Last night in the Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center the New York Philharmonic presented a marvelous bonus for major donors to the orchestra – a brief chamber music concert performed by four excellent musicians drawn from the string section of the orchestra, Michelle Kim and Joo Young Oh, violinists, Robert Rinehart, violist, and Eileen Moon, cellist. The violinists performed movements from two Duo Concertante compositions, Op. 57, of De Beriot, and the entire group played … <Read More>
South African Court Approves Surrogacy Contract for Gay Male Couple
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretora, Republic of South Africa, issued a judgment on September 27, 2011, approved a surrogacy contract involving a male same-sex couple and a woman who agreed to be their gestational surrogate. In the Ex Parte Matter Between WH, UVS, LG, BJS. The case provided an opportunity to apply the terms of Section 295 of the Children's Act 38 of 2006, enacted to provide a legal and regulatory framework for … <Read More>
An Unusual Combination: 16th Century English and Spanish Music Sung by “Blue Heron” and “Ensemble Plus Ultra”
This afternoon I attended a most unusual concert at St. Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Two early music vocal groups, one based in Boston, the other English, came together to present a program of 16th century music from England and Spain. Blue Heron, the Boston-based group started in 1999 by its music director, Scott Metcalfe, has a wide-ranging repertory focused on renaissance polyphony, somewhat in the style of … <Read More>
The “Retired” Guarneri Quartet Opens Peoples’ Symphony Season
The 112th season of Peoples' Symphony Concerts in Manhattan opened tonight with a concert by the Guarneri String Quartet. Well, that was a surprise to me when I showed up. The Guarneri announced their retirement from the concert stage in 2009, and I don't recall seeing any reviews of concerts by them in New York City since then. The publicity for this concert said it was going to feature violinist Pamela Frank "and others". The printed … <Read More>
Sojourn in the Wonderful World of Brahms with Gil Shaham and Orpheus CO
Last night I had a delightful excursion into the wonder world of Johannes Brahms with violinist Gil Shaham and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. This was the first concert in the Orpheus series at Carnegie for the 2011-12 season. Orpheus is the conductorless chamber orchestra that takes on the most exacting technical challenges in performing work based on the principles of chamber music, and one doesn't necessarily expect to hear them performing the … <Read More>
A Constitutional Break-Through for Gay Rights in Costa Rica
The Latin American News Dispatch Blog has reported that the Supreme Court of Costa Rica has issued its first decision in a gay rights case, ruling that Article 66 of Costa Rica's Technical Penitentiary Regulations, which authorizes "intimate visits" for inmates with visitors of the opposite sex, must be construed to allow intimate visits without regard for the sex of the visitor. The Blog quotes a press release from the court stating, "This Court considers … <Read More>
Trifonov & Gergiev & Mariinsky Orchestra at Carnegie Hall
Last night I heard one of those totally memorable concerts at Carnegie Hall. With Valery Gergiev conducting, the Mariinsky Orchestra presented stirring renditions of music from Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet Ballet and Shostakovich's First Symphony. But the true highlight for me was my first hearing of young Daniil Trifonov, recent gold medalist of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Trifonov is the real thing!
What struck me particularly was how Trifonov … <Read More>
“The Ides of March” – The Film Based on “Farragut North”
On election night in 2008, I was sitting in a theater in the Chelsea neighborhood watching a preview performance of Beau Willimon's political drama, "Farragut North," when the news of President Obama's election broke. During intermission, a member of the company announced the states that had been "called" so far, and after the final curtain, with the entire company lined up for their ovations, the audience was silenced and the Democratic presidential and congressional victory … <Read More>
Australian High Court: Another Breakthrough for Transsexual Rights
The High Court of Australia, in a virtuosic display of statutory interpretation, has ruled that The Gender Reassignment Act 2000 of Western Australia should be construed to authorize a legal recognition of change of gender identity from female to male without any need for internal surgery to terminate the individual's reproductive capacity. The October 6 ruling in AB v. Western Australia, [2011] HCA 42, reversed a decision of the Court of Appeals of the … <Read More>
A Corigliano Premere at the NY Philharmonic
The big news at the New York Philharmonic this week was the world premiere of "One Sweet Morning," for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra, by John Corigliano. The piece was co-commissioned by the Philharmonic and the Shangai Symphony Orchestra (interesting coupling?) to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. And, at the second performance, which I attended last night, it was a palpable hit, helped along considerably by the excellent … <Read More>