Birds and Woolfes

http://nyti.ms/1qROo1b

Thanks, Mr. Woolfe, for my second mention in the NY Times!

It's always interesting to read a review of a performance that one has attended. Woolfe did not seem to be very impressed by the music he heard, though he did take care to praise the NJE's "vision," "committed performances," and "one of the loveliest spaces in New York... even lovelier now that a tall spindly, witty Isa Genzken sculpture of a rose has been installed 'onstage.'"

I sometimes wonder how my participation in a performance affects my appreciation for the music. I did enjoy the program, finding that composers balanced new sounds and ideas with accessibility. I understand Woolfe's complaint about the works being "long-winded," though I don't 100% agree with him. I appreciated his compliment of the violin solo in Strindberg's "One Child" ("While [the finale] has a sinuous, swooping melody for violin (played by the excellent Alex Shiozaki)..."), though I wish he could have left off the final clause! ("...even there the work is long-winded.")

All in all, I suppose this is a review that I'm happy with. But my favorite part about the article? The title: "A Sound Tour of the World, Accompanied by Birds." Oh, the infamous birds of MoMA's Sculpture Garden.