Reader Antoine Leboyer writes to point out that the New York Philharmonic has made its programme archive available online and that the archive shows how past programmes were far more varied than those played today. Here are just some of the composers that Antoine highlights from past concerts by the orchestra: Siniaglia, Busoni, Bosi, Chadwick, Stanford, Loeffler, McDowell, Hadley, Goldmark, Pfitzner, Enesco, Vieuxtemps and Grétry. Antoine also remarks on how Webern's music has virtually disappeared from New York concerts in recent years. One of the many confidence tricks of the digital era is how a long tail of cultural riches was promised , but a short head immaculately coiffed by audience whoring celebrities was actually delivered. I suggest that one of the key search criteria for the New York Philharmonic's new music director should be a passion for giving audiences permission to like unfamiliar music . Graphic is grabbed from the New York Philarmonic archive lan
Comments
Like you, I too can't find it online. It is a photo feature so they may not make it available on the web because of bandwidth considerations.
It is a fairly shallow 'toys for boys' feature they run each week. If you are a Terry Pratchett fan you haven't missed much by not reading it. There is little in it apart from the rather neat Tallis quote.
For me the highlight was The Sixteen's late night Prom, see this post which was quite outstanding.
One problem of course with Spem is the forces required. Which is why Antony Pitts' new work XL is so interesting, see this post.
Although the Tallis and Tippett anniversaries have justifiably grabbed attention this year it has meant that Obrecht has been overlooked in his anniversary year, something I hope to rectify shortly.
And talking of Tallis do you know Antoine Brumel's Missa "Et ecce terraemotus" (Earthquake Mass). If you like Spem you'll love it. And the great news is that it is on a stunning super budget release from Brilliant Classics, see this post.