Richard Strauss:  September

Richard Strauss: September

Richard Strauss has written some of the most satisfying, sensual music I know, as well as some of the most irritating. He has two entries on my “Operas I Won’t Ever Go To Again” list—no, I am not saying which ones—but how could anyone live without the “Four Last...
Frank Bridge:  Goldenhair

Frank Bridge: Goldenhair

My teaching week has mixed coaching sessions with auditions for the January NYFOS@Juilliard show: an all-British program called “From Lute Song to the Beatles.” I had asked the students to bring in English song, suggesting they they might offer one art song in tandem...
Sergei Taneyev: The Restless Heart Is Beating

Sergei Taneyev: The Restless Heart Is Beating

My Tchaikovsky concert isn’t till early next year, but I want to get it squared away now before the autumn hits me like a ton of bricks. Having decided to include a little group of songs by Tchaik’s teachers and students, I received some expert guidance from Antonina...
Adam Guettel:  Awaiting You

Adam Guettel: Awaiting You

I had hoped to get all of my NYFOS shows programmed by the end of summer. Labor Day came and went, and I still hadn’t finished them. In fact, my Tchaikovsky show was a complete blur. I felt as if I had let myself down, and was ready to drown my sorrows in a vat of...