Manuel de Falla’s “The Three-Cornered Hat” Dances, Alicia de Larrocha

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Manuel de Falla’s ballet score, El sombrero de tres picos (“The Three-Cornered Hat”) bathes in the bright colors of a searing Iberian sun. Filled with the infectious rhythms of Spanish dance, it is music which is sultry, exotic, and at times tantalizingly mysterious. The Three-Cornered Hat was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev in 1919 and premiered the same year in London by the Ballets Russes. It expanded on de Falla’s two-scene pantomime, The Magistrate and the …

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Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11, “The Year 1905”: Revolution and Requiem

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On January 22 [O.S. January 9], 1905, a date which is remembered as “Bloody Sunday,” thousands of peaceful, unarmed demonstrators marched to St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace. They intended to present a petition to Tsar Nicholas II. Many supported the Tsar and believed that he would help to address their economic, political, and social grievances. Assembled in the square, they sang God Save the Tsar; but a frightened Nicholas II had fled the palace. Inexplicably, …

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Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” for Guitar and Orchestra: Spanish Breezes

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Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez emerges from a mythic Spanish landscape. Written in 1939 in the wake of the Spanish Civil War, the Concerto conjures up ghosts from the past. At moments we can hear vague echoes of the vihuela, the 15th century predecessor of the guitar. The title pays homage to the Baroque gardens of the Palacio Real de Aranjuez south of Madrid, which served as the historic spring residence of the Spanish royal family. In …

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Remembering Giuseppe Giacomini

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Giuseppe Giacomini, the celebrated Italian dramatic tenor, passed away on Wednesday. He was 80. Giacomini, known as Bepi” among his fans, made his professional debut in 1966 in Vercelli, performing the role of Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. He went on to appear on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses. Additionally, Giacomini performed for numerous world leaders and for the opening of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. He continued to …

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Berg’s “Seven Early Songs”: On the Doorstep of Atonality

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Alban Berg’s Seven Early Songs (Sieben frühe Lieder) are poised between two worlds. Standing on the doorstep of twentieth century atonality, they grow out of the great tradition of German Romantic lieder. They contain echoes of Brahms, Mahler, Strauss, and Debussy, while moving into a hazy new harmonic dreamscape. Berg composed these songs between 1905 and 1908 during the time he was a student of Arnold Schoenberg. He orchestrated and published the collection …

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Haydn’s Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major: Rousing and Rapturous

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Franz Joseph Haydn’s triumphant second trip to London started off with a bang. On February 10, 1794, six days after the celebrated composer’s return to the English capital, Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major was premiered at the Hanover Square Rooms. A review of the concert in the Morning Chronicle read, The incomparable Haydn produced a new Overture [Symphony] of which it is impossible to speak in common terms. It is one of …

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Michael Daugherty’s “Flamingo”: A Great American Road Trip

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Flamingo by the American composer Michael Daugherty (b. 1954) is as quirky, colorful, and unapologetic as the plastic pink ornaments which have long adorned lawns. Written in 1991 for chamber orchestra, the piece showcases a cast of zany instrumental characters. It blends the blues with the tambourine-infused sounds of a Spanish flamenco dance. At moments, it suggests a TV or film chase scene soundtrack. It delivers action-packed suspense, outrageousness, and furious rhythmic intensity. …

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