NEW YORK – The Orchestra Now Performs Mendelssohn and Sibelius in a musical experience that delivered! Audience members left with hearts still echoing with melodies, virtuosity, drama, and perhaps a profound sense of gratitude and wonder. For in tonight’s moments of musical transcendence, they experienced the sublime and shall carry the memory of this magical night.
Tonight was an event when The Orchestra Now Performs Barber, Strauss, and Schumann in a fantastic concert of challenging, diverse, and intriguing music. The musicians performed with intensity, purpose, and virtuosic brilliance. They delivered moments of excitement, adulation, passion, pathos, and profound serenity.
After the final reading, Burns remarked, “Let’s put Cather back on the Times Best Seller list. You will not be disappointed.” Not disappointed, the audience celebrated with a hearty round of applause for the brilliant performances of those who were onstage.
This notable variety of musical works is apposite for The Orchestra Now, an ensemble of young professionals assembling to hone their skills for careers in music around the world. This evening, under the able baton of conductor Zachary Schwartzman, these artists expanded their repertoire and contexts for their future challenges. Each work provided ample opportunity for solos, marvelous brass, string and wind tuttis, lush strings, and musical poetry.
Symphony Space at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, sponsored a delightful evening event entitled Selected Shorts: The Best American Short Stories 2022.
Comedians tackle the great debate of talk vs. text. Two teams 5 minutes a piece argue their case, and then the anchor on each team gets 7 minutes to wrap. The audience applause denotes the winner. You probably think the talk team won since the winner was recognized verbally – WRONG. Texting won by a razor-slim margin hardly audible.
My Moment is 106 stories collected by Kirsten Chenoweth, Kathy Najimy, Linda Perry, Chely Wright, and Lauren Blitzer. A multimedia event showcasing the stories of several women was held at Symphony Space. As Lauren Blitzer said, “we had to get scrappy; that’s what girls do.”
Conductor Zachary Schwartzman guides the orchestra with dramatic precision to ultimately express a kaleidoscope of coruscating musical colors. He delivers cues, tempo changes, metrical nuances, and expression with aplomb. He draws energy, excitement, and sheer musicality from the young artists.
Massini’s dialogue is genius with real, raw emotion traded by factory walkers who, while they may seem different from one another, share the desire to keep their jobs and pay their bills.
