THE NOTEBOOK (6/24/14): NY Phil Rehearses More Beethoven; Robert Wilson’s “The Old Woman” at BAM

NY Phil Rehearses More Beethoven

The NY Philharmonic’s open rehearsal yesterday morning was a bittersweet occasion in a number of ways. Firstly, it was the great orchestra’s final open rehearsal of the season, a weekly event that I’ve come to look forward to and cherish this year. Secondly, it also marked the conclusion (at least for me; I have not been able to make the actual concerts) of the so-far excellent Beethoven piano concertos cycle that the NY Phil and particularly the extraordinary soloist, Yefim Bronfman (who has been playing with a lightness yet purposefulness that’s utterly captivating), have given us over the past few weeks. At yesterday’s rehearsal, the orchestra played Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Cello, as well as Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”). Lastly, and most bittersweetly, the rehearsal marked my personal farewell to longtime NY Phil concertmaster, Glenn Dicterow (dynamic, concentrated playing in the triple concerto). I’m happy to report that the orchestra played gloriously, despite it being a rehearsal.

 

Robert Wilson’s “The Old Woman” at BAM

Yesterday evening, I caught Robert Wilson’s highly-anticipated “The Old Woman” (based on a novella by Daniil Kharms) at the BAM Opera House. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willem Dafoe star as what can be best described as a surrealist vaudeville duo. Forget about logic and plot. The pleasures of this production lie primarily in director Robert Wilson’s aesthetics: the rigor and discipline of the performance, the hypnotic repetition, the intense lighting schemes, and a sense that anything is in the realm of possibility. Luckily, both Baryshnikov and Dafoe are currently giving performances that don’t seem stifled by Wilson’s strict blueprint. In fact, they revel in it.

Categories: Music, Off-Broadway, Other Music, Theater

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