On November 24, 1891, Ignacy Jan Paderewski played his debut concert at Madison Square Garden. On November 17, 2018, that concert was re-created (with a few slight variations).
Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 – Ludwig van Beethoven; Moment Musical in F minor, Op. 94, No. 3 – Franz Schubert; Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17 – Robert Schumann; Etude, Mazurka, Op. 17, No. 4, and Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 – Frédéric Chopin; Barcarolle in A minor, Op. 93, No. 5 – Anton Rubinstein; Cracovienne Fantastique, Op. 14, No. 6 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski; Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 – Franz Liszt
That’s a lot of music. But Paderewski also included two more Schubert pieces, a Schubert-Liszt divertissement, and one more Chopin piece. The program listed above was played by two pianists—Jakub Kuszlik and Timothy Jones. Both were quite young and both played very well. It’s hard not to compare them to each other, but Mr. Kuszlik had a flashier style while Mr. Jones was a little more reserved. The concert was part of a multi-day conference celebrating the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Polish independence, as well as the 127th anniversary of the debut concert of Paderewski. It was a very enjoyable and enlightening afternoon. And I really can’t imagine one pianist playing all of that music in a single concert.
Innovative programming of a completely different type took place on December 1—Songs at a Gathering; A Sing-Along Show and Tell of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway Hits. The Library is home to Jerome Robbins’ papers, and some of them were on display during this fun afternoon. We, the audience, were encouraged to sing along, and the lyrics to seven songs were displayed on a big screen. Each song had a leader (names will be in parentheses) to get us going and keep us together, and Jonathon Lynch provided the crackerjack accompaniment. As with many sing-alongs, some of the songs were a little rangy and some fared better than others.
A Comedy Tonight from A Funny Thing happened on the Way to the Forum, Stephen Sondheim, music and lyrics (Marc Castle, leader). What a great way to start off the afternoon. The leader and the audience were in good form for this one.
Lucky to Be Me from On the Town, Leonard Bernstein, music and Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics (Alex Goley). Pretty much unknown to me, this one never quite got off the ground, but it would have been difficult to top the first song, anyway.
Something Wonderful from The King and I, Richard Rodgers, music and Oscar Hammerstein II, lyrics (Misy Singson). This one suffered from rangy, especially toward the end.
Never Never Land from Peter Pan, Jule Styne, music and Comden & Green, lyrics (Alyse Alan Louis and Jillian Louis). This was a lot of fun, and the two young ladies made it even more enjoyable.
If Momma Was Married from Gypsy, Styne, music and Sondheim, lyrics (Alyse Alan Louis and Jillian Louis). A side note, here. Among Robbins’ papers there was a photo of Robbins, Styne, Sondheim, Arthur Laurents and Gypsy Rose Lee. It was shown on screen before we actually sang. The Library also houses Gypsy Rose Lee’s papers, and one item from those was also displayed—a telegram sent to Ms. Lee for the opening. “May your bare ass always be shining.” – Eleanor Roosevelt. The audience howled with laughter. Then we sang the song and it was truly a delight.
Before we sang If I Were a Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof, Jerry Bock, music and Sheldon Harnick, lyrics (Marc Castle), we were treated a tape of Mr. Bock singing the song with dummy lyrics that he then sent to Mr. Harnick. It was such fun to hear a bit of history in the making. My notes for this one were simply A++.
The afternoon concluded with Somewhere from West Side Story, Bernstein, music and Sondheim, lyrics (all five leaders). This was effective though also rangy. In fact, I took the very ending down an octave and was joined there by the guy sitting next to me. I even told him that switching octaves was totally acceptable—Mr. Sondheim approved of it for me when I did Sweeney Todd. I sang the very opening but took the ending of that one up an octave.
Along the way, we also heard from Amanda Vail, who has authored at least two books about Robbins and has another one coming out next year. We also heard from Julio Monge, who is involved with staging WSS in various places around the world. In fact, he had just returned from Australia the night before this program. He offered a lot of insight to how working with Robbins for Jerome Robbins’ Broadway used markings by dancers from the original WSS score for ‘named’ steps (one was ‘sailing’ and the other was ‘laughing’). A game volunteer tried to guess at the steps and then they were shown in their real form by Mr. Monge. You can learn a lot at the library! Can you guess that I had fun? And Eleanor Roosevelt might just have stolen the show.
ConcertMeister
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