Interludes

THE NOTEBOOK (6/18/14): Bronfman rehearses Beethoven; Revisiting La McDonald in “Lady Day”; Alvin Ailey (Program A)

• By drediman
• June 19, 2014
• No Comments

Bronfman rehearses Beethoven

I started off my day at the Avery Fisher Hall for my weekly visit to the NY Philharmonic‘s open rehearsal session. For only $20, it’s a great way to get insight into the process of production. The Philharmonic is in the midst of its Beethoven piano concerto cycle, during which the hard-working orchestra is scheduled to play the master’s complete set of five piano concertos (with a handful of new music pieces from young composers mixed in), all led by music director Alan Gilbert and extraordinary pianist and Artist-in-Residence, Yefim Bronfman. Last week, his rehearsal of Beethoven Piano Concerto’s No. 4 was transcendent. Today’s rendition of No. 3 didn’t reach those penetrating heights, but the performance was still spectacular. Here’s Gilbert and Bronfman’s insightful commentary on Beethoven’s piano concertos:

Revisiting La McDonald in “Lady Day”

In the afternoon, I made my way back to the Circle in the Square to reassess Audra McDonald’s historic Tony Award-winning performance as Billie Holiday. If anything, she’s even more astonishing now than she was when I last saw “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” late in previews. Then, it took La McDonald about five to ten minutes to fully settle into the difficult role. In yesterday’s Wednesday matinee, Audra WAS Billie from the moment she stepped onto the stage. I am still blown away by how Audra shapes her warm soprano to uncannily mirror her subject’s iconic sound. The last 30 minutes continues to be devastating as the audience realizes that Billie is fighting a losing battle, coming unhinged right before our eyes. Is it a great play? Not really, but it’s the ideal vehicle for a performer of Audra’s abilities and star-power. I still think the show classifies more as a musical than a play, but that’s really neither here nor there. Here’s a look at Audra’s touching acceptance speech for her sixth (!) Tony win for “Lady Day”:

Alvin Ailey (Program A)

Last night, I caught the second program (Program A) of Alvin Ailey’s spring run at the David H. Koch Theater. They were in fine form. I applaud artistic director Robert Battle’s efforts to bring contemporary choreography to the much-loved dance company’s repertoire of dances (including the likes of Alvin Ailey’s legendary “Revelations”, which the evening predictably concluded with). This initiative was particularly evident in the evening’s first piece, Wayne McGregor’s “Chroma”, which had its origins at the Royal Opera. It was exciting to see Alvin Ailey bring its brand of dancing (athletic, hyperextended) to McGregor’s angular, persistent choreography. Here’s a snippet the McGregor piece (as danced by the Royal Ballet):