Carnegie hall program notes

Similar to Handel and Chopin, Rathaus was highly skilled in the art of improvisation. His compositions often appear as written-out improvisations with cadenza-like sections throughout the sonata and elements of jazz in the fourth movement. Also in common with Handel and Rathaus, Chopin was a master virtuoso at the keyboard whose piano works transcended the limitations of the instrument in his era.

Yet, he gave only about 30 public performances in his lifetime. The 24 Preludes are an homage to the preludes of J. Your email address will not be published. View Program Notes. She has She has soared to the top of the industry both as a performer and as a fierce advocate for the arts, gaining international prominence in operas by Handel and Mozart, as well as through her wide-ranging, acclaimed discography. Ancient Song of the Guanzhong Plain: The gods and generals may have created the landscape, but peasant life must go on.

Far from both the abstruse mysticism of Daoist philosophy and the celibate priests in the great mountain temples, the main life of Daoism has long been found in household groups of lay ritual specialists. Still in northwest China, in Shanxi province east of Shaanxi, the Li family band of lay Daoist priests has a family heritage of some nine generations. Based in Yanggao, a county in the far north of Shanxi, they are ordinary peasants, paid to perform rituals.

He and his colleagues were active throughout the early years of Maoism despite a reduction in ritual activity and continued after the end of the Cultural Revolution.

The magnificent and unassuming wind player Wu Mei, from a nearby village, became a disciple of Li Qing while in his teens. Apart from isolated visits to festivals in Beijing and Amsterdam , they have served their local community throughout all the upheavals of modern Chinese history—the Japanese invasion, civil war, political campaigns, and chronic poverty.

The Daoists individually choose auspicious days for action and appropriate sites for this world and the next, using their almanacs and luopan compass. In their public role, they perform in groups with a whole set of complex ritual skills based on hereditary manuals. Nissman shares how she arrived at her interpretation of this wonderful work. Nissman shows why listeners admire the genius and craftsmanship of this gifted composer.

He has left us music to enjoy and rediscover over a lifetime. Perfect timing for the holidays. Access "Behind the Notes" Series: Programs Barbara Nissman Website. Three Oranges Recordings. The Moonlight.