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

Donald Nally conducts The Crossing

Claire Chase

By David Wolfson, 25 March 2026

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“insanely virtuosic musical proficiency”

Reviewed at Carnegie Hall: Zankel, New York City on 24 March 2026

León, Singsong

Wang, At Which Point

Woods, Infinite Body

Claire Chase, Flute

The Crossing

Donald Nally, Conductor

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

Philip Glass and David Byrne's Knee Plays

Kurt Gottschalk, 21st February

The Knee Plays was an unusual selection to kick off a Philip Glass celebration, but the engaging production spoke to a time and associations in the composer's career.

*****

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

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

Philip Glass and David Byrne's Knee Plays

Kurt Gottschalk, 21st February

The Knee Plays was an unusual selection to kick off a Philip Glass celebration, but the engaging production spoke to a time and associations in the composer's career.

*****

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David Wolfson

David Wolfson holds a PhD in composition from Rutgers University, and has taught at Rutgers University, Montclair State University and Hunter College. He is enjoying an eclectic career, having composed opera, musical theatre, touring children’s musicals, and incidental music for plays; choral music, band music, orchestral music, chamber music, art songs, and music for solo piano; comedy songs, cabaret songs and one memorable score for an amusement park big-headed-costumed-character show. You can find more information here.

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