{"id":6009,"date":"2012-07-11T13:23:13","date_gmt":"2012-07-11T17:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=6009"},"modified":"2012-08-02T22:05:29","modified_gmt":"2012-08-03T02:05:29","slug":"summertime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=6009","title":{"rendered":"Summertime"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sedgwick Clark<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am relieved to say that the concert \u201cseason,\u201d such as it used to be, is officially over. Nothing like three mostly concertless months to revivify one\u2019s passion for the art. There are a few\u00a0scattered enticements\u00a0here and there, as well as three Mostly Moz concerts on the horizon\u2014a preconcert recital of works by Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky with the amazing 18-year-old pianist Conrad Tao, hearing Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director-designate Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin for the first time in concert, Louis Langr\u00e9e leading works by Lutos\u0142awski, Bart\u00f3k, and, of all composers, Mozart. But that\u2019s it so far. I hope to catch up on some recent CDs and will report accordingly.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also been surprised by the number of people who keep asking me when I\u2019m going to post photos from my Africa jaunt in May. The wildlife and terrain were certainly photogenic, and I even took some video\u2014nothing dramatic, of course, but it\u2019s kind of amazing to be a few feet from a grazing rhinoceros family and have a cheetah nuzzle your leg like a house cat. I hope to get them organized for next week.<\/p>\n

Son of The Mentalist<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A new TNT series called Perception <\/em>made its debut on Monday evening (7\/9). It\u2019s about a schizophrenic professor of neurology who has hallucinations, solves murders, and is addicted to doing crossword puzzles while listening to the Scherzo of Mahler\u2019s First Symphony. At one point he peevishly ejects his cassette and says to his student assistant, \u201cThat\u2019s the von Karajan recording\u2014I wanted the Solti.\u201d Reality check: There is<\/em> no Karajan recording of the Mahler First. (The conductor decided not to record the First, according to British record executive Peter Alward, quoted in Richard Osborne\u2019s authoritative Karajan biography, because it was \u201ctoo Jewish.\u201d) So is the script writer pulling our leg or is he<\/em> hallucinating? At the fadeout, the professor is having a hallucinogenic conversation with a sympathetic former girlfriend; she disappears as his student assistant walks up, hands him a cassette, and he begins to listen with a smile on his face. Must be the Solti Mahler First.<\/p>\n

Lacombe\u2019s Tenure Extended in New Jersey<\/strong><\/p>\n

The New Jersey Symphony has extended the tenure of Jacques Lacombe, its music director since October 2010, through the 2015-16 season. His programs are often imaginative, and the orchestra is playing well, with especially fine string tone. I\u2019ve heard concerts in Newark and the impressive Spring for Music appearance in May at Carnegie Hall in which he partnered the Canadian pianist Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin in Busoni\u2019s monumental Piano Concerto. He seems like a musician committed to growing with the orchestra rather than using the position as a personal stepping stone. Let\u2019s hope they perform at Carnegie again soon.<\/p>\n

Looking forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

My week\u2019s scheduled concerts:<\/p>\n

7\/16 at 6:30, Le Poisson Rouge. Harumi Rhodes (violin) and Friends. Works by Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen, and Takemitsu.<\/p>\n