The most galvanizing Shakespeare experience I know is the 1971 Soviet film version of King Lear directed by Grigory Kozintsev with music by Dmitri Shostakovich. Its dimensions are such that it fails on a home screen; it demands a big theater and big sound. The profound Russianness of the Kozintsev/Shostakovich Lear transcends language. Re-encountering this great film in the … [Read more...] about Shostakovich and the Fool: Boris Godunov and King Lear
Mieczyslaw Weinberg on Film
Is Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996) a third Soviet composer to set beside Shostakovich and Prokofiev? An increasing number of musicians seem to think so, including the peerless Latvian-born violinist Gidon Kremer, himself a product of Soviet training. My own impressions of Weinberg’s music have been spotty and confused, the peak experience having been Ben Capps performing … [Read more...] about Mieczyslaw Weinberg on Film
It’s Not Over Yet: Babayan, Trifonov, Yuja Wang
At my age – I somehow just turned seventy – it’s considered normal to wax “sentimental” and yearn for better times. Nostalgia: a cliché. But in the case of the world of classical music that I have long inhabited, there’s nothing sentimental about fond retrospection. It’s an art genre in decline. Orchestras are in decline, Singing … [Read more...] about It’s Not Over Yet: Babayan, Trifonov, Yuja Wang
The Gershwin Moment
Some months ago I received an email from an exemplar of inquisitive musicianship: the pianist Kirill Gerstein, whom I had never met. (We mutually know a peerless Hungarian musical pedagogue: Ferenc Rados.) Gerstein had recorded a Gershwin album and wanted to know if I were interested in writing a note for it. I was more than interested. Not only do I believe in George … [Read more...] about The Gershwin Moment
Yannick’s Hollow Parsifal
The highwater mark for Wagner at the Metropolitan Opera in recent decades was the 2013 Parsifal, handsomely directed and strongly cast. The crucial ingredient, however, was Daniele Gatti’s leadership in the pit. The Francois Girard’s production has now returned, led by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. As he is the company’s new music director, comparisons to Gatti are … [Read more...] about Yannick’s Hollow Parsifal