July 14th - Riverhead - "Phantoms of the Opera" Recital Series
Wow. My first performance blog. What do I say?
It was me versus a beautiful, 9-foot Steinway. The setting: a miniature opera hall out on Long Island. Outdoors, it was peaceful; indoors, I must say, I beat the poor instrument to a pulp, particularly in the virtuosic works by Ligeti and Liszt.
The first half of the program slowly descended into a world of chaos and terror. Inner turmoil became an outward struggle and finally an epic battle between evil and good. It climaxed with a harrowing vision of hell - "The Devil's Staircase" by the late Ligeti. Without pausing for applause, I made a difficult leap into a world of security, peace and forgiveness - heaven, if you will - and performed two transcriptions of music by Bach - "I call on Thee" and "Sheep May Safely Graze." I was afraid the jump would be difficult - both physically and mentally. I had practiced it many times, but the circumstances had never quite made for an effective transition. This time, however, I really think it worked. While playing the choral prelude ("I call on Thee"), I felt huge ... like I had transcended the small concert hall. It was one of the moments musicians thrive on.
There were a couple wrong notes in places, and I barely had enough steam to make it through the "Norma" fantasy. But overall, it was a very satisfying evening!
If you were in attendance, what did you think? Did you have a similar reaction?
It was me versus a beautiful, 9-foot Steinway. The setting: a miniature opera hall out on Long Island. Outdoors, it was peaceful; indoors, I must say, I beat the poor instrument to a pulp, particularly in the virtuosic works by Ligeti and Liszt.
The first half of the program slowly descended into a world of chaos and terror. Inner turmoil became an outward struggle and finally an epic battle between evil and good. It climaxed with a harrowing vision of hell - "The Devil's Staircase" by the late Ligeti. Without pausing for applause, I made a difficult leap into a world of security, peace and forgiveness - heaven, if you will - and performed two transcriptions of music by Bach - "I call on Thee" and "Sheep May Safely Graze." I was afraid the jump would be difficult - both physically and mentally. I had practiced it many times, but the circumstances had never quite made for an effective transition. This time, however, I really think it worked. While playing the choral prelude ("I call on Thee"), I felt huge ... like I had transcended the small concert hall. It was one of the moments musicians thrive on.
There were a couple wrong notes in places, and I barely had enough steam to make it through the "Norma" fantasy. But overall, it was a very satisfying evening!
If you were in attendance, what did you think? Did you have a similar reaction?
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