Category Archives: Music
When the Saints Go Marching In
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th November 2011Louis Armstrong and Danny Kaye in a scene from The Five Pennies – 1959. Here’s an encore. Danny Kaye – Tchaikovsky (Weill/Gershwin) Here are the Russian composers mentioned in the song, in order: Witold Maliszewski, Anton Rubinstein, Anton Arensky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Wassily Sapellnikoff, Nikolay Dmitriev, Alexander Tcherepnin, Ivan Kryzhanovsky, Leopold Godowsky, Nikolai Artsibushev,…
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Beethoven in Excelsis
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th September 2011He came, he played, and he conquered. Adam Golka played all five of Beethoven’ piano concertos before two dazzled Lubbock audiences on Friday September 23 and on the following Saturday. Actually, he played the cycle twice. There were dress rehearsals Thursday night and Saturday morning. This feat, unique in my experience, requires prodigious doses of stamina, endurance,…
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Shostakovich Plays Shostakovich
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th September 2011Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) is primarily known as the greatest composer born in the 20th century; though he started out as a pianist. He largely gave up playing to concentrate on composing when he was very young. But later in life he did occasionally perform as piano soloist, though only playing his own compositions. The current Recording…
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All Five
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd August 2011The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra will open its season next month with a program unique in my experience. The brilliant young pianist Adam Golka will perform all five Beethoven piano concertos. Numbers 2, 3, and 4 will be played on Friday September 23. Numbers 1 and 5 will follow the next evening. The orchestra will be conducted by Golka’s older brother Tomasz…
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Cello and Piano Recital
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th May 2011Cellist Orfeo Mandozzi and pianist Lily Maisky performed cello sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms and Shostakovich Thursday night, May 19, at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. The duo began their ambitious program with Beethoven’s third sonata (op 69) for this pair of instruments. This work is a product of Beethoven’s mature middle period. The piano has…
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Recording of the Week – Martha Argerich
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th March 2011These two concertos, Rachmaninoff’s 3rd and Tchaikovsky’s 1st, were recorded in concert about 30 years ago. Martha Argerich is a pianist of astonishing virtuosity. Born in Buenos Aires, Ms Argerich has kept a low profile letting her artistry speak for itself. Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto is best known for its great technical difficulties. Originally dedicated…
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The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra – A Look Inside
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th February 2011The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra is the city’s premiere arts organization. Under the leadership of its dynamic young conductor Tomasz Golka it performs at a level that would be expected from the orchestra of a city more than ten times the size of Lubbock’s 250,000. Below is a video briefly describing its role in the city’s cultural life….
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Top 10
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd February 2011Anthony Tommasini the music critic of the New York Times has been driving music lovers to frustrated distraction by his endless quest for his very own list of “classical” music’s top 10 composers – in order of merit no less. Such compilations are basically frivolous, but they’re harmless. They can even yield some amusement. While it took…
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Magdalena Kožená
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th January 2011Magdalena Kožená is a Czech mezzo-soprano who was born in 1973. Her repertoire is based on baroques and classical music. She also sings Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. As far as I know she performs no 19th century roles. Active mostly in Europe she made her Met debut in 2003 as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze…
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Alex Ross and His Useless Advocacy of Modernist Music
Written by Orpheus | 12th December 2010On Sunday November 28th , the Guardian published a piece by Alex Ross titled, “Why Do We Hate Modern Classical Music?” First of all, the title of the article by Mr. Ross is misplaced — people don’t “hate” modern classical music, they are just indifferent to so much of it. It’s very frustrating to see him, like so many others before…
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About Neil Kurtzman
Neil A Kurtzman MD is the Grover E Murray Professor Emeritus and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. He has combined careers in clinical medicine, education, basic research, and administration for more than 30 years.› Read the biography
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