Word: concertos
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Last week in Boston, he demonstrated with his new Piano Concerto No. 2 why it is that conductors, soloists and the public have only the kindest of words for him. He is not afraid of melo dy or tonality, and he has the courage to write in the familiar mainstream tra dition of Bartok and Prokofiev-the titters of twelve-tone, modified twelve-tone, post-Webern and electronic cliques notwithstanding. That is not to say he is old hat. Within the bounds of con ventional forms like the symphony, sonata, string quartet and concerto, Lees manages to be fascinatingly original...
...Second Concerto proves how well he has succeeded. Compounded of powerful short phrases, punchy accents and a kaleidoscopic array of rhythms, it motors through three movements and 22 minutes like an Orpheus in the underworld. The brilliant dialogue achieved by American Pianist Gary Graffman and Erich Leinsdorf's Boston Symphony showed that the trip was definitely worth the effort. "The simple fact," said Graffman, "is that Ben has written a major piano concerto, which extremely few people have done in the second half of the 20th century." With their hearty applause, Boston's audience agreed...
Most interesting in ways was the performance of the Bach E major Violin Concerto by James Oliver Buswell IV. It was practically unconducted, and that created obstacles to the flow from composer to listener. Buswell's head and body gestures did not keep the orchestra together or effect good ritardandi, and the reduced orchestra sounded best in the parts of the slow movement that Buswell actually conducted. Here he created a clearer pulse, sensitive phrasing of the bass line, and even, mysteriously, better intonation...
...musical terms, the force of Bach is in relatively inner things. Feeling is not expressed, to be incorporated again by the listener, but remains inner throughout the conveying process. Thus Saturday evening's performance of the E major concerto achieved vigor but not inner focus...
...week when most of the specials, for a change, deserved the title of special. CBS led the parade with S. Hurok Presents-Part II, and the indefatigable impresario produced a musical program of a quality that television has not achieved in years. Pianist Artur Rubinstein performed Beethoven's Concerto in G Major, Violinist David Oistrakh played Bach's Concerto in A Minor, and the Bolshoi Ballet danced a segment of Act II of Giselle. Throughout the 90-minute show, both music and ballet were presented on their own terms-without the usual TV camera tricks and, more important...