Linda Holt writes about classical music for broadstreetreview.com and newyorkclassicalreview.com, with a special interest in the life and works of Beethoven. She has a doctorate in arts-and-letters from Drew University (U.S.), studied music theory and history at Rider University, and teaches humanities courses. She is president of the Princeton Research Forum ( princetonresearchforum.org ) and member of the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society and American Beethoven Society. As L.L. Holt, she is the author of two acclaimed novels based on Beethoven’s early years: Invictus (Harvard Square Editions, 2019) and The Black Spaniard (Unsolicited Press, 2016).
On the surface, this Verbier Festival program looked mild (Brahms and Beethoven), but in performance, it had the effect of dropping a lit match into a crate full of fireworks.
With his wonderful instinct for finding just the right tempo, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted the scaled down but high spirited Philadelphia Orchestra in Elgar’s Serenade.
Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto is programmed with two works by composers esteemed in their era, but largely forgotten by concert goers over the past half-century.
