Philip Glass and David Byrne's Knee Plays

By Kurt Gottschalk, 23 February 2020

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Reviewed at Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia on 21 February 2020

Glass, Knee Plays

Byrne, The Knee Plays

The Crossing

Donald Nally, Choirmaster / chorus director

Eric Southern, Set Designer

Text and textures in New York premieres by The Crossing at Zankel Hall

David Wolfson, 24th March

Donald Nally’s much vaunted chamber choir The Crossing give a program of three New York premieres at Zankel Hall.

****1

Earth songs: Stravinsky and John Luther Adams in Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 30th March

Personnel changes plague the world premiere of Vespers of a Blessed Earth, which sounds an urgent musical alarm on the harms of climate changes.

**111

Jazz, tragedy and a Julia Wolfe premiere

Kurt Gottschalk, 24th January

The New York Philharmonic premieres Julia Wolfe’s remembrance of the victims of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and plays an elegy to LBJ and an Aaron Copland jazz concerto.

****1

The Fifth Century as a window to eternity

Sacha Evans, 16th June

The reprise of The Fifth Century marks the beginning of an extended partnership between Bryars and the Crossing.

***11

Text and textures in New York premieres by The Crossing at Zankel Hall

David Wolfson, 24th March

Donald Nally’s much vaunted chamber choir The Crossing give a program of three New York premieres at Zankel Hall.

****1

Earth songs: Stravinsky and John Luther Adams in Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 30th March

Personnel changes plague the world premiere of Vespers of a Blessed Earth, which sounds an urgent musical alarm on the harms of climate changes.

**111

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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.

Philip Glass and David Byrne's Knee Plays, reconsidered and reworked in Philadelphia