The Piano Etudes of David Rakowski

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Piano Etudes of David Rakowski THE PIANO ETUDES OF DAVID RAKOWSKI I-Chen Yeh A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS December 2010 Committee: Laura Melton, Advisor Sara Worley Graduate Faculty Representative Per F. Broman Robert Satterlee © 2010 I-Chen Yeh All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Laura Melton, Advisor Since the early history of piano music the etude has played an important role in the instrument’s repertoire. The genre has grown from technical exercises to virtuosic concert pieces. During the twentieth century, new movements in music were reflected in the etudes of Debussy, Stravinsky and Messiaen, to mention a few. In the past fifty years, Bolcom and Ligeti have continued this trend, taking the piano etude to yet another level. Their etudes reflect the aesthetics and process of modernist and postmodernist composition, featuring complex rhythms, new techniques in pitch and harmonic organization, a variety of new extended techniques, and an often-unprecedented level of difficulty. David Rakowski is a prolific composer of contemporary piano etudes, having completed a cycle of one hundred piano etudes during the past twenty-two years. By mixing his own modernist aesthetic with jazz, rock, and pop-culture influences, Rakowski has created a set of etudes that are both challenging to the pianist and approachable for the audience. The etudes have drawn the attention of several leading pianists in the contemporary field, most notably Marilyn Nonken and Amy Briggs, who are currently recording the entire set. Because of pianistic difficulty, approachability for the listener, and interest of noted pianists, Rakowski’s etudes seem destined for recognition in the contemporary standard repertoire. This doctoral document is the first to focus on the completed set of etudes and also provides the first method of categorization for the etudes. iv In his etudes, Rakowski explored both traditional pianistic problems as well as the challenges of new music. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between Rakowski’s piano etudes, other contemporary etudes, and the traditional etude of past historical periods. The first chapter of this document consists of a historical and musical overview of the most important piano etudes in the standard repertory. The rest of the document consists of a more focused look at Rakowski’s etudes, providing an overview of styles, techniques, influences, and difficulties in the music. I have described the aesthetic and technical challenge of each etude and have placed them into categories based on their technical challenges. While the categories were my own invention, my decisions concerning the categorical placement of specific etudes were based on information gathered through secondary sources, interviews with Dr. Rakowski, and personal analysis and performances of the etudes. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Without the guidance of my committee members, help from friends, and support from my family, this dissertation would not have been possible. I owe my deepest gratitude to my advisor Dr. Laura Melton for her patience, encouragement, and guidance throughout my entire education. I will forever remember her generosity and commitment to both her art and her students. I also extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Robert Satterlee, Dr. Per Broman and Dr. Sara Worley for their guidance while serving on my doctoral committee. I would also like to express my appreciation to Dr. David Rakowski for his kindness and involvement in this process. His willingness to meet with me and correspond via email for the past several months and to provide me with valuable materials to help support my paper helped to make this process a rich experience. I would like to thank my parents for educating me and giving me unconditional support to pursue my interests, my sister and brother-in-law for listening to my frustrations and their constant support, and my brothers for being the best cheerleaders I could wish for. Last, but not least, all my colleagues and friends who are there for me during the ups and downs of this degree; without your friendship and encouragement, this degree would not be possible. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF PIANO ETUDES................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II. BIOGRAPHY OF RAKOWSKI................................................................... 16 CHAPTER III. INTRODUCTION TO RAKOWSKI’S PIANO ETUDES ......................... 20 Genesis of the Etudes................................................................................................. 20 Process ............................................................................................................ 21 Performers and Other Inspirations of the Etudes....................................................... 23 CHAPTER IV. CATEGORIZATION OF RAKOWSKI’S PIANO ETUDES .................... 28 Basic Techniques ....................................................................................................... 28 Scales ............................................................................................................ 28 Intervals.......................................................................................................... 33 Chords ............................................................................................................ 45 Arpeggios....................................................................................................... 51 Articulations................................................................................................... 58 Pedaling.......................................................................................................... 61 Repeated Notes .............................................................................................. 62 Dynamics ....................................................................................................... 67 Gestures ............................................................................................................ 75 Swirls of Notes............................................................................................... 75 Ornaments...................................................................................................... 78 Glissando........................................................................................................ 86 Restrictions ............................................................................................................ 87 vii Use of Specific fingers................................................................................... 88 Use of Specific Hand ..................................................................................... 90 Right Hand on White Keys/Left Hand on Black Keys.................................. 94 Accelerando-Ritenuto .................................................................................... 95 A Major Triads............................................................................................... 97 Dominant Seventh Chords ............................................................................. 98 Half-Diminished Seventh............................................................................... 100 Based on a Parallel Motion............................................................................ 101 Based on a Particular Chord .......................................................................... 103 Palindrome ..................................................................................................... 105 Mirror ............................................................................................................ 106 Horn Fifth ...................................................................................................... 108 Left Hand/Right Hand Unison....................................................................... 109 Ostinato.......................................................................................................... 111 Pedal Point ..................................................................................................... 112 Triads Only.................................................................................................... 113 Hebrew Melody ............................................................................................. 115 Extended techniques .................................................................................................. 116 Inside the piano.............................................................................................. 116 Talking ........................................................................................................... 118 Playing with other instruments ...................................................................... 119 Different Ways of Playing Piano/Choreography of Hand/Body Position ..... 122 Genres ............................................................................................................ 132 viii Stride ............................................................................................................ 132 Bop ............................................................................................................ 133 Tango ............................................................................................................ 133 Rock and Roll ...............................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • TOCC0557DIGIBKLT.Pdf
    MORITZ MOSZKOWSKI: ORCHESTRAL MUSIC, VOLUME TWO by Martin Eastick History has not served Moszkowski well. Even before his death in 1925, his star had been on the wane for some years as the evolving ‘Brave New World’ took hold after the Great War in 1918: there was little or no demand for what Moszkowski once had to offer and the musical sensitivities he represented. His name did live on to a limited extent, with the odd bravura piano piece relegated to the status of recital encore, and his piano duets – especially the Spanish Dances – continuing to be favoured in the circles of home music-making. But that was about the limit of his renown until, during the late 1960s, there gradually awoke an interest in nineteenth-century music that had disappeared from the repertoire – and from people’s awareness – and the composers who had been everyday names during their own lifetime, Moszkowski among them. Initially, this ‘Romantic Revival’ was centred mainly on the piano, but it gradually diversified to music in all its forms and continues to this day. Only very recently, though, has attention been given to Moszkowski as a serious composer of orchestral music – with the discovery and performance in 2014 of his early but remarkable ‘lost’ Piano Concerto in B minor, Op. 3, providing an ideal kick-start,1 and the ensuing realisation that here was a composer worthy of serious consideration who had much to offer to today’s listener. In 2019 the status of Moszkowski as an orchestral composer was ramped upwards with the release of the first volume in this Toccata Classics series, featuring his hour-long, four-movement symphonic poem Johanna d’Arc, Op.
    [Show full text]
  • Rediscovering Frédéric Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Études" Qiao-Shuang Xian Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2002 Rediscovering Frédéric Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Études" Qiao-Shuang Xian Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Xian, Qiao-Shuang, "Rediscovering Frédéric Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Études"" (2002). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2432. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2432 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. REDISCOVERING FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN’S TROIS NOUVELLES ÉTUDES A Monograph Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in The School of Music by Qiao-Shuang Xian B.M., Columbus State University, 1996 M.M., Louisiana State University, 1998 December 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF EXAMPLES ………………………………………………………………………. iii LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………………… v ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………………… vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….. 1 The Rise of Piano Methods …………………………………………………………….. 1 The Méthode des Méthodes de piano of 1840
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis October 11,2012
    Demystifying Galina Ustvolskaya: Critical Examination and Performance Interpretation. Elena Nalimova 10 October 2012 Submitted in partial requirement for the Degree of PhD in Performance Practice at the Goldsmiths College, University of London 1 Declaration The work presented in this thesis is my own and has not been presented for any other degree. Where the work of others has been utilised this has been indicated and the sources acknowledged. All the translations from Russian are my own, unless indicated otherwise. Elena Nalimova 10 October 2012 2 Note on transliteration and translation The transliteration used in the thesis and bibliography follow the Library of Congress system with a few exceptions such as: endings й, ий, ый are simplified to y; я and ю transliterated as ya/yu; е is е and ё is e; soft sign is '. All quotations from the interviews and Russian publications were translated by the author of the thesis. 3 Abstract This thesis presents a performer’s view of Galina Ustvolskaya and her music with the aim of demystifying her artistic persona. The author examines the creation of ‘Ustvolskaya Myth’ by critically analysing Soviet, Russian and Western literature sources, oral history on the subject and the composer’s personal recollections, and reveals paradoxes and parochial misunderstandings of Ustvolskaya’s personality and the origins of her music. Having examined all the available sources, the author argues that the ‘Ustvolskaya Myth’ was a self-made phenomenon that persisted due to insufficient knowledge on the subject. In support of the argument, the thesis offers a performer’s interpretation of Ustvolskaya as she is revealed in her music.
    [Show full text]
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Programs, Summer, 2001, Tanglewood
    SEMI OIAWA MUSIC DIRECTOR BERNARD HAITINK PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR • i DALE CHIHULY INSTALLATIONS AND SCULPTURE / "^ik \ *t HOLSTEN GALLERIES CONTEMPORARY GLASS SCULPTURE ELM STREET, STOCKBRIDGE, MA 01262 . ( 41 3.298.3044 www. holstenga I leries * Save up to 70% off retail everyday! Allen-Edmoi. Nick Hilton C Baccarat Brooks Brothers msSPiSNEff3svS^:-A Coach ' 1 'Jv Cole-Haan v2^o im&. Crabtree & Evelyn OB^ Dansk Dockers Outlet by Designs Escada Garnet Hill Giorgio Armani .*, . >; General Store Godiva Chocolatier Hickey-Freeman/ "' ft & */ Bobby Jones '.-[ J. Crew At Historic Manch Johnston & Murphy Jones New York Levi's Outlet by Designs Manchester Lion's Share Bakery Maidenform Designer Outlets Mikasa Movado Visit us online at stervermo OshKosh B'Gosh Overland iMrt Peruvian Connection Polo/Ralph Lauren Seiko The Company Store Timberland Tumi/Kipling Versace Company Store Yves Delorme JUh** ! for Palais Royal Phone (800) 955 SHOP WS »'" A *Wtev : s-:s. 54 <M 5 "J* "^^SShfcjiy ORIGINS GAUCftV formerly TRIBAL ARTS GALLERY, NYC Ceremonial and modern sculpture for new and advanced collectors Open 7 Days 36 Main St. POB 905 413-298-0002 Stockbridge, MA 01262 Seiji Ozawa, Music Director Ray and Maria Stata Music Directorship Bernard Haitink, Principal Guest Conductor One Hundred and Twentieth Season, 2000-2001 SYMPHONY HALL CENTENNIAL SEASON Trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. Peter A. Brooke, Chairman Dr. Nicholas T. Zervas, President Julian Cohen, Vice-Chairman Harvey Chet Krentzman, Vice-Chairman Deborah B. Davis, Vice-Chairman Vincent M. O'Reilly, Treasurer Nina L. Doggett, Vice-Chairman Ray Stata, Vice-Chairman Harlan E. Anderson John F. Cogan, Jr. Edna S.
    [Show full text]
  • Interpreting Tempo and Rubato in Chopin's Music
    Interpreting tempo and rubato in Chopin’s music: A matter of tradition or individual style? Li-San Ting A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of New South Wales School of the Arts and Media Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences June 2013 ABSTRACT The main goal of this thesis is to gain a greater understanding of Chopin performance and interpretation, particularly in relation to tempo and rubato. This thesis is a comparative study between pianists who are associated with the Chopin tradition, primarily the Polish pianists of the early twentieth century, along with French pianists who are connected to Chopin via pedagogical lineage, and several modern pianists playing on period instruments. Through a detailed analysis of tempo and rubato in selected recordings, this thesis will explore the notions of tradition and individuality in Chopin playing, based on principles of pianism and pedagogy that emerge in Chopin’s writings, his composition, and his students’ accounts. Many pianists and teachers assume that a tradition in playing Chopin exists but the basis for this notion is often not made clear. Certain pianists are considered part of the Chopin tradition because of their indirect pedagogical connection to Chopin. I will investigate claims about tradition in Chopin playing in relation to tempo and rubato and highlight similarities and differences in the playing of pianists of the same or different nationality, pedagogical line or era. I will reveal how the literature on Chopin’s principles regarding tempo and rubato relates to any common or unique traits found in selected recordings.
    [Show full text]
  • Red Note New Music Festival Program, 2013 School of Music Illinois State University
    Illinois State University ISU ReD: Research and eData Red Note New Music Festival Music 2013 Red Note New Music Festival Program, 2013 School of Music Illinois State University Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/rnf Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation School of Music, "Red Note New Music Festival Program, 2013" (2013). Red Note New Music Festival. 7. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/rnf/7 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Music at ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Red Note New Music Festival by an authorized administrator of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact [email protected]. calendar of events SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013 3 PM COMPOSER PRESENTATION CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS David Kirkland Garner centennial east building, room 229 2 - 2:50 pm the illinois state university wind symphony, conducted by daniel belongia, performs music composer david kirkland garner, winner of the by scott lindroth, john mackey, and paul dooley, composition competition, presents on his music as well as marcus maroney’s “rochambeau” (winner of the red note call for scores). COMPOSER Q&A - Tony Solitro MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2013 2-4 PM Kemp Recital Hall 4 - 5:30 pm KEMP RECITAL HALL composer tony solitro discusses his vocal music and career as a composer of opera and songs chicago-based spektral quartet leads a master class for string students in the illinois state university school of music string studio. TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013 8 PM KEMP RECITAL HALL MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2013 8 PM KEMP RECITAL HALL illinois state university faculty members and guest pianist blair mcmillen perform works of guest composer joan tower.
    [Show full text]
  • Wuorinen Printable Program
    The University at Buffalo Department of Music and The Robert & Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music present Celebrating Charles Wuorinen at 80 featuring Ensemble SIGNAL Brad Lubman, conductor Tuesday, April 24, 2018 7:30pm Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall PROGRAM Charles Wuorinen (b. 1938) iRidule Jacqueline Leclair, oboe soloist Spin 5 Olivia De Prato, violin soloist Intermission Megalith Eric Huebner, piano soloist PERSONNEL Ensemble Signal Brad Lubman, Music Director Paul Coleman, Sound Director Olivia De Prato, Violin Lauren Radnofsky, Cello Ken Thomson, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet Adrián Sandí, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet David Friend, Piano 1 Oliver Hagen, Piano 2 Karl Larson, Piano 3 Georgia Mills, Piano 4 Matt Evans, Vibraphone, Piano Carson Moody, Marimba 1 Bill Solomon, Marimba 2 Amy Garapic, Marimba 3 Brad Lubman, Marimba Sarah Brailey, Voice 1 Mellissa Hughes, Voice 2 Kirsten Sollek, Voice 4 Charles Wuorinen In 1970 Wuorinen became the youngest composer at that time to win the Pulitzer Prize (for the electronic work Time's Encomium). The Pulitzer and the MacArthur Fellowship are just two among many awards, fellowships and other honors to have come his way. Wuorinen has written more than 260 compositions to date. His most recent works include Sudden Changes for Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, Exsultet (Praeconium Paschale) for Francisco Núñez and the Young People's Chorus of New York, a String Trio for the Goeyvaerts String Trio, and a duo for viola and percussion, Xenolith, for Lois Martin and Michael Truesdell. The premiere of of his opera on Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain was was a major cultural event worldwide.
    [Show full text]
  • Ear and There Monday, February 8, 2010
    Earplay San Francisco Season Concerts 2010 Season Herbst Theatre, 7:30 PM Pre-concert talk 6:45 p.m. Earplay 25: Ear and there Monday, February 8, 2010 Bruce Christian Bennett , Sam Nichols, Kaija Saariaho Carlos Sanchez-Gutiérrez, Seymour Shifrin Earplay 25: Ear and There Earplay 25: Outside In Monday, March 22, 2010 February 8, 2010 Lori Dobbins, Michael Finnissy, Chris Trebue Moore Arnold Schoenberg, Judith Weir Earplay 25: Ports and Portals Monday, May 24, 2010 as part of the San Francisco International Arts Festival Jorge Liderman Hyo-shin NaWayne Peterson Tolga Yayalar earplay commission/world premiere Earplay commission West-Coast Premiere 2009 Winner, Earplay Donald Aird Memorial Composition Competition elcome to Earplay’s 25th San Francisco season. Our mission is to nurture new chamber music — W composition, performance, and audience —all vital components. Each concert features the renowned members of the Earplay ensemble performing as soloists and ensemble artists, along with special guests. Over twenty-five years, Earplay has made an enormous contribution to the bay area music community with new works commissioned each season. The Earplay ensemble has performed hundreds of works by more than two hundred Earplay 2010 composers including presenting more than one hundred world Donald Aird premieres. This season the ensemble continues exploring by performing works by composers new to Earplay. Memorial The 2010 season highlights the tremendous amount Composers Competition of innovation that happens here in the Bay Area. The season is a nexus of composers and performers adventuring into new Downloadable application at: musical realms. Most of the composers this season have strong www.earplay.org/competitions ties to the Bay Area — as home, a place of study or a place they create.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pedagogical Legacy of Johann Nepomuk Hummel
    ABSTRACT Title of Document: THE PEDAGOGICAL LEGACY OF JOHANN NEPOMUK HUMMEL. Jarl Olaf Hulbert, Doctor of Philosophy, 2006 Directed By: Professor Shelley G. Davis School of Music, Division of Musicology & Ethnomusicology Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837), a student of Mozart and Haydn, and colleague of Beethoven, made a spectacular ascent from child-prodigy to pianist- superstar. A composer with considerable output, he garnered enormous recognition as piano virtuoso and teacher. Acclaimed for his dazzling, beautifully clean, and elegant legato playing, his superb pedagogical skills made him a much sought after and highly paid teacher. This dissertation examines Hummel’s eminent role as piano pedagogue reassessing his legacy. Furthering previous research (e.g. Karl Benyovszky, Marion Barnum, Joel Sachs) with newly consulted archival material, this study focuses on the impact of Hummel on his students. Part One deals with Hummel’s biography and his seminal piano treatise, Ausführliche theoretisch-practische Anweisung zum Piano- Forte-Spiel, vom ersten Elementar-Unterrichte an, bis zur vollkommensten Ausbildung, 1828 (published in German, English, French, and Italian). Part Two discusses Hummel, the pedagogue; the impact on his star-students, notably Adolph Henselt, Ferdinand Hiller, and Sigismond Thalberg; his influence on musicians such as Chopin and Mendelssohn; and the spreading of his method throughout Europe and the US. Part Three deals with the precipitous decline of Hummel’s reputation, particularly after severe attacks by Robert Schumann. His recent resurgence as a musician of note is exemplified in a case study of the changes in the appreciation of the Septet in D Minor, one of Hummel’s most celebrated compositions.
    [Show full text]
  • City Research Online
    City Research Online City, University of London Institutional Repository Citation: Pace, I. (2012). Instrumental performance in the nineteenth century. In: Lawson, C. and Stowell, R. (Eds.), The Cambridge History of Musical Performance. (pp. 643-695). Cambridge University Press. This is the accepted version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/6305/ Link to published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521896115.027 Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. City Research Online: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/ [email protected] C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP-NEW/2654833/WORKINGFOLDER/LASL/9780521896115C26.3D 643 [643–695] 5.9.2011 7:13PM . 26 . Instrumental performance in the nineteenth century IAN PACE 1815–1848 Beethoven, Schubert and musical performance in Vienna from the Congress until 1830 As a major centre with a long tradition of performance, Vienna richly reflects
    [Show full text]
  • Connected by Music Dear Friends of the School of Music
    sonorities 2021 The News Magazine of the University of Illinois School of Music Connected by Music Dear Friends of the School of Music, Published for the alumni and friends of the ast year was my first as director of the school and as a member School of Music at the University of Illinois at of the faculty. It was a year full of surprises. Most of these Urbana-Champaign. surprises were wonderful, as I was introduced to tremendously The School of Music is a unit of the College of Lcreative students and faculty, attended world-class performances Fine + Applied Arts and has been an accredited on campus, and got to meet many of you for the first time. institutional member of the National Association Nothing, however, could have prepared any of us for the of Schools of Music since 1933. changes we had to make beginning in March 2020 with the onset of COVID-19. Kevin Hamilton, Dean of the College of Fine + These involved switching our spring and summer programs to an online format Applied Arts with very little notice and preparing for a fall semester in which some of our activi- Jeffrey Sposato, Director of the School of Music ties took place on campus and some stayed online. While I certainly would never Michael Siletti (PhD ’18), Editor have wished for a year with so many challenges, I have been deeply impressed by Design and layout by Studio 2D the determination, dedication, and generosity of our students, faculty, alumni, and On the cover: Members of the Varsity Men’s Glee friends.
    [Show full text]
  • William Kentridge Brings 'Wozzeck' Into the Trenches
    William Kentridge Brings ‘Wozzeck’ Into the Trenches The artist’s production of Berg’s brutal opera, updated to World War I, has come to the Metropolitan Opera. By Jason Farago (December 26, 2019) ”Credit...Devin Yalkin for The New York Times Three years ago, on a trip to Johannesburg, I had the chance to watch the artist William Kentridge working on a new production of Alban Berg’s knifelike opera “Wozzeck.” With a troupe of South African performers, Mr. Kentridge blocked out scenes from this bleak tale of a soldier driven to madness and murder — whose setting he was updating to the years around World War I, when it was written, through the hand-drawn animations and low-tech costumes that Metropolitan Opera audiences have seen in his stagings of Berg’s “Lulu” and Shostakovich’s “The Nose.” Some of what I saw in Mr. Kentridge’s studio has survived in “Wozzeck,” which opens at the Met on Friday. But he often works on multiple projects at once, and much of the material instead ended up in “The Head and the Load,” a historical pageant about the impact of World War I in Africa, which New York audiences saw last year at the Park Avenue Armory. Mr. Kentridge’s “Wozzeck” premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2017. Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times called it “his most elegant and powerful operatic treatment yet.” At the Met, the Swedish baritone Peter Mattei will sing the title role for the first time; Elza van den Heever, like Mr. Kentridge from Johannesburg, plays his common-law wife, Marie; and Yannick Nézet- Séguin, the company’s music director, will conduct.
    [Show full text]