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New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Review: At 93, John Williams Unveils His First Piano Concerto
You could be forgiven for expecting the Boston Symphony Orchestra's concert on Saturday to be an evening of cinematic grandeur. At the top of the program was a premiere by John Williams, master of the old-school movie soundtrack, who for the past half-century has written brassy, memorable themes for blockbuster franchises like 'Star Wars,' 'Indiana Jones' and 'Jurassic Park.' It made sense that his first piano concerto, which premiered on Saturday at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony's summer home in the Berkshires, would be paired with Mahler's First Symphony, a dramatically expansive view of nature and heroism. But the two pieces couldn't be more different. The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Williams's first at 93, is rooted in moods rather than big themes, or even a big sound. It comes less from the tunesmith mind behind the feather-light mischief of 'Harry Potter' and the unforgettable terror of 'Jaws,' and more from his parallel career as a composer for the concert stage. In that realm, his music is often subtler, and sometimes spikier, while just as skillful in its craft. With a running time of roughly 20 minutes, the concerto looks traditional at first glance: three movements, in the classic order of fast-slow-fast. (It will be performed by the New York Philharmonic next season, as well as the Boston Symphony again, with a recording by Deutsche Grammophon on the way.) Most Williams-esque is the enormous orchestra, which in film he has used to reach for the heavens of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' and conjure the solemn, stirring past of 'Lincoln.' As the concerto unfolded, conducted with traffic-guard control by Andris Nelsons, the Boston Symphony's music director, it became clear that the orchestration was mostly just for show. This is a work of extreme virtuosity, dispatched with cool ease by its soloist, Emanuel Ax, but also of restraint. Despite its traditional appearance, it's more like a triptych than a work of broadly conceived architecture, episodic and hauntingly atmospheric; passages emerge from silence, run their course and gently depart before new ideas take their place. Directions in the score suggest each movement is a portrait of a jazz pianist: Art Tatum, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. But the references are so oblique, more tone setters than specific homages, a listener doesn't need to know that beforehand. Perhaps it's best to go into this new concerto without a clichéd idea of Williams's sound, too. He is, beyond his 50-plus Academy Award nominations and Hollywood fame, one of the most well-rounded musicians alive, a chameleonic composer and conductor, especially of the Boston Pops from 1980 to 1993. Even his film scores reflect a greater range than his reputation would suggest. For every 'Superman' there is also a softly elegiac 'Schindler's List' or 'Memoirs of a Geisha.' Most relevant to the new concerto may be 'Catch Me if You Can,' whose jazzy score has a slithering, freewheeling sensibility to match Steven Spielberg's seductive view of the 1960s. There's a freedom, too, in the concerto's opening. On Saturday, Ax played three chiming chords that quickly returned with a wave of extra notes, followed by a rush of virtuosity. The piece wasted no time, like a pop song that starts with the chorus. Ax had a lot of wiggle room, encouraged by the score's directions like 'a piacere' ('at your pleasure') and 'take time' to approach the precise notation with looseness. When other instruments join in, they mainly serve as support; this is a concerto that spotlights its soloist more than it integrates it with the ensemble. Another soloist opens the second movement, though: the Boston Symphony's principal viola, Steven Ansell, with discursive, almost improvisatory lyricism. The piano joins for a dreamy duet, and entire pages go by with almost the whole orchestra at rest. That is, until the finale, which storms in with the angular boogie-woogie of Stravinsky's Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. As is often the case with Williams's concert works, musical ideas tend to be strung together without a flowing sense of purpose. Passages have neat divisions rather than transitions, like with the cues of a soundtrack; they fascinate in the moment, but not in the aggregate. Still, this concerto wins over its audience by the end. The strings let out runs and punchy bursts, and a muted trombone melts with glissandos, all while the pianist races to the big chords of the finish line. That may be the most traditional thing about this piece, a satisfying signal to start clapping. Which is what happened on Saturday, and the applause rose to cheers as well when Williams appeared onstage in a wheelchair. This response was touching; his relationship with the Tanglewood audience reaches so far back that he has provided musical joy to several generations of fans there. And while it may have taken until his 90s, he had given them a piano concerto. They welcomed it with roars, even as Williams held his hands together and rested his head on them, gesturing that it was time for bed. Boston Symphony Orchestra Performed on Saturday at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Composer Gabriela Ortiz has some myths about Mexican music to dispel
Advertisement That dream isn't so out of step with reality, she knows. Much of present-day Mexico City sits in the drained bed of ancient Lake Texcoco, which at one point covered over 2,000 square miles. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'And now what we don't have is water in Mexico City,' she said, pointing out that her neighborhood sometimes has its running water cut off in times of drought. She has the resources to buy temporary water supplies, but not everyone does, she said. 'In terms of climate change, it's just there. I'm living it.' Ortiz, 60, has had a prolific career so far. However, she only became widely known outside her home country in the late 2010s, when Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel commissioned a piece from her and started championing her music in earnest. The Boston Symphony Orchestra only played its first piece by Ortiz, 'Revolución diamantina,' this past spring. Coincidentally, that was just weeks after the piece was awarded a Grammy for best contemporary classical composition. When she arrived at the Tanglewood Music Center last week to direct this year's contemporary music festival, it marked her first visit to the BSO's summer home. Advertisement Ortiz, who teaches at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, planned the festival with several clear priorities in mind. 'I really wanted to establish that Mexican music has a line that is important to Tanglewood,' said Ortiz, who planned one program featuring music by Mexican Symphonic Orchestra founder and educator Carlos Chávez, his student (and Ortiz's teacher) Mario Lavista, and Ortiz's own student Diana Syrse. Though Tanglewood has hosted Latin American composers since its early days, such as Chávez, Silvestre Revueltas, and Juan Orrego-Salas, this FCM is probably the first time the Tanglewood programming has focused so intentionally on Latin American music, said TMC director Ed Gazouleas, who called Ortiz 'one of the greatest living composers of our time.' In the United States, especially in areas with Mexican-American presence, Mexican concert music sometimes does show up on programs. But in Europe, 'you're asked, 'Who is Chávez? Who is Revueltas?,' Ortiz said. 'I'm talking really major Latin American composers, and people don't know them.' She was also interested in collaborating with other Mexican artists, so the festival brought in the storied percussion quartet Tambuco, led by percussionist Eduardo Mata, who also studied under Chávez. 'Many of the instruments Chávez requests are pre-Columbian, and Tambuco is an authority on exactly the kind of sound Chávez was looking for,' Ortiz said. Advertisement Ortiz grew up surrounded by Mexican folk music, as her parents cofounded the Latin American group Los Folkloristas less than a year after her birth. She often uses a wild variety of percussion instruments in her own scores, including several indigenous Mexican instruments. 'I like rhythm. I think it's part of our DNA as humans,' she said. 'In any Latin American folk music, the main components are coming from Europe, Africa, and the native people. So rhythm is something that is very strong.' But though strong, it's not omnipresent, she said, pointing out her cello-voice-flute chamber piece 'Three Haikus,' which 'has nothing to do with rhythm. It's a totally different world. I have that voice as well.' Ortiz often draws inspiration from current events, history, or the natural world; sometimes all three at once. 'Revolución diamantina' specifically was a reaction to feminist protests in Mexico in 2019 and 2020. She wasn't there personally, but during one protest in early 2020, when she was working in Los Angeles, she asked her Mexico-based Twitter followers to send her audio recordings from the protests. Some of these captured protesters chanting various slogans, which made it into the final score. The cello concerto 'Dzonot,' written for Alisa Weilerstein, Dudamel, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and recorded on the recently released album 'Yanga,' was in turn inspired by the cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula — deep sinkholes with spiritual significance to the Maya that continue to provide vital fresh water. These natural wonders too are increasingly threatened by environmental contamination, Ortiz said, especially as tourism and industrial agriculture increase in the region. 'It's really insane. There are no rules!' she said. 'What is going to happen in the future if we keep doing this?' Advertisement Ortiz perhaps must be so exacting because she finds the world eager to pigeonhole her into a stereotype of 'Latin American music,' mariachi bands and fiestas, when in fact 'there's so many things happening' in Mexican music. 'I don't try to sound Mexican when I compose. What I have in mind is to discover my inner voice, and be honest. If something is related to Mexico, it's because I'm from Mexico and I live there, and those themes are closer to me.' Rehearsing 'Three Haikus' later with a trio of TMC fellows and two faculty members, Ortiz advised the performers that her music is much more frequently 'rhythmic and extroverted,' but this wasn't the case in that piece, which was a 70th birthday gift for Lavista, her teacher. The first movement, which set expansive melismas of bass flute and voice over a cello drone, sounded nearly medieval. Giving notes, she looked to the flutist. 'Please do this melody in a much freer way, when you don't have to play with anyone else,' she said. 'You have to be yourself there.' A.Z. Madonna can be reached at
CBS News
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Tanglewood brings talented undiscovered musicians to western Massachusetts
You may think of Tanglewood as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Pops, but that's only the start for the western Massachusetts music center. There are lush fields of green grass, classes, and performance spaces. The grounds are filled with music, nature, and education. "Something really special about Tanglewood is the fact that everyone who's everyone is here. The most famous soloists, the most famous conductors, all come here for the summer," Tanglewood Music Center fellow Kelley Osterberg said. The Hingham native, who plays the oboe, always hoped to study here. "I remember specifically the drive here from Boston is one I've done many times, to go to concerts. And going with all my stuff in the back to move out here? It was just like, absolutely a dream," she said. For bassoonist and second-year fellow Peter Ecklund, the experience of playing with BSO conductor Andris Nelsons is unforgettable. "When you're playing and you just look up in an instant, you can tell exactly how the music is supposed to go, even if it's not how I was going to play it just before. I look at him, and you can just tell, 'no, this note needs to sound like this. It should be this loud, it should be this short.' It's amazing," Ecklund said. "We think that this is the greatest pre-professional training program in the world. I think about 35% of the members of orchestras across America spent a summer here training at the Tanglewood Music Center," Vice President for Artistic Planning Tony Fogg told WBZ-TV. Fogg sets the performances at the Shed and other stages across the 500-acre property. "In terms of the musical offerings that we have here at Tanglewood, we cover the entire spectrum." he said. You may recognize many of the performers, but Fogg said you also have the chance to see talented musicians before their big break. "I should remind everyone that Taylor Swift appeared here as a very young artist, as a guest of James Taylor, a number of years ago. And I think she's done pretty well since then," he said. And there's more than just music to look forward to. "There's, you know, photography classes. There's Mass Audubon bird tours," says Amy Aldrich, senior director of patron experience. "There's Tanglewood Music Center fellows that are performing. There's things for families to do. There's lawn games and, things for kids and crafts on the weekends. It's like a park. People can come in and sit and have a picnic, even when there's nothing going on." Just as the older musicians inspired the current fellows, Kelley and Peter know younger musicians are looking up to them. "I feel a big responsibility whenever I sit in this hall to sound really good," Kelley said. Peter added, "There really is nowhere else in the world like Tanglewood." Still to come this summer? "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert," performances by Yo Yo Ma and Joshua Bell, Tanglewood on Parade, and a John Williams Film Night. For a full list of performances, click here.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Charles Strouse Dies: Prolific Composer Of Broadway's ‘Bye Bye Birdie,' Film's ‘Bonnie & Clyde' And TV's ‘All In The Family' Theme Was 96
Charles Strouse, the musical composer for such Broadway hits as Bye Bye Birdie, Applause and Annie, films including Bonnie and Clyde (1967) The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989) and for the TV series All In The Family, died at his home in New York City on May 15. He was 96. His death was announced by his children Benjamin, Nicholas, Victoria, and William Strouse. (He was predeceased by his wife, the choreographer Barbara Siman, to whom he was married from 1962 until her death in 2023. More from Deadline Robert Benton Dies: Oscar-Winning Director of 'Kramer Vs. Kramer' & Co-Screenwriter Of 'Bonnie And Clyde,' 'Superman' Was 92 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Jasmine Amy Rogers Is The Life Of The Cartoon Party In 'Boop! The Musical' - Deadline Q&A As a prolific musical composer across media and genres, Strouse added mightily to the size of the American songbook, with instantly recognizable melodies such as 'Put on a Happy Face' from Bye Bye Birdie, 'Tomorrow' from Annie and, from All In The Family, 'Those Were The Days,' one of TV's most famous opening theme songs, sung by stars Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton in character as Archie and Edith Bunker. The nostalgic 'Those Were The Days' lyrics, written by frequent collaborator Lee Adams, began with instantly familiar 'Boy the way Glenn Miller played.' The song was performed at an upright piano by actors Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker and Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker, and it introduced more than 200 episodes of Norman Lear's groundbreaking series Over the course of a career spanning seven decades, he won three Tony Awards (for Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Annie), and was nominated for Golden Boy, Charlie & Algernon, Rags, and Nick & Nora. Strouse was born on June 7, 1928 in New York City, the son of Ethel (Newman) and Ira Strouse. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in 1947, he received two scholarships to Tanglewood, where he studied under composer Aaron Copland. Subsequently, Copland arranged for Strouse to get a scholarship with legendary teacher, Nadia Boulanger, in Paris. Strouse met songwriting partner, lyricist Adams, at a party in 1949, and the duo began a longtime collaboration starting with writing songs for summer resorts in the Adirondacks. Strouse and Adams contributed material to numerous Off-Broadway musical revues, including Catch a Star, Shoestring Revue, The Littlest Revue and Kaleidoscope, and wrote specialty material for Kaye Ballard, Carol Burnett, Jane Morgan and Dick Shawn. In 1958, Strouse and lyricist, Fred Tobias wrote the chart-topping pop song 'Born Too Late' (recorded by The Poni-Tails), and it was in that same year that Strouse and Adams had their Broadway breakthrough. They were hired by producer Edward Padula to write a satirical musical about rock and roll and teen idol culture. The show, Bye Bye Birdie, became their first Tony Award-winning hit. The production starred Chita Rivera and Dick Van Dyke and won four 1961 Tony Awards including Best Musical, earning Strouse the first of his three Tony Awards. The show introduced the world to such songs as 'Put On A Happy Face,' and 'A Lot of Livin' to Do.' A 1962 movie version, starring Ann-Margret, was one of the top-grossing films of the year, and featured Margret's now iconic performance of the film's newly added title song, 'Bye Bye Birdie.' Strouse would later win a 1996 Emmy Award for the new song, 'Let's Settle Down,' written with Adams and added for the musical's 1995 TV adaptation, starring Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams. DEADLINE RELATED VIDEO: Additional collaborations with Adams include the Mel Brooks musical All American (1962) starring Ray Bolger. Though the show was not a commercial success, it featured what would become the popular American standard 'Once Upon a Time' (recorded by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and many others). Golden Boy (1963), a musical adaptation of the play by Clifford Odets starred Sammy Davis Jr., garnered Strouse his second Tony Award nomination. It's a Bird…It's a Plane… It's Superman! (1965, written by David Newman & Robert Benton, who died earlier this month on May 11) gave audiences another popular Strouse & Adams song, 'You've Got Possibilities' (first recorded by Linda Lavin). And in 1970, when the team wrote the score for Applause (based on the film All About Eve and Mary Orr's The Wisdom of Eve and starring Lauren Bacall), Strouse would win his second Tony Award. Strouse's biggest Broadway success was with collaborators Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan on Annie (1977), based on the comic strip, 'Little Orphan Annie,' by Harold Gray. The Depression-era musical about a plucky red-headed orphan girl who wins the heart of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, was one of Broadway's biggest hits of the 1970s, winning seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and garnering Strouse his third Tony Award and a Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album. Strouse's score included 'Tomorrow,' 'It's the Hard–Knock Life,' 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,' and 'I Don't Need Anything But You.' Annie ran for over 2,300 performances on Broadway, where it has been revived twice and has inspired hundreds of worldwide productions. It has also been adapted for two film and two television productions. Strouse was passionate about collaboration and would earn Tony Award nominations for his scores with lyricists: David Rogers, Charlie & Algernon (1980), based on the novel Flowers for Algernon, Steven Schwartz, for Rags (1986), with book writer Joseph Stein starring Teresa Stratas, and Nick and Nora (1991), a musical based on Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man characters, written with Richard Maltby, Jr. Strouse's film scores include Bonnie and Clyde (1967) starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway (and with a screenplay by Newman and Benton; the soundtrack for the '30s era crime romance included songs by bluegrass legends Flatt & Scruggs, but it was Strouse's score, sometimes jaunty, sometimes elegiac, perfectly captured the madcap, bloody tone of the film. Other film credits included The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), There Was a Crooked Man (1970), with Henry Fonda and Kirk Douglas, Sidney Lumet's Just Tell Me What You Want, and the animated feature All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989). In addition to his awards, Strouse was the recipient of several honorary doctorates. He was a longtime member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, inducted in 1985, and the Theatre Hall of Fame. Strouse also composed orchestral works, chamber music, piano concertos, and an opera. His original piano work, Concerto America, was composed in 2002 to commemorate 9/11 and premiered at The Boston Pops in 2004. His opera Nightingale (1982), starring Sarah Brightman, had a successful run in London, followed by many subsequent productions. In 1977, Strouse founded the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, through which many young composers and lyricists honed their craft and developed their work. Strouse authored the autobiography Put on a Happy Face: A Broadway Memoir, published by Union Square Press in July 2008. In addition to his four children, Strouse is survived by eight grandchildren, Sam and Arthur Strouse, Navah Strouse, Vivian, Weston and Ever Brush, and Owen and Theodore Strouse. A private ceremony will be held at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in New York City. Best of Deadline 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Where To Watch All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies: Streamers With Multiple Films In The Franchise Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far
Winnipeg Free Press
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP '25: A quiz covering a century or more of PGA history
How well do you know history at the PGA Championship? Try this 18-question trivia quiz (answers at the bottom). 1. Who won the previous PGA Championship at Quail Hollow? a.) Hideki Matsuyama b.) Justin Thomas c.) Kevin Kisner 2. Who was the last player to successfully defend his title in the PGA Championship? a.) Padraig Harrington b.) Steve Elkington c.) Brooks Koepka 3. Who won the PGA Championship the first year in switched to stroke play in 1958? a.) Art Wall b.) Dow Finsterwald c.) Gary Player 4. Who did Tiger Woods beat in a playoff to become the first back-to-back PGA champion in stroke play? a.) Bob May b.) Rocco Mediate c.) Sergio Garcia 5. Where was the PGA Championship first held in North Carolina a.) Pinehurst No. 2 b.) Tanglewood c.) Charlotte Country Club 6. Who was the last player to win the PGA Championship at No. 1 in the world? a.) Jason Day b.) Rory McIlroy c.) Tiger Woods 7. Name the youngest winner of the PGA Championship a.) Tom Creavy b.) Francis Ouimet c.) Gene Sarazen 8. Who has won the most majors without ever winning the PGA Championship? a.) Arnold Palmer b.) Bobby Jones c.) Tom Watson 9. Who is the only player to win the PGA Championship twice on the same course? a.) Jack Nicklaus b.) Tiger Woods c.) Walter Hagen 10. Who holds the record for largest margin of victory in the PGA Championship? a.) Jack Nicklaus b.) Tiger Woods c.) Rory McIlroy 11. Who holds the record for the lowest score at the PGA Championship? a.) Brooks Koepka b.) Xander Schauffele c.) Rory McIlroy 12. The first sudden-death playoff in any major was at the PGA Championship. On which course did this take place? a.) Pebble Beach b.) Congressional c.) Atlanta Athletic Club 13. Of three players missing the PGA Championship for the career Grand Slam, who has been runner-up most often? a.) Arnold Palmer b.) Tom Watson c.) Jordan Spieth 14. Who is the only player Walter Hagen beat twice among his record-tying five PGA titles? a.) Jock Hutchison b.) Jim Barnes c.) Gene Sarazen 15. Who won the PGA Championship by the largest margin in match play? a.) Paul Runyan b.) Ben Hogan c.) Doug Ford 16. Where was the first PGA Championship played? a.) The Country Club b.) Olympia Fields c.) Siwanoy 17. Where did Jack Nicklaus win the PGA Championship to set the record for most majors? a.) Firestone b.) Canterbury c.) PGA National 18. John Mahaffey owns the PGA Championship record for the greatest final-round comeback at seven strokes. Who was the 54-hole leader? a.) Greg Norman b.) Tom Watson c.) Arnold Palmer ___ Answers 1. b 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. a 6. a 7. c 8. c 9. b 10. c 11. b 12. a 13. a 14. b 15. a 16. c 17. b 18. b ___ AP golf:
