Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” from “Prince Igor”: A Spirited Performance by Russian Youth

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Alexander Borodin’s four-act opera, Prince Igor, is based on the medieval Russian nationalistic epic, The Tale of Igor’s Campaign. It tells the story of a 12th century military campaign, launched by the Prince of Novgorod-Seversk against the Polovtsians, an invading nomadic Tartar tribe. Quickly, the campaign takes a disastrous turn, and Igor and his son, Vladimir, are taken prisoner. In the opera’s second act, the Polovtsian leader, Khan Konchak, entertains his captives …

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Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 5 in C Major: Cool and Classical

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An enticing coolness and classicism surrounds Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 5 in C Major, Op. 38. Brilliant and austere, it is the music of a composer who, early on, developed a reputation as a brash enfant terrible with piano-playing fingers of steel. Here, as in much of his music, Prokofiev, the cunning and aggressive master chess player, plays the game of quirky extended melodies, which often seem to reach a harmonic dead …

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John Ireland’s “The Hills”: Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Choir

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The English composer, John Ireland (1879-1962), was a mystic and an introvert. He found spiritual significance in ancient pagan sites which dot the “green and pleasant” countryside of his native land. Throughout his life, he was drawn back to the Channel Islands, the archipelago off the rugged Normandy coast. An a cappella choral setting of a poem by James Kirkup, The Hills is an ode to the timeless majesty of the English countryside. It …

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Remembering Jodie Devos

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Jodie Devos, the celebrated Belgian soprano, passed away last Sunday, June 16, as a result of rapidly-progressing breast cancer. She was 35. At the time of her death in Paris, she was surrounded by family. In a social media post, soprano Barbara Hannigan remembered Devos as “a beautiful artist, vibrant and radiant of sound and presence.” In a statement to Belgian news channel VRT, conductor Dirk Brossé said, “We have lost one …

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Bach’s “Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend”: Five Settings of a Lutheran Hymn

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First published in 1648, the Lutheran hymn, Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend (“Lord Jesus Christ, be present now!”), provided a fertile source for J.S. Bach. Bach created at least five wildly contrasting settings of the melody, each of which relates to a specific aspect of the text. The melody is by an anonymous composer. (It has been erroneously attributed to Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar). Beginning with an ascending triad, the hymn …

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Strauss’ “Metamorphosen”: In Memoriam

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When the Nazis rose to power in Germany in the 1930s, Richard Strauss was ambivalent at first. He only wanted to be left alone to compose the next opera. In a letter, Strauss observed, with grudging pragmatism, “I made music under the Kaiser…I’ll survive under this one as well.” For a while, Strauss placated the Nazis, attempting to use his position as a preeminent composer to protect his Jewish daughter-in-law and her …

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Strauss’ Four Symphonic Interludes from “Intermezzo”: A Portrait of Matrimony

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In a letter to his wife, Pauline, Richard Strauss listed the three areas which gave his life meaning: “nature, notes, and family.” (Bryan Gilliam) Musically, Strauss celebrated his stable family life with the autobiographical 1904 tone poem, Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53. When the work’s subject matter was criticized as trivial, Strauss responded, What could be more serious than married life? Marriage is the most profound event in life and the spiritual joy …

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