Those who crave a different kind of listening when The American meets in New York are seldom disappointed. On any given day the lover of classical music can choose among half a dozen or more events. What follows is by no means an exhaustive list; a more comprehensive guide may be found in The New Yorker, New York Magazine, or the New York Times, especially its Sunday Arts and Leisure section.
The hub of New York musical life is Lincoln Center, which though always active is particularly bustling in December. Although rivaled at times by productions in Chicago, San Francisco, and other cities, the Metropolitan Opera remains America's most prestigious opera company. During the week of the meetings one can hear operas by Verdi, Puccini, Beethoven, and Berlioz. At the time of this writing the season is not yet under way, so reviews of the performances are unavailable and the state of particular voices unknown. In mid-December James Levine, the company's artistic director, will conduct the season premiere of Berlioz's Les Troyens, with a strong cast including Maria Ewing, Gary Lakes, and Thomas Hampson. There are two performances of Fidelio, and two of La Boheme, which should be at least competent. In addition, Levine will conduct two performances of Verdi's I Lombardi, never before performed at the Met. The cast includes Aprile Millo, Luciano Pavarotti, and Samuel Ramey.
The New York State Theater, home of the New York City Opera and the New York City Ballet, stands just to the left of the Met. During the month of December it is devoted to family entertainment, presenting the City Ballet's annual run of the Nutcracker. Opposite the New York State Theater, Avery Fisher Hall features concerts by the New York Philharmonic, interspersed with performances by other orchestras, ensembles, and soloists. On the Sunday afternoon preceding the meetings, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, conducted by Roger Norrington, performs Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and excellent soloists. The concert will be preceded by a lecture. Mr. Norrington has a reputation for presiding over events that prove musically fascinating. One week later, the American Symphony Orchestra presents the New York premiere of a silent film of Der Rosenkavalier, with live orchestral accompaniment of the Richard Strauss score as arranged by the composer. On four consecutive evenings, Wednesday through Saturday, the New York Philharmonic will celebrate Brecht, Weill, and Berlin (the city not the songwriter) 1929–1935, with performances of Alban Berg's Lulu suite and Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins. Kurt Masur, the Philharmonic's relatively new director, conducted in Leipzig for many years, and it will be interesting to hear what he brings to this project. The celebration will continue with a cabaret concert at nearby Merkin Concert Hall.
At Alice Tully Hall, a fine auditorium for chamber music, the marvelous Tokyo Quartet will perform works by Haydn, Bartok, and Brahms. The quartet,
certainly one of the finest performing regularly in the United States, exhibits a tonal balance rarely matched. The program will include the famous Brahms Piano Quintet with guest artist Jon Kimura Parker.
Another wonderful hall for chamber works is the Grace Rainey Rogers auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The acoustics are top rate, and en route to the concert there is much to delight the eye. You can catch the world-renowned Beaux Arts Trio on the weekend before the meetings. They have had a change of violinist, so that only the marvelous pianist Menahem Pressler remains of the original group, but they are playing well together and this will be a chance to hear the new combination in its infancy. There are also Christmas concerts here, with various performers including the Canadian Brass, to ring in the Yuletide.
The most beloved musical landmark in New York is surely Carnegie Hall. This wonderful auditorium, now over a hundred years old, is a favorite of many conductors, who will not take their orchestras to the more modern Avery Fisher. During the meetings, you can hear the Vienna Boys Choir sing the Bach Magnificat and Mozart's C Major Mass, or Metropolitan Opera star Kathleen Battle in a program of Ellington and spirituals.
Older even than Carnegie, and in fact a reason for its being built, is the New York Oratorio Society, founded in 1873. It seems that Andrew Carnegie's wife was a member of the Society, and her husband built the hall so that the group would have a suitable place in which to perform. This 200-voice chorus will sing its traditional Messiah at Carnegie on the Monday following the meetings. For those staying on in New York, it will be a grand way to end a memorable week of music.
Charles Tolk