Good Evening!
I'm back from Carnegie Hall. It was an interesting recital presentation. Baritone, Pianist and Dancer, "enhanced" by lighting and projections. When I first saw the program - Messiaen, Ferko and Barber - I knew it was going to be a more intellectual and meditative evening, and it certainly was. The focus of the evening was based around the ideas of monastic contemplation and isolation, and the music selected for the evening were embodiments of those themes. Well, it was most certainly a cohesive evening, unfortunately, having music that shares the same themes and even soundscapes made for a almost mono-chromatic evening. Additionally, the whole presentation was conceived as a whole, and the audience was asked (in the program) to hold the applause until the end of the program. The ovation was well-deserved, if not overly enthusiastic. It will be interesting to see what the mainstem reviewers will say about it.