Category Archives: Music
Justin Peck – Choreographer
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 31st October 2023Opera and Ballet have a lot in common. Both are performing arts typically presented in a theater with an orchestral accompaniment. They both typically tell stories and have sets and costumes. Yet modern opera struggles to survive while new ballets thrive. The disparity is easily explained. Opera, obviously, has both music and words, but the…
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Joseph Bologne
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th October 2023On October 20 the Lubbock Chamber Orchestra will present a program that includes Joseph Bologne’s Symphony #2. Bologne, whose full name is Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George (1745-99) had a unique and fascinating life. Joseph’s father Georges, whose life was also full of incident, was a planter on the island of Guadeloupe. His mother Ninon…
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Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th September 2023Sergei Prokoviev (1891- 1953) was one of the great composers and pianists of the last century. Accordingly, he wrote much music for piano which he frequently performed as soloist. Of his five concertos for piano and orchestra, none is more challenging than #2 in G minor. The concerto has a convoluted history. The composer started…
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LSO Pre Concert Talk
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd April 2023Linked below is a Powerpoint presentation of a talk I gave yesterday before the Lubbock Symphony’s performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto #1 followed by Shchedrin’s arrangement of Bizet’s Carmen for String Orchestra, Timpani, and Percussion. If you wish to make use of this presentation, download all the files to the same folder. You must have…
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LSO Performs Shostakovich and Shchedrin
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th March 2023On April 22 the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra will perform Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No 1. The soloist will be Cliburn winner Kenny Broberg. He will be joined by trumpeter Will Strieder. The second half of the evening’s program will present Rodion Shchedrin’s adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen For String Orchestra and Percussion. Tickets can be purchased…
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Conductors Who Died on the Job
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th February 2023I must have arisen on the morbid side of the bed today hence the subject of this ghostly tale – all of it true. The typical picture of an elderly maestro is that of a baton waver merrily leading the band as he proceeds through his ninth decade. In truth, many of them overcome with…
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Brno Filharmonie Visits Lubbock
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st February 2023The Brno Filharmonie under the direction of their American conductor Dennis Russell Davies concluded their 12-day tour of America with a concert last night at Buddy Holly Hall. The renowned Czech band began in New York’s Carnegie Hall followed by appearances in Michigan, California, Kansas, and culminating in Texas. Its program is below. The all-Czech…
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Shostakovich Symphony No 15
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 10th February 2023Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-75) wrote 15 symphonies. His valedictory effort in the genre was composed in 1971 and premiered the following year under the baton of his son Maxim. The interval was filled with illness. The composer died of a combination of heart disease and lung cancer, brought on by lifelong heavy smoking, three years after…
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Leonore Overture #3
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 4th January 2023Opera was not Beethoven’s forte. He devoted a decade (1804-14) to tinkering with his only opera – Fidelio. Even its name changed. It was initially called Leonore; she’s the opera’s heroine and its focal point. The composer was an idealist who fervently believed in the triumph of justice over tyranny and and love over oppression….
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Julius Reubke
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th November 2022Frederich Julius Reubke (1834-58) is one of music’s saddest tales. Born in Hausneindorf, Germany, he was the son of an organ and piano builder. After the conclusion of his initial musical training, he moved to Berlin and the entered its conservatory. On the recommendation of conductor Hans von Bülow, Liszt agreed to teach the 21…
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