News
April 5, 2019
April 20: MTT's Playthings of the Wind and More!
On the afternoon of April 20, NWS will present a special concert that not only serves as a sneak peek of its upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall, but also features works of great meaning to NWS Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT). Spanning multiple decades-worth of musical ideas, this unique collection of works shows MTT as a young dreamer, mature composer and editor, consummate entertainer and, of course, captivating conductor.
The concert begins with two of MTT’s virtuosic showpieces for solo piano performed by Piano Fellow John Wilson. MTT then appears as both conductor and composer in his jazzy post-apocalyptic party Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind. First premiered at NWS in 2016, this setting of Carl Sandburg’s poem features acclaimed soprano Measha Brueggergosman, two female vocalists, bar band with chamber orchestra and unique lighting by Luke Kritzeck.
MTT leads a string-orchestra performance of Franz Schubert’s stunning “Death and the Maiden” quartet. It marks the world premiere of MTT’s own edition, which he says “completes many of the ideas suggested in Gustav Mahler’s arrangement. These additions have been done in order to introduce the greater stylistic variety that would occur in a chamber music performance, and also to fully exploit the possibilities of an intricately-divided string orchestra.”
But, wait, there’s more.
The one-afternoon-only performance will be part concert, part real-time documentary, offering audiences a deeper understanding of the music by pairing live performance with short, pre-recorded video commentary on the music’s background and inspiration, the composer’s journey in creating the work, profiles of the artists and NWS’s Fellows, and footage of behind-the-scenes preparations for the concert. This enriching experience is for everyone, from the classical music novice to the aficionado.
But, wait, there’s {still} more.
As a laboratory for the way classical music is performed and experienced, NWS is committed to sharing its artistic and educational mission worldwide by partnering with Medici.tv—a premiere international distributor of online cultural videos—who will broadcast the concert (including its pre-recorded videos) live across the globe.
Don’t miss…
- MTT presenting his own works
- superstar soprano Measha Brueggergosman, who in MTT’s Playthings of the Wind “can reproduce the sultry intensity of [Sarah] Vaughan and the luminosity of [Leontyne] Price…bluesy one moment, operatically ecstatic the next, and then turn into disco” (LA Times)
- the Fellows before the end of the season and their tour to Carnegie Hall
- the collision of creative minds who inspired these works: Stravinsky, Mahler, Bernstein, Gershwin, James Brown, Carl Sandburg and more
- NWS live as they take the world’s digital stage
MTT’S PLAYTHINGS OF THE WIND
Saturday, April 20 at 2:00 PM
New World Center
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Measha Brueggergosman, soprano
Kristen Toedtman and Kara Dugan, vocalists
John Wilson, piano
Luke Kritzeck, lighting designer
Tickets: nws.edu/playthings
The New World Symphony would like to recognize the following donors for their support of the 2019 Carnegie Hall Tour:
Bruce and Suzie Kovner/The Kovner Foundation, The Wilhelmina Harrell Fund, Bruce and Martha Clinton/The Clinton Family Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Louis K. Meisel, Melanie and David Niemiec, Anita and Stuart Subotnick, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Akin, Alan and Jayusia Bernstein, The Andrea & Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, Dr. Matthew Budd and Ms. Rosalind E. Gorin, Jim and Jean Crystal, Peter and Sue Gottsegen, The Hite Foundation, Jorge and Amanda Mejia, Jerry and Adrianne Cohen, Betty and Joseph Z. Fleming, Susan and John Freund, Saul and Jane Gross, The Jeffrey Solomon Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation, Janet Shein, Koniver Stern Group, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hertzberg, David J. Phillips and Denis J. Jacobs, Coregami
Share with:
Posted in: 2019 Carnegie Tour, Concerts, Events
