PhiladelphiaOrchestra

Why not call it the Balanchine Theatre. After all, his company did such a great deal for Lincoln Center. Now that would show class, and give a bow to the man whose works invigorated and reconfigured American ballet in the 20th century! If not that, why not the Julius Rudel Theatre! Or to Beverly Sills, whose reputation in opera set the State Theatre rolling!

Thanks, Phila!

I gotta crow!

I made a mistake about the website. It is: www.dvdsentertainmentonline.com.

Just wanted to let you know that the original kinescope of the Mary Martin PETER PAN, directed by Jerome Robbins, is now available for purchase on www.dvdsentertainment.com.

The stage production in 1954 closed after a brief run and was then televised. From what I have heard, it is an exact replica of the Robbins stage version, so you are seeing exactly what Robbins did. The later 1960 version dropped quite a bit of the Robbins direction--at least that is what I have heard from other sources.

Anyway, the dvd is quite inexpensive.

Enjoy!

I'm curious. Did anyone ever see this ballet. The Violin Concerto is one of my favorite pieces, and I am curious to find out what exactly Balanchine did with this, especially the final "Turkish" movement.

I know this has been revived from time to time, especially by the Tulsa ballet, so it is not exactly lost. But what makes it special, especially to anyone who has ever seen it?

Thanks.

For those who want to see a really exscellent, musically accurate and top notch performance of Weill STREET SCENE, get thee to the Manahattan School of Music. The production is on tonight and Sunday. I saw it on Wednesday and was highly impressed.

Forget Sutton, Kristin, Idina, etc. Go see this one and really revel in a superb production. It's student presentation, but you would never be able to know. That's how good it is!

I picked up a recording of Delibes' Sylvia. I have not heard it in many years, yet I found it very charming. I know that Balanchine choreographed the Sylvia Pas de Deux in the 1950s for Tallchief and Eglevsky. It was danced by others over the years and was later retitled just Pas de Deux and divertissement.

Did anyone ever see the original. What was it like? And does anyone know which sections or parts Balanchine used from the music.

From what I have read the piece went over like wildfire, yet it is hardly ever performed anymore.

I wonder why?

After rehearsal we discussed briefly what music (symphonic, chamber, lieder) copuld be used forr a ballet. There were some insightful, and funny, suggestions, but the following two symphonies seem high on the priority list:

Schubert Symphony No. 5

Hayden Symphony No. 100 (Military)

I can see what would appeal in the music. The Schubert second movement could offer an equisite pas de deux, and the Haydn finale could really bring down the house.

I am surprised that no choreographer has ever used these symphonies. Perhaps they don't know about them!

As a musician, I was always struck by the fact that Tudor absolutely dared to use the music of Mahleer and Schienberg for ballets. While I am not a fan of PILLAR OF FIRE, I have always been struck by the movements devised by Tudoe for KINDERTOTENLIEDER. His use of the arms, the head, and the eyes, are quite touching and, more to the point, totally complement the msuic. It is as if the msuci and movement were organically thought through, a la Petipa and Tchaikovsky.

It is a masterpiece, and I am not one to so easily use that word!

There were two, and I am not sure if they are still available, although you might try AMAZON.

One was conducted by Andre Previn and the other by Pierre Monteux. I asked some of my fellow musicians and they did not know of any other recording. If you are new to DAPHNIS AND CHLOE, it might be best to start with a DAPHNIS AND CHLOE suite. I am not fond of this music; others are. I will leave it to you to decide for yourself.

A fascinating read by Jospeh Horowitz--"Artists in Exile"-- about how European exiles shaped, re-configured, and adapted to American culture. The chapter on Blanachine and Stravinsky is highly illuminating and informative. There are other chapters dealing with music, theatre, and films which should be of interest to or readers.

Try and get this one from your bookstore or library. You will find it fascinating!

I thought I’d give a few more resources that are available to you. Many of these are available with a barcode from your public or university library. Check them out. You will be very surprised, and rewarded!

The following newspapers have been digitzed and include texts, articles, photographs, etc:

New York Times Historical Newspapers (Proquest) – 1851-2004

Wall Street Journal Historical Newspapers (Proquest) - 1889 – 1990

Washington Post Historical Newspapers (Proquest) - 1877 – 1991

Los Angeles Times Historical Newspapers (Proquest) 1881 – 1986

Chicago Tribune Historical Newspapers (Proquest) – 1849 – 1986

Databases:

Academic Search™ Premier (Ebsco)

Academic Search™ Premier contains indexing and abstracts for more than 8,200 journals, with full text for more than 4,500 of those titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for nearly 1,000 titles.

JSTOR: contains many articles of historical interest.

I have seen Mozartiana many times, and have heard many recorded versions. I have never quite felt that the ballet was adequately recorded: it was either lugubrious, or else sounded like bad Txhaikovsky or iffy Mozart.

However, in the past few years the Czech label Supraphon has opened its archives and released conductor Vaclav Talich's recording of MOZARTIANA, which was a specialty of his. You really have to hear it: it bubbles like champagne and is so lovely, se deft and charming. What a performance!

Coming from a long line of musicians, see if you can get a copy of this recording on CD. You won't be disappointed