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The Sound of the Wild, Wild West
As thrilling as the Houston Symphony Orchestra’s final concert with Hans Graf was last Friday night – everything came together perfectly for a stunning Mahler 2nd – it’s bittersweet to see him leave. He’ll be back as guest conductor at HSO next year, in particular, from November 29-December 1, for a concert with pianist Ingrid Fliter…
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Only a Red Glow in the West
It was, without doubt, the frightening photo of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Evelyn Lear on the Deutsche Grammophon boxed vinyl recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck that first attracted me to this modern masterpiece. The cover promised whatever was contained inside was bound to be completely different. I was still an undergraduate music student at the time,…
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Dial M for Mahler
The “iPhone Marimba Man†accused of ruining the New York Philharmonic’s recent Mahler 9th was stoned to death this past weekend in a secluded alley of the city’s meat-packing district. “It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it,†said one conductor wearing a woolen ski mask to conceal his identity. Photographers from New…