“New York has long been considered the cultural capital of America. Is it still? If not, where?”
View from the old WNYC bathroom
The simple answer is yes. "The Muppets took"? Manhattan. "How do you get to _______ Hall? joke" - Carnegie (deli too, there is no Disney Deli [of fame anyway!]) is the answer...and The Horowitz Nail wasn't in the Kennedy Center or Sydney Opera House (although I am sure they were accommodating if and when the famed pianist had played there). New York City happens to have a lot of great musicians, writers, dancers, chefs, performers, etc. Certainly in the past Vienna and Leipzig were musical capitals for a long time, and I might even argue that the Berlin Philharmonic may be the greatest orchestra on earth, but dollar to donuts - bagels if you will - New York is America's cultural capital.
I've written about some of my time in NYC, and certainly interviewed quite a few folks there. I love it, and have to admit I am a bit biased. When Paris, je t'aime came out, I said, you know, that last clip is how I feel about New York! Woody Allen of course did a great job in this clip:
John in "Upstate Manhattan" Inwood
I have lived in NYC for two short stints - in college I took a break and stayed 3 months in midtown Manhattan and split a sublet, and more recently in late 2007/early 2008, renting a room in what I called "Upstate Manhattan" - Inwood is the official title. (See me at a famous corner there on the right side of this column.)
I treasure my time there and look forward to returning again and again, perhaps one of these days to actually reside.
I will play devil's advocate for just a second and say that with the internet, and technology, having a geographical "cultural" capital is a bit old fashioned. Europe has a cool project where the city changes every year, and with equality in funding from the NEA and NEH, there are cities just as worthy as NYC to be called the cultural capital - San Francisco, Chicago, LA are easily part of this fabric! (This is my first entry for the Spring4Music Blogger Challenge!)
Coming up this July, the chamber music scene and orchestral world expands in New York with the West Branch International Music Festival. From July 18 to August 1, students and concertgoers will enjoy music with some of the world's greatest musicians including Anker Buch, Wendy Warner, Odin Rathnam and Anthony McGill! One of the faculty for West Branch International Music Festival is Sir Lars Bjornkjaer, concertmaster of the Royal Danish Opera. I spoke with him recently about the upcoming festival:
While West Branch International Music Festival is accepting under 40 students, scholarships are available for many! Apply online and find out more information at: http://westbranchfestival.org/ Look for more interviews ahead with Odin Rathnam and Christian Hørbov-Meier!
Mad Men begins in the early 1960s at the “Sterling Cooper advertising agency” on New York City's Madison Avenue. The show centers on Don Draper, a high-level advertising creative director, and the people in his life in/out of the office. It also depicts the changing social mores of 1960s America.
So any good ad man like Don, Bertram or Roger would have gone to the New York Philharmonic besides the cool clubs and restaurants we see them on the show.
They would have taken clients, wives and girlfriends over on 57th Street to Carnegie Hall (where the NY Phil played at in 1960) and heard some remarkable music. [Many of the concerts listed here were recorded by the Philharmonic for CBS (now Sony) Masterworks.]
So without further ado, here are the ten concerts that the folks at Sterling Cooper would have gone to see and hear.
Mad Men of Music! Season One
The first concert would have been a no brainer, help out the NYP Musicians' Pension fund with conductor Leonard Bernstein and soloist Issac Stern. The gala was on September 27, 1960 and was quite a program:
Bernstein : Candide Overture
Roy Harris: Symphony No. 3
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2
Intermission
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
Then in October (13-16) the Philharmonic celebrated the 50th birthdays of William
Schuman and Samuel Barber! Bernstein was joined by Aaron Rosand in this program:
Schuman: Symphony No. 3
Barber: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14
Intermission
Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Rhenish, Op. 97
Also later in October 1960 (20-23) they would have caught a world premiere by Lukas
Foss. Bernstein was joined by Leonard Rose, Lukas Foss and his Improv Chamber Ensemble Ensemble in this program:
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129
Intermission
Foss: Time Cycle, for Soprano and Orchestra
Mendelssohn: Overture to Ruy Blas, Op. 95
No doubt before the agency staff took time out to have some turkey, they would have been at this concert in November 1960 with Aaron Copland and concertmaster John Corigliano, Sr.:
Gluck: Iphigénie in Aulis Overture
Franchetti : Largo for Strings, in memoriam
Dvorak: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53
Intermission
Copland: Symphonic Ode
Copland: El Salón México
In December, the weather outside might have been frightful (there were several airline
accidents that winter the area), but the ad men would have warmed up to the Second Viennese School with Hans Rosbaud and pianist Rudolf Firkusny:
Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
Webern: Six Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6
Hindemith: Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 38
Intermission
Brahms: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15
Early in 1961, Duck and Freddy would have recovered from any New Year's festivities and might have taken the gals to hear Morton Gould play one of his own works, conducted by Paul Paray:
Rossini: La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder) Overture
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43
Intermission
Gould: Dialogues for Piano and String Orchestra
Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust (The Damnation of Faust), Op. 24 / Ballet Des Sylphes / Menuet de Follets (Minuet of the Will-o'-the-Wisps) / Rakoczy March (Hungarian March)
Liszt: Les Préludes
No doubt everyone would have wanted to catch the hot red head soprano Beverly
Sills (gotta see Bubbles!) when she joined Andre Kostalanetz in early February 1961:
Chabrier: España, Rhapsody for Orchestra
Falla: El Sombrero de Tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) / PART II
Granados: Goyescas / Interlude / The Maja and the Nighting
ale, Rosario (aria)
Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Una voce poco fa, Rosina (cavatina)
Intermission
Albéniz: Excerpts for Orchestra, from Iberia / Fête-Dieu à Séville
Marquina: España Cani
Ponce: Estrellita (Little Star)
Lara: Granada
Traditional: La Morena di mi Copla
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34
Benjamin: Jamaican Rhumba
Traditional: La Bamba de Vera Cruz
Falla: La vida breve, Spanish Dance No. 1
In March 1961, The gals would have been interested in Glenn Gould, and no doubt the guys would have been happy to hear soprano Marni Nixon. Bernstein also had some great new works on the program too:
Boulez: Pli selon pli: Improvisations sur Mallarmé / Une dentelle s'abolit US PREMIERE
Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Intermission
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Thrills were to be had with the April 1961 program that would have made the Sterling Cooper staff give a standing ovation to Lorin Hollander who joined Leonard Bernstein in this program:
Chávez: Sinfonía india (Symphony No. 2)
Khachaturian: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
Intermission
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major,
Op. 100
Father Gill and Peggy might have been soothed and shocked by the program in mid April (Easter was April 17, these concerts were April 13-16) with soloist Zino Francescatti, guest conductor
Seiji Ozawa and Leonard Bernstein:
Mayuzumi: Bacchanale
Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op. 77
Intermission
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of
Spring)
Ten concerts that Mad Men would have caught with new music in New York City...I also imagine since the
Philharmonic was playing at Carnegie Hall, they might have stopped at The Russian Tea Room. In 1955, the restaurant was purchased by Sidney Kaye, who, in 1967, left the restaurant to his widow, Faith Stewart-Gordon. No doubt Sterling Cooper Agency had a booth, and were known by name when they came in with a client or date.
Stay tuned for Mad Men of Music, Season Two...and coming up in August 2009, the third Season of Mad Men will have another list of concerts with new music!!!!
In the meantime, enjoy this original and mad composer, Peter Maxwell Davies - and one of the Eight Songs for a Mad King!
Concerts were compiled from the NY Philharmonic website.
I'm enjoying some time off in upstate NY. (Yes, not only do I love Manhattan, but the other regions of NY as well! Read about some of them here.)
Yesterday I had a good morning doing a few errands and then took a casual drive up to Ithaca. I didn't take the highway this time, rather a leisurely roadtrip straight north through PA and NY. I'll follow a similar route home.
So I met up with friends for drinks, dinner and afterwards, scotch and cigars. It was spectacular (pictures to come soon) to say the least.
I'm currently at the Inn on Columbia, where I'd stayed previously. The couple who own it are charming and have a wonderful place/great eye for decor. I always seem to get an upgrade at no extra charge and its close to everything I want to do in Ithaca.
If you get a chance, hang out there sometime. Its mondo relaxing.
I attended the "Unbound" concert at the Chelsea Art Museum Saturday afternoon of the Notable Women Festival with the Orchestra of St. Luke's Chamber Players.
1. This series is very delightful, and while I couldn't attend the first concert, I made sure to make this one as well as next week! Joan Tower, the "host, conceiver, & curator" of the festival has assembled great music in a wonderful space. All of the composers were present, each spoke before their piece and hung out afterwards for questions and tasty treats.
2. The program began with the outstanding soprano Tony Arnold. She's as great live as she is recorded - and it was awesome to know the Tania Leon work she sang, Singin' Sepia has been recorded by Bridge Records. Look for it this fall, it's an engaging work with brilliant word painting and just the right bit of fun.
3. Joan's Night Field (String Quartet #1) was next and remains one of my favorites. She was quite eloquent addressing the idea of chamber music and this first foray into the quartet world. Skip 13 years and not only is Joan in residence with the OSL, she'll be featured later this summer at La Jolla and this season with the CMS Lincoln Center. (Remember her new work for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra?)
4. Jennifer Higdon could set the phone book to music and I'd come hear it, and I bet she'd do an amazing job with it! Her Piano Trio is a nice blend of passion, charm and wit - besides winning "best of show" (my own award for this blog entry!) in this art museum where she could point out the "Pale Yellow" depicted in the first movement and the "Fiery Red" in the paintings behind and beside the piano!
5. Libby Larsen rounded out the program with her 2001 Piano Trio. It was written for the Angelfire Festival and as she explained, it's the festival where musicians go to relax from playing at festivals. It was extremely well woven and the perfect ending for the program.
The festival continues next weekend with "Unleashed." Catch it if you can, you'll be happy you did!
I heard the delightful recital (entitled the Red Violin, in reference to her latest cd) by Maria Bachmann and Jon Klibonoff Wednesday night at Merkin Hall in NYC. 1. The program began with Ravel's Violin Sonata - lesser violinists might end with this work - Maria began with it and not only played it from memory but with the flair of a world premiere - like she was making it up and creating the music right then and there. Few pianists could keep up with such tempos and do so with such amazing ensemble - Jon Klibonoff was more than a match, truly a musical partner/creator. 2. I've never been a fan of Copland's violin pieces, the Ukelele Serenade and Nocturne - I've read through them myself, and heard numerous recordings. That is, until last February when I heard Maria and Jon play them...suddenly, the pieces came to life and made sense. That usually doesn't happen to me, I get it or don't right off. So it was a delight to hear these Copland gems in concert. 3. John Corigliano was at the recital last night (seen left - on stage making remarks) and was delighted in hearing the "world premiere" of his Red Violin Chaconne for Violin and Piano. He joked that he was such a conservationist that he recycled the work from the orchestral version and also into the first movement of his violin concerto. I can't imagine playing the chaconne in front of the composer, for the first time, or recording it and then premiering it as Maria did. She again was playing from memory, and certainly showed no signs of nerves - only the gregariousness of her fiddle. I joked with Corigliano afterwards that Maria is such a shy player and oh so delicate. After hearing this in concert, I really put Klibonoff on a whole other level of musicians - he was stunning. 4. After intermission, Maria's friend and composer extraordinare Paul Moravec (seen right, on stage making remarks and joking about his age) had three pieces, written for or arranged for Maria. Paul has a unassuming manner, and a real flair of capturing Maria's energy in his works. He also wrote "Evermore" for Maria and her husband Josh - a real gorgeous work that is on the album (see below) - a must hear. Paul also told a great anecdote about the Ariel Fantasy, which became the first movement of his Tempest Fantasy that took the 2004 Pulitzer Prize...he (Paul) is Prospero to Maria's Ariel - how poetic. [You can hear Maria talk about Paul's music in an interview on Composing Thoughts here.] 5. The recital ended with George Enescu's 3rd Violin Sonata. It's not on the Red Violin cd but "fits the energy and music" of the disc as Maria stated from the stage. It also was performed from memory and with the outstanding panache that Maria brings to her music making. Lucy Miller from her program notes aptly says that while it is a violin sonata, the piano certainly has as many notes and is as virtuosic. Hear hear! Maria and Jon followed it with a short Gershwin selection (arranged by Jon) as an encore. You can find the cd here, and definitely plan to hear her if you can: with Trio Soloisti, the Lark Quartet or in recital, you'll be glad you did! Seen afterwards: the producer of the Red Violin Adam Abeshouse, Paul Moravec, and John Corigliano at Merkin Recital Hall.
I caught a vocal recital of young singers with the composers accompanying their own songs Tuesday night at Christ and St. Stephen's Church in NYC. 1. The night began with three well-crafted songs written in 2001 from Tom Cipullo, one of the organizers of the evening. Soprano Leilah Dione's voice filled the space well, if a little formal. A nice start nonetheless. 2. Next up were Larkin Songs by Daron Hagen and baritone David McFerrin. I know these from the Arsis recording and a friendship with Daron since meeting him in Las Vegas a few years ago. It was a delightful performance capturing the poetry and humor. 3. Perhaps the most stunning performance of the singers was soprano Vira Slywotzky. She brought depth, humor and amazing color to the songs of Yehudi Wyner, himself a real delight. Wyner spoke about the pieces, and was downright inviting in his performance - it suddenly felt like a parlor with friends rather than a recital. Especially charming and hilarious was Florida Express, written in 1993 for Robert Levin. 4. After intermission we were treated to David Del Tredici's Miss Enez Sez, with two selections: The Happy Child and Good News! Nilda is back. Soprano Erin Heisel performed from memory and showed off her coloratura and also something you don't always get: playing the tambourine. Her drama was most excellent, and Del Tredici was fleet fingered to say the least. 5. The recital ended with the godfather of modern American Song, Ned Rorem. He was joined by Emily Albrink who is as beautiful as her voice is warm. (I know it's hard to tell from the fuzzy picture, left, but she's gorgeous.) They gave a set of six songs from the 1940s and 1950s - before Rorem was born as he joked before playing! The performance was moving, seeing the young and old together as well as a balance of musicality, interpretation and taste.
What a night! I'll definitely keep an eye out for more "Friends & Enemies of New Music" events and concerts. I'm so glad Daron told me about it!
PS- It was pretty wild to be at a recital with four Pulitzer Prize winning composers! Besides Wyner, Del Tredici and Rorem, Aaron Jay Kernis was across the aisle from me.
Saturday evening I caught another of my subscription concerts with the New York Philharmonic, with guest conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. 1. I enjoyed the pre-concert email of notes and snailmail letter inviting me to take a friend to the concert. I did, and he enjoyed it greatly! I think it's a brilliant move to offer subscribers to "take a friend" - on all levels, for exposure for the new audience member, for the orchestra playing to a fuller house, etc. 2. Principal Oboist Liang Wang was in fine form for Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin. In fact it was a fine opener all around, and the crowd seemed especially into the night's guest, Salonen. 3. Yefim Bronfman was certainly up for the evening's new work, dedicated to him, and Bronfman was indeed a delight to hear and see. For this world premiere performance of Salonen's Piano Concerto, he used music and had a page turner - and what a workout. I had been surprised it was not only recieved favorably, but also got sparkling reviews from the critics! I should clarify my surprise by noting it is a delightful work and am pleased it will be recorded - keep an eye out for it. 4. The second half was as exciting as the first, with Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition getting a fresh and energetic reading. Section by section, players wove great music making with delightful technique. 5. My final surprise of the evening was a standing ovation for the Mussorgsky. New York has been the one place where I haven't seen the ubquitous standing o for every performance...and not to say the Saturday performance wasn't amazing, it just caught me off guard. I truly believe that it mostly came from the visiting Maestro and his dynamicism - desipte all the work from the orchestra. There is something magical about Salonen and it clearly is felt by audiences. There's another performance of Salonen's Piano Concerto this week, catch it if you can. And if you get a chance to hear Salonen and his normal band, the LA Phil, in concert at Disney Hall, do that as well, you won't be disappointed.
