Category Archives: Music

Stories Used By More Than One Composer – Romeo and Juliet

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th September 2019

The Romeo and Juliet story, whether derived from Shakespeare or not, has been irresistible to composers. He are excerpts from four 19th century works and two 20th based on the doomed lovers. First up is Bellini’s take on the two teenagers. His I Capuleti e i Montecchi is based on a play by Luigi Scevola…


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Stories Used By More Than One Composer – Faust

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th August 2019

You’d think there were enough good stories available so that composers didn’t need to recycle them. But there are a number of operas that are based on tales that have been around the operatic block more than once. This article is the first of a series examining operas and related musical works based on the…


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Korngold Documentary

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th August 2019

Between Two Worlds is a documentary about the life and career of Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957). It’s very well done and worth the roughly one hour it takes to view. It seems strange that the film never mentions why Korngold was forced to move to Hollywood. The piece is in English, but has computer generated…


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Haochen Zhang Plays Debussy and Schumann

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 1st August 2019

Haochen Zhang the young Chinese virtuoso gave a solo recital this noon consisting of two stalwarts of the piano literature: Debussy’s Images Series I & II and Schumann’s Fantasie in C Major. Debussy’s music is full of interest and delicate effects. It has earned its place among the finest in Western music. So here am…


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Shostakovich and Korngold in Santa Fe

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 1st August 2019

Two major works by Dmitri Shostakovich and Eric Krongold were presented yesterday evening by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. They were preceded by a bit of fluff by Alfred Schnittke – Mo-Zart for Two Violins, after Mozart’s K 416d. For the carnival season of 1783 Mozart wrote some music for his family’s use. Most…


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Die Winterreise in Santa Fe

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 31st July 2019

Canadian bass-baritone  Philippe Sly and pianist Michael McMahon performed Franz Schubert’s towering depiction of self  pity, Die Winterreise, at today’s Music at Noon series of the Santa Fe Music Festival. The song cycle is as great a piece of vocal writing as anything by Mozart, Wagner, or Verdi. Of course, there’s a lot more to…


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Rachmaninoff and Schubert in Santa Fe

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th July 2019

The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival presented Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque in G min and Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata as part of its Music at Noon series. A full house was in attendance for the 45 minutes of music that constituted the lunch hour program. The trio was played by pianist Wei Luo, violinist Jennifer Gilbert, and cellist…


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Opera Ensembles

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th June 2019

For the purposes of this article an ensemble is music set for more than two singers; they must be soloists. Thus, choruses are not included here. An alternate to the videos below is provided below each video. These links will allow the viewer to see the video even if it goes dark on YouTube. Trios…


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Ewa Podleś – The Great Contralto

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd June 2019

Ewa Podleś (b 1952 in Warsaw) is one of the greatest singers of the end of the old century and the first years of the new. Though appreciated by devotees of opera, she  has not received as much recognition as her great ability warrants. Part of the reason is the failure of the Met to…


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Mozart and Schubert at the MIM

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th May 2019

The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra presented the third of three concerts devoted to Mozart and Schubert last night. The venue was the Theater of the Musical Instrument Museum. Its a sleek and comfortable auditorium ideal for smaller scale compositions. The program began with the Overture to La Clemenza di Tito, Mozart’s penultimate opera. The scaled down…


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