Minimalism with a beating heart: Julius Eastman's Femenine

Ariadne Greif

St Luke's Chamber Ensemble and Ariadne Greif

By Kurt Gottschalk, 08 February 2026

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Reviewed at DiMenna Center for Classical Music: Mary Flagler Cary Hall, New York City on 4 February 2026

Eastman, Femenine

Ariadne Greif, Soprano

St Luke's Chamber Ensemble

Margaret Kampmeier, Piano

Lino Gomez, Saxophone

Priscilla Rinehart, French horn

St Luke's Chamber Ensemble finds the joy in Julius Eastman

Kurt Gottschalk, 22nd June

In their “Visionary Sounds” concert, the ensemble lets Eastman's Stay On It fall into abandon at times... but never without a plan.

****1

An uneven mix with animation by the St Luke’s Chamber Ensemble

Kurt Gottschalk, 16th March

A program of works for soloists and small ensembles proves aurally and visually taxing, emotionally and intellectually exhausting, all in fairly enticing ways.

***11

Savall conducts Beethoven and Haydn at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 3rd April

Beethoven's Christus am Ölberge is paired with Haydn's Die sieben letzten Worte, a journey from agony to transcendence in which the agony proves the more honest companion.

***11

Portraits and pictures from Ibragimova, Gardner and the LPO

Roy Westbrook, 1st April

From Three Screaming Popes to Pictures at an Exhibition, a pair of works inspired by paintings frame a violin concerto by Béla Bartók at London's Southbank Centre.

****1

Energy, precision and drama from the Philadelphia Orchestra

Susan Stempleski, 31st March

Marin Alsop is joined by pianist Hayato Sumino as she conducts the Philadelphians in an exhilarating program of works by John Adams, Gershwin and Prokofiev.

****1

Evgeny Kissin leaves a trail of happy hearts at the Barbican

Christopher Woodley, 31st March

With a spring in his step, Evgeny Kissin returns to Barbican Hall and gives well-wrought accounts of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Schumann.

****1

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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.

Minimalism with a beating heart: St Luke’s finds the free flow of Julius Eastman's Femenine