Victory Lap
TBP expects to be playing On Sacred Ground frequently in upcoming seasons.
Go to The Thread to see photos and a review. (Also, CVNC.)
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The Thread is just part of the astonishing array of encouragement and support Duke Performances offers to visiting artists. So often big projects fall at the last fence when there just isn't enough time. There's no doubt that part of the success of Saturday night was due to our load in Wednesday afternoon: Cristina Guadalupe and Noah Hutton could get their superb video dialed in and the band could rehearse tricky sections over and over. When the curtain went up, we had nothing holding us back.
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On Sunday I wasn't done with Duke Performances. Marino Formenti was in the same hall, playing his sophisticated and revelatory progam Kurtág's Ghosts. I knew about Kurtág's large collection of short piano pieces but their diminutive size makes them hard to program. Formenti played about 40 Kurtág selections alongside small-scale works by Boulez, Stockhausen, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Scarlatti, Bach, and Ligeti.
What held this potentially patchwork program together was the hypnotic intensity of the pianist. The opening Marchaut melody was as songful as a piano can be, and the long left-hand tremolo in "La Lugubre Gondola" was like an oncoming express train. But the featured composer was indeed the highlight. Formenti speaks with the voice of Kurtág.
Marino Formenti plays LPR tomorrow night.
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And, even more Duke Performances: Guillermo Klien Y Los Guachos (with all the right members including Jeff Ballard!) is making a rare non-NYC visit to the states on April 29. Everyone in the community who enjoyed On Sacred Ground should go see this. Guillermo is unquestionably an influence on TBP. (DTM: RA interviews GK.)
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The poster was cool...
...and this wasn't bad, either.
Very special thanks to Aaron Greenwald for making it all happen. Among others, thanks also to Darryl Pitt, Megan Stein, Gary Hawkins, Paul Overton, Brad Swanson, Ken Weinstein, and the main man Chris Hinderaker. More to come.
03/29/2011
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