An Arvo Pärt premiere stops time in a 2,000-year-old temple

By Kurt Gottschalk, 02 November 2021

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“timeless, no more modern than Bach, the conventions of the centuries mere ornamentation”

Reviewed at Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Temple of Dendur, New York City on 31 October 2021

Pärt, Fratres

Pärt, Vater Unser

Pärt, The Deer's Cry

Pärt, Silouan's Song

Pärt, Salve Regina

Pärt, Summa

Pärt, O Holy Father Nicholas

Pärt, Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten

Pärt, Da pacem Domine

Michelle Ross, Violin

Eric Brenner, Countertenor

Schola Cantorum

Artefact Ensemble

Benedict Sheehan, Conductor

Experiential Orchestra

James Blachly, Conductor

LA Phil celebrates the California spirit with Andrés Orozco-Estrada

Cameron Kelsall, 3rd May

The program features Maria Dueñas in Korngold's Violin Concerto and a moving tribute to LA native Michael Tilson Thomas

****1

Denis Kozhukhin: captivating storytelling with the London Symphony

Clare Varney, 1st May

At the Konzerthaus Dortmund, Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO are joined by Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin to plunge into the depths of despair in Bernstein’s melancholic The Age of Anxiety.

***11

Eric Lu brings scintillating Chopin to Singapore

Chang Tou Liang, 1st May

A world premiere by Wang Chenwei, familiar Chopin and a rare outing for Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta make for satisfying fare in Jahcun Wong’s Singapore Symphony programme.

****1

BBC Philharmonic’s bold but unbalanced Stravinsky and Adams

Leighton Jones, 1st May

Balance issues mar an otherwise compelling programme from John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

***11

Yuja Wang with the Mahler CO: between lyricism and volatility

Edward Sava-Segal, 1st May

Yuja Wang and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra frame Chopin’s E minor concerto with two Prokofiev works, the First Symphony and Second Piano Concerto.

****1

Elim Chan and TSO reign supreme in Shostakovich’s Ninth

Michelle Assay, 30th April

After a Rachmaninov concerto that resembles a harangue, an uneven Toronto Symphony programme comes into focus with a sharply characterised Shostakovich Ninth.

***11

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Kurt Gottschalk

Kurt Gottschalk is a journalist and author based in New York City. His writings on contemporary and classical music, jazz and improvisation have been published in outlets throughout Europe and America and he has two volumes of short fiction to his name. He produced and hosted the Miniature Minotaurs radio programme on WFMU and currently hosts Afternoon New Music on WKCR.