, with each player at the forefront with different themes, from time to time. A Cantilena by Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) didn’t quite cut it for me, though it obviously hits the spot for Mr. Morelli, in that he did the arrangement himself for solo bassoon and bassoon quartet and has recorded it at least once.
“Le Phénix,” by Michele Corrette (1707–1795), was the only piece that was not an arrangement, essentially a concerto for bassoon and continuo. Mr. Morelli played the continuo part for all three of the movements, with the solo part taken by three different students, while the other students acted as a small bassoon orchestra. My brief notes included (i) bright and energetic, (ii) chorale-style feeling to the opening, and (iii) more jaunty than the first movement, if a little long-winded (no pun intended).
After intermission, three arias from The Barber of Seville, Giacchino Rossini (1792–1868) followed. They also didn’t quite cut it for me. Lascia ch’io pianga, from Rinaldo, George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), fared a little better, with a good choral/organ sound that was simple yet effective in what was really a wonderful arrangement. A pseudo-medley from West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990), consisting of Tonight, Maria, America, and Somewhere, was really quite pleasant. Alas, the same could not be said for
Mr. Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, where I found the scoring to be a little too muddy, again, for my taste. Having many of the individual tunes/phrases in the lower range of the bassoons made them difficult to distinguish.
That said, I liked bassoon quartets and quintets far better than the concert looked on paper. And I’ll probably go back to the Slope again. If you go, while it’s listed as a free concert, they also have a basket for a free-will offering and, as mentioned from the front of the church during intermission, all of the collected funds go directly to the performers. It seems like a bit of a guilt trip to me, and while I didn’t contribute on Sunday, I probably will in the future.
ConcertMeister
Monday, October 3, 2016
New Season – Songbook (9/26/16)
I'm posting this directly online, which is not my favorite way to go. But ...
Will Aronson, composer and lyricist, was celebrated on Monday, Sept. 26 (appropriately the beginning of Songbook's 26th season).
I really liked his stuff, though I'm not sure I heard his lyrics (unless he collaborates with book writers and lyricists on his shows). And yes, I say shows. Several have been produced, though still works in process, and several have upcoming productions (most notably, in Korea!).
The format was great—we got songs from already written shows grouped together (with a few exceptions).
Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter
Mother, Me & the Monsters
Pete the Cat (split)
Wind-Up Girl
What I Learned from People
My first notes from hearing Come Home Safe (H & G & H & G) were, "Nicely complex composition that is totally believable and understandable." While this didn't hold true for the entire evening, it set a great tone. Dear Random Stranger was an effective story/patter song duet for Hansel & Gretl. The third piece from this segment also highlighted great harmony, both in the composition and singing.
Mother, Me & the Monsters, the opening number from its show, had shifting, overlapping rhythms and text that was a little cluttered, but it grew on me. Poem on My Pants had a rock flair with a touch of hip-hop. Sometimes Someone You Love was styled very successfully, with a light pop/rock feel.
The Sneezing Song, from Pete the Cat (currently on tour) was a cute novelty (ah-choo!) song.
The songs from Wind-Up Girl (Work in Progress, Clockwork World) were a little obvious—lots of clicking and clacking but pleasant.
We then revisited a song from H & G & H & G, Best. Meal. Ever. (sung by the witch) which was a bit over the top for me, but it may work in the context of the show.
The four songs from What I Learned from People seemed the weakest to me. It's going into production in Korea soon, and my guess is that there will be some fine tuning going on. Interestingly, a string quartet was involved in a 'mood piece' here, and the cellist (when asked what he was up to—John Znidarsic does this with everyone) commented that he was involved with a new concert series, Concerts on the Slope. I scoped them out and went to one of their concerts on October 2. How cool is that? But I digress.
The finale was VW Bus from Pete the Cat, which was an old-school rock 'n' roll number sung by three great performers, singing with a great vibe.
In fact, that was the tone of the entire evening—truly polished compositions from a composer/lyricist who really teamed well with other lyricists and book writers.
ConcertMeister
This was definitely one of the better Songbooks I've seen in a while.
Will Aronson, composer and lyricist, was celebrated on Monday, Sept. 26 (appropriately the beginning of Songbook's 26th season).
I really liked his stuff, though I'm not sure I heard his lyrics (unless he collaborates with book writers and lyricists on his shows). And yes, I say shows. Several have been produced, though still works in process, and several have upcoming productions (most notably, in Korea!).
The format was great—we got songs from already written shows grouped together (with a few exceptions).
Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter
Mother, Me & the Monsters
Pete the Cat (split)
Wind-Up Girl
What I Learned from People
My first notes from hearing Come Home Safe (H & G & H & G) were, "Nicely complex composition that is totally believable and understandable." While this didn't hold true for the entire evening, it set a great tone. Dear Random Stranger was an effective story/patter song duet for Hansel & Gretl. The third piece from this segment also highlighted great harmony, both in the composition and singing.
Mother, Me & the Monsters, the opening number from its show, had shifting, overlapping rhythms and text that was a little cluttered, but it grew on me. Poem on My Pants had a rock flair with a touch of hip-hop. Sometimes Someone You Love was styled very successfully, with a light pop/rock feel.
The Sneezing Song, from Pete the Cat (currently on tour) was a cute novelty (ah-choo!) song.
The songs from Wind-Up Girl (Work in Progress, Clockwork World) were a little obvious—lots of clicking and clacking but pleasant.
We then revisited a song from H & G & H & G, Best. Meal. Ever. (sung by the witch) which was a bit over the top for me, but it may work in the context of the show.
The four songs from What I Learned from People seemed the weakest to me. It's going into production in Korea soon, and my guess is that there will be some fine tuning going on. Interestingly, a string quartet was involved in a 'mood piece' here, and the cellist (when asked what he was up to—John Znidarsic does this with everyone) commented that he was involved with a new concert series, Concerts on the Slope. I scoped them out and went to one of their concerts on October 2. How cool is that? But I digress.
The finale was VW Bus from Pete the Cat, which was an old-school rock 'n' roll number sung by three great performers, singing with a great vibe.
In fact, that was the tone of the entire evening—truly polished compositions from a composer/lyricist who really teamed well with other lyricists and book writers.
ConcertMeister
This was definitely one of the better Songbooks I've seen in a while.
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