New York

Quarter notes

June 9, 2010

Video snippets from the New York Philharmonic’s performance of Le Grand Macabre.

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Quarter notes: Le Grand

May 8, 2010

Gyorgy Ligeti supposedly spent the last years of his life worried that when he died no one would remember him or his music. His worries weren’t entirely unjustified. The work of many, many composers has slipped into obscurity. For Ligeti, an artist on the fringes of the musical mainstream, the possibility of anonymity is even [...]

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Jordi Savall’s Jerusalem at Lincoln Center

May 6, 2010

By Gigi Yellen With his characteristic blend of deep research and virtuosic performance, historical accuracy and jazzlike improvisation, Jordi Savall and his band have created in “Jerusalem: City of Heavenly and Earthly Peace” a mesmerizing and troubling contemporary performance piece. Maestro Savall, esteemed creator of over 160 honored recordings of early music, combines ancient instruments, [...]

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Jordi Savall’s Jerusalem seeks to mend cultural fabric

May 5, 2010

By Gigi Yellen The pre-eminent early-music artist of our time has to be the tireless Jordi Savall, whose combination of scholarship, musicianship, and visionary good will has produced over 150 important recordings. Many of these center on a theme. When this year’s US tour brought Savall and his band, Hesperion XXI, to Seattle (Town Hall, [...]

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Alan Gilbert and New York Phil make CONTACT!

December 18, 2009

By Gigi Yellen Writing from New York, where an exemplary innovation in music programming launched tonight in a hall you might know as the home of that radio show “Selected Shorts.” The Peter Norton Symphony Space holds about 750 people; looked like at least 600 came out for the launch of “Contact!” a new-music series [...]

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NY Phil season pass

December 7, 2009

An interesting concept has come from the New York Philharmonic — a NY Phil season pass on iTunes.  Everyone knows iTunes is a destination point for downloading music, but it has also become a source for downloading just about every other type of content as well (from podcasts to television shows).  Until know, iTunes season [...]

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