Mozart’s masterpiece comes vividly to life. Emotion infused the score, where even a sigh became music, and the Met orchestra and singers revealed the complexity of human ties. Yannick Nézet-Séguin let Mozart’s voice emerge freshly, alive with individuality and truth.
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Inward Journey by Philip Ellis Foster
Although the sound directions are random, each line of notes continues at regular intervals. Each line repeats small crescendos and decrescendos, and while composed of limited elements, the notes are placed with high precision yet randomly. Double stops make me perceive two distinct characters, and the harmonics follow a consistent pattern. As these sound lines pass through, the combination of scattered notes and the regularity of the harmonics prevents any sense of déjà vu in thought, dissolving tension and expectation, and creating a natural space and quiet openness in the mind. This is healing for the heart and discipline for the mind that cleans up my brain trash.
音の方向はばらばらでありながら、それぞれの音のラインは一定の間隔で続く。各ラインは小さなクレッシェンドとデクレッシェンドを繰り返し、要素は少ないが、音は高い精度で、かつランダムに配置されている。ダブルストップをかけると、音から二つの異なるキャラクターを同時に感じることができ、ハーモニクスには一定のパターンが存在する。こうした音のラインが自分の中を通り過ぎると、ばらばらに置かれた音と規則的なハーモニクスの組み合わせによって思考に既視感は生まれず、緊張や期待が解け、心に自然な余白と静かな開放感が生まれる。それはまるで脳にたまったごみを取り除いてくれるような感覚。この方の近くにいると気配に圧倒される。気取りがなくユーモアに溢れ、しかしとても厳しい目で、温かく作品を眺めたり楽しんだりしている。
"Inward Journey" by Philip Ellis Foster, performed by the JACK Quartet
Recommended work : C-A-G-E-D
The house of contemporary, Yarn/Wire’s Bushwick studio.
On the way there, Mäkelä’s Berlioz is playing in my head. Yarn/Wire’s studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where they've been fifteenth year. The program began with Igor Santos’s living to fall [music and rain]. As fragments of video unfolded alongside live sound, the consciousness of the four performers made the images—rain, shattering glass—appear vividly.
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2025 Concerts
Attendance that were not in my previous reviews, including Aida at Met Opera, Nina Stemme, Soprano, and Roland Pöntinen, Piano, at Carnegie Hall, Juilliard415 and Lionel Meunier, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano at Carnegie Hall, Antony and Cleopatra at Met Opera, Evgeny Kissin and Friends at Carnegie Hall, Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Philadelphia Orchestra.The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall
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TIME:SPANS 2025
Attended four concerts at the 2025 TIME:SPANS Contemporary Music Festival in NYC, featuring Ensemble Nikel, Christopher Trapani, Bekah Simms, and more, showcased cutting-edge sound art and offered a glimpse of the present and future of global contemporary music.
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From the left, Lori Freedman (Bass Clarinet), Gabriel Dufour-Laperrière (Sound Engineer), Geneviève Liboiron (Violin), Daniel Aniez García (Piano), Steven Kazuo Takasugi (Musical Direction), Sarah Albu (Soprano), Huei Lin (Video Artist), Emilie Girard-Charest (Cello), Noam Bierstone (Percussion, and production leader), Jeff D’Ambrosio (Lighting), and Felix Del Tredici (Bass Trombone) TIME:SPANS 2025
Il Teatro Rosso - 赤い劇場
Montreal's Red Theater merges poetry, sound, video, and performance into a total artwork. Takasugi and Huei Lin’s score, performed by seven vaudevillians, blends chaotic microtones with vivid visuals, dissolving illusions and evoking infinity. At Time: Spans 2025, the ensemble, led by Noam Bierstone, revealed mastery over time, space, and perception.
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Severance Hall, Cleveland
THE ROOTS OF FORGIVENESS, Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, Ohio
The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst performed Janáček’s Jenufa at Severance Hall (May 25). With Nina Stemme as Kostelnička, the music’s raw motifs and immediacy revealed Janáček’s deep empathy for ordinary lives. Unlike New York, the intimacy of Severance Hall revived the author’s youthful passion for music.
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Tchaikovsky's Salvation, Queen of Spades at Met Opera
At the Met’s Queen of Spades, Herman, consumed by gambling, betrays Lisa to learn the Countess’s secret, leading to Lisa’s suicide and his own. Tchaikovsky’s drama blends corrupted aristocracy, aching folk songs, and Herman’s tormented passions. Stunning contrasts of love, riveting choruses, and Sonya Yoncheva’s tragic Lisa made it unforgettable.
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New Salome at The Met
Claus Guth’s new Salome at the Met reimagines Strauss’ 1905 shocker with seven Salomes, tracing abuse, obsession, and fractured identity. Transparent orchestral colors heighten the perverse, ecstatic drama, while Elsa’s portrayal adds compassion over pure decadence. Childhood, violence, and desire fuse in a haunting 21st-century vision.
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Nelsons and Boston Symphony tell Shostakovich's Nabat
At Carnegie Hall, the BSO and Andris Nelsons performed an all-Shostakovich program with Yo-Yo Ma in the Cello Concerto No. 1 and the Symphony No. 11. Before playing, Ma said, “We play Shostakovich so that no death is ever just a statistic.” The concerto’s D-S-C-H motif, ironic colors, and Russian soul resonated deeply, honoring the composer’s legacy.
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Boston Symphony and Nelsons tell Shostakovich's magic spel at Carnegie Hall
4.23.2025. Andris Nelsons led the BSO with Mitsuko Uchida in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, her quiet intensity evoking a sense of struggle, fragility, and resolve. Shostakovich’s final Symphony No. 15 followed—whimsical, grotesque, and haunted by death. The concert felt less about form than shared spirit, Boston’s essence shining through.
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Mitsuko Uchida Carnegie Hall Recital
Pianist Uchida's recital (Apr 9) paired Beethoven’s Sonata Op.90, Schoenberg’s atonal Op.11, Kurtág’s elegy, and Schubert’s final Sonata D960. With clarity and depth, she traced battles of head and heart, Schoenberg’s freedom, Kurtág’s grief, and Schubert’s fragile late beauty—an intimate journey across centuries of sound.
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Joana Mallwitz - Metropolitan Opera debut by true globalist comedy
At the Met, Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro reveals 18th-century aristocratic life through human drama and elegant polyphony. Under Joana Mallwitz, the orchestra’s dynamics highlight solos and recitatives, while a diverse cast portrays love, jealousy, and forgiveness. The Count’s apology brings a moving coda, blending humor, emotion, and harmony.
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Chochieva's Carnegie Debut
Zlata Chochieva’s Carnegie Hall debut (Apr 2) showcased Bach, Schumann, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and Mendelssohn. Her delicate tone, deep expression, and nuanced control brought out both youthful intensity and mature depth. The recital, capped by Rachmaninoff and Villa-Lobos encores, was a masterful and memorable debut.
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Julia Fischer and Jan Lisiecki's Spring battle in New York
Julia Fischer and Jan Lisiecki performed at the newly renovated David Geffen Hall on April 1st. Their program featured Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, highlighting the evolving violin-piano dialogue: Mozart’s piano leads, Beethoven balances both, and Schumann favors the violin. The hall’s intimate acoustics enhanced the purity of Mozart, the expansiveness of Beethoven, and the passion of Schumann, while the performers’ interplay created a thrilling, deeply expressive evening, capped by two encores.
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Welser-Möst and Cleveland Orchestra's 23rd years fate at Carnegie Hall
Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall on March 19, presenting Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Mösto’s passionate direction revealed every nuance, from Petrushka’s playful mischief to Tchaikovsky’s portrayal of fate. The orchestra’s precision, expressive solos, and vivid storytelling made for an emotionally powerful, masterful evening.
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Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra - Fighter for freedom at Carnegie Hall
Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra faced challenges but triumphed in their 23rd New York concert. They opened with Beethoven’s “Fate” Symphony, performed Janáček’s poignant suite from From the House of the Dead, and ended with Beethoven’s Leonore No. 3, celebrating freedom, courage, and human dignity with deep sincerity and passion.
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London principals' autographs from the left, Julián Gil Rodríguez, Second Violin, Patrick Laurence, Double Bass(center top), Eivind Ringstad, Principal Viola(the center middle), Andrej Power, Concertmaster(the center bottom), Rebecca Gilliver, Principal Cello(the right)
Londonians Sparkle with Pappano at Carnegie Hall
The London Symphony Orchestra with Antonio Pappano performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto and Walton’s Symphony No. 1 at Carnegie Hall on March 6. Rachmaninoff’s concerto glowed with lyrical flow, sublime solos, and shimmering orchestral detail, while Walton’s rarely heard symphony brought restless rhythms, fierce dissonances, and a Sibelius-like finale. A fresh, masterful program.
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London Symphony and Antonio Pappano at Carnegie Hall
Antonio Pappano led the London Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on March 5, marking the final concerts of his first US tour as music director. Refined dynamics, unity, and stellar musicians defined the evening. Walker’s Sinfonia No. 5, Bernstein’s Serenade, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 revealed LSO’s distinctive timbre and virtuosity, leaving a rare, unforgettable evening.
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Globe: Muti and Vienna unified us at Carnegie by Mozart and Dvorak last Symphonies
On March 3 at Carnegie Hall, Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic paired Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony with Dvořák’s New World. Their Mozart shone with golden string tone, lyrical winds, and a finale fugue evoking an ideal society. Dvořák unfolded with grandeur and suspense, uniting audience, orchestra, and maestro in a profound global communion.
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