When Harrison Birtwistle agreed to participate in a recording of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, he was acknowledging a deeply creative connection with the composer, writes Kate Molleson
Composer Aylward seems to struggle with melody, employing the form but fighting all the way. He manages to give live musicians playing traditional instruments an almost electronic sound through his tricky and sometimes difficult harmonies.
The Salzburg Festival opens in search of elusive peace
An employee sorts fabrics in the sewing room of the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg on June 23, 2021. Many of opera s most celebrated voices have soared and resonated in its highly acclaimed acoustics, yet the creation of the historic auditorium at the Salzburg Festival was a tall order 60 years ago. ALEX HALADA / AFP
by Joshua Barone
(NYT NEWS SERVICE)
.- What is peace? a singer asks in Latin at the start of Klaus Hubers Quod Est Pax? The orchestra responds with a wandering, spectral sound that underscores the question, as it is asked again and considered from different angles, until the instruments erupt in a disorderly mass as if to answer: Peace is not a pleasant tune.