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Lise Davidsen Performs Schubert at Carnegie Hall

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Wednesday, 10 June 2026 14:07; Written by Jack Angstreich

Photo by Stephanie Berger

At the wonderful Stern Auditorium, on the night of Friday, June 6th, I had the exceptional privilege to attend a superb recital—presented by Carnegie Hall—of extraordinary lieder by Franz Schubert, sung by the magnificent soprano Lise Davidsen, splendidly accompanied by pianist James Baillieu.

The event started very auspiciously with "Am Bach im Frühlinge," D. 361, set to a text by Franz von Schober, one of the composer’s closest friends. Next was "Ganymed," D. 544, the first of numerous settings of poems by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, a towering figure in world literature—this lyric was notable for its surprising homoeroticism. The following "Der Zwerg," D. 771, with a text by Matthias von Collin, was remarkable for its suggestion of a perverse sexuality. The succeeding "Gretchen am Spinnrade," D. 118, from Goethe’s masterwork, Faust, is one of the composer’s most celebrated works and was a highlight of the evening.

This preceded a series of settings of poems from the same author’s immense Bildungsroman, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, which served as the basis for the great Wim Wenders film from 1975, Wrong Move, which lamentably was recently withdrawn from circulation. The earliest of the series and the first to be performed this evening was "Kennst du das Land," D. 321. The next three selections were from a single work of 1826, Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister, D. 877, beginning with the second version of “Heiss mich nicht reden,” followed by the fourth and final version of “So last mich scheinen,” and concluding with the last of six settings of “Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt.” The first half of the program closed with another famous song, “Death and the Maiden,” D. 531, set to verse by Matthias Claudius.

The second half of the recital was maybe even stronger, opening with Goethe’s "Der Musensohn," D. 764, and "Lachen und Weinen," D. 777, set to a text from Friedrich Rückert’s Oriental Roses. (He was one of the better poets that the composer adapted and famously was the source for many amazing songs by Gustav Mahler.) Another of the finest moments from the event was the performance of another beautiful Goethe setting, "Suleika I," D. 720. The next selection,

"Auf dem See," D. 543, was from a text by the same writer, and this was followed by "Der blinde Knabe," D. 833, set to a poem by Jakob Nikolaus Craigher de Jachelutta, itself a translation of 18th-century English verse by Colley Cibber.

The pinnacle of the event was probably the next song, another Rückert setting, "Du bist die Ruh," D. 776, one of the composer’s most glorious creations—it was very memorably recorded in recent years by the amazing countertenor, Andreas Scholl. The recital continued with "Die Allmacht," D. 852, from a text by Johann Ladislaus Pyrker, and

"Die junge Nonne," D. 828, from another Craigher poem. The next selection, "Erlkönig," D. 328, another Goethe setting, is one of Schubert’s most famous and celebrated songs. The program proper ended with one of its most exquisite works, "Litanei auf das Fest aller Seelen," D. 343, from a text by Johann Georg Jacobi. Enthusiastic applause elicited two marvelous encores written by the same composer: another Schober setting, “A die Musik,” D. 547, and “An die Natur,” D. 372.

Broadway Play Review—David Auburn’s “Proof” with Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Wednesday, 10 June 2026 02:46; Written by Kevin Filipski

Proof

Written by David Auburn; directed by Thomas Kail

Performances through July 19, 2026

Majestic Theater, 245 West 44th Street, NYC

proofbroadway.com

Kara Young and Ayo Edebiri in Proof (photo: Matthew Murphy)

David Auburn’s Proof—which won pretty much every award after its 2000 premiere—is the rare play that tackles complex issues accessibly but intelligently. Very funny and profoundly moving in its examination of the fraught intersection between genius and mental imbalance, Proof centers on Catherine, who dropped out of college to care for her beloved father, the mathematical wizard and esteemed professor Robert. Auburn shrewdly opens his play with a witty but thoughtful scene between daughter and father, where we discover the layers of their knotty relationship as well as the fact that he has recently died.

Catherine navigates complicated feelings about her father as Hal, a young professor whom Robert mentored, is in the house going through the voluminous papers Robert left behind; and Claire, her pragmatic older sister who wants to take Catherine back to New York to start a new life away from Chicago, has arrived for the funeral. Although Catherine has inherited her father’s math genius, when Hal discovers a brilliantly argued proof among the papers, he assumes it’s Robert’s and hesitates to believe Catherine when she says it’s hers. For her part, Claire tends to share Hal’s skepticism.

When Proof premiered a quarter-century ago, Mary Louise Parker played Catherine with her usual effortless mastery, by turns depressed and buoyant, ironical and sentimental. Surprisingly—or maybe unsurprisingly, considering it’s Hollywood—in the 2005 screen adaptation, Parker was bypassed for Gwyneth Paltrow, whose paltry portrayal irrevocably damaged the film.

In Thomas Kail’s absorbing new production, Ayo Edebiri plays Catherine quite differently than Parker and Paltrow but is happily closer to the former. Edebiri is less obviously assertive than Parker was, but her bemused, Zen-like calm is another valid way to show Catherine dealing with both her father’s legacy and the possibility that she may have inherited both his genius and his madness. Don Cheadle is a charmingly low-key Robert, Kara Young reins in her innate dazzlingness to make Claire a practical but smothering sister, and Jin Ha’s Hal amusingly fumbles about while revering Robert’s legacy and falling in love with Catherine.

Kail’s sturdy direction is fortified by Amanda Zieve’s canny lighting, Justin Ellington and Connor Wang’s clever sound design and Theresa L. Williams’ colorful set design. But centering it all is David Auburn’s foolproof script, which is mathematical in design but humane in execution.

Philadelphia Orchestra Take Part in "United in Sound: America at 250"

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Monday, 08 June 2026 13:41; Written by Jack Angstreich

Photo by Chris Lee

At the wonderful Stern Auditorium, on the night of Friday, May 29th, I had the great privilege of attending a superb concert—presented by Carnegie Hall as part of its festival, United in Sound: America at 250—played by the outstanding musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the expert direction of Marin Alsop.

The event started brilliantly with an exceptionally satisfying realization of Ludwig van Beethoven’s magnificent Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, which was completed in 1812. The composer referred to it as “one of the happiest products of my poor talents.” Richard Wagner described it thus:

All tumult, all yearning and storming of the heart, become here the blissful insolence of joy, which carries us away with bacchanalian power through the roomy space of nature, through all the streams and seas of life, shouting in glad self-consciousness as we sound throughout the universe the daring strains of this human sphere-dance. The symphony is the Apotheosis of the Dance itself: It is Dance in its highest aspect, the loftiest deed of bodily motion, incorporated into an ideal mold of tone.

The initial movement’s extended, Poco sostenuto introduction has a certain nobility even as it is pregnant with tension; its Vivace main body is largely jubilant and soul-stirring but the composer’s mastery of contrast accounts for its sustained sense of drama throughout—it closes forcefully and affirmatively. The ensuing, celebrated Allegretto is solemn and rhythmic, building in intensity, but alternating with sunnier, almost pastoral sections, and features an impressive fugue as it approaches its finish; it concludes abruptly, if somewhat tentatively. The succeeding scherzo, marked Presto, is dance-like and also lively, even rousing, but the Assai meno presto Trios have a stately quality—it too ends quite suddenly. The Allegro con brio finale is propulsive, even breathless in momentum, and generally exultant in character; it closes triumphantly.

The second half of the evening was at least equally memorable. It began with three marvelous works for a small jazz ensemble led by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis: Carlos Henríquez’s "La Cumbia de Paz," Nduduzo Makhathini’s "Unembeza" (arranged by Marcus Printup), and Elliot Mason’s "Origin."

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra then joined the Philadelphia Orchestra for a fabulous performance of three terrific excerpts from Marsalis’s The Jungle (Symphony No. 4), from 2016. The composer has said the following about the piece:

New York City is the most fluid, pressure-packed, and cosmopolitan metropolis the modern world has ever seen.

The dense mosaic of all kinds of people everywhere doing all kinds of things encourages you to “stay in your lane,” but the speed, freedom, and intensity of our relationships to each other—and to the city itself—forces us onto a collective superhighway unlike any other in our country.

About the first movement, he added:

“The Big Scream (Black Elk Speaks)” represents nervous energy, the primal soul of our city as maintained across time. It reflects on our Native American roots and the many forms of strife we have endured in an attempt to negotiate this small space with and without each other.

It is often urgent in expression, but also leisurely at times, and finishes quietly. On the fifth movement, he said:

Although we are gritty and brusque by day, we can also be romance, elegance, and sophistication by night. “Us” is what it means to be with, against, and up against another.

It is more relaxed and charming and becomes more playful as it unfolds, and concludes gently too. On the sixth movement, he continues:

The city is driven ever forward by more and more profit and the myth of unlimited growth for the purpose of ownership and seclusion. Some form of advertisement occupies every available space. “Struggle in the Digital Market” asks, “Will we seek and find more equitable long-term solutions ... or perish?”

This is energetic, even agitated at first, but it soon reflects a brighter outlook, ending softly.

The artists deservedly received a standing ovation.

June '26 Digital Week I

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Thursday, 04 June 2026 15:10; Written by Kevin Filipski

Film Series of the Week

Louis Malle: Portraits of America

(Metrograph, NYC)

French director Louis Malle (1932-95) was best known for intelligent and provocative films like his incest comedy Murmur of the Heart and two Nazi Occupation dramas, Lacombe, Lucien and Au Revoir, Les Enfants, but he was also a heartfelt chronicler of an America that could only be seen by an outsider. This series includes several such films, including his 1978 “success de scandale” Pretty Baby, with a 12-year-old Brooke Shields as a child prostitute, and his witty Atlantic City, with an excellent Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, from a scabrously funny John Guare script.

Also included are Malle’s sympathetic documentary portraits of his adopted country during the Reagan presidency that show those left behind: 1985’s God’s Country (farmers) and 1986’s And the Pursuit of Happiness … (immigrants). There’s also a new doc, Louis Malle, Le Révolté (Louis Malle, The Rebel) by Claire Duguet, which—though too short (75 minutes)—effectively hits on the major themes of Malle’s life and career. This essential series was curated by Malle’s daughters Chloé and Justine. (metrograph.com)

In-Theater Releases of the Week

Carolina Caroline

(Magnolia Pictures)

If it wasn’t for the winning presence of Samara Weaving—an actress who always seems to elevate the lame movies she’s usually stuck in—as Caroline, a young woman who falls for the charming but dangerous Oliver and follows him on a deadly Bonnie and Clyde-like excursion across Texas, then Adam Carter Rehmeier’s derivative drama (the obvious script is by William Thomas Dean IV) would be even less palatable.

Routine and predictable for much of its length—even Kyle Gallner’s charismatically villainous Oliver is unoriginal—this is yet another film that wastes poor Weaving.

The Currents

(Kino Lorber)

After successful designer Lina impulsively leaps from a bridge into icy Swiss waters, upon her return home to Buenos Aires she finds it difficult to return to normal life in Argentine-Swiss writer-director Milagros Mumenthaler’s sometimes opaque but mostly trenchant character study.

Although a few moments of fantasy and surreal touches aren’t always successful, the director’s intimate glimpse into this fragile woman’s psyche is greatly assisted by Isabel Aimé González Sola, a bracingly natural actress who makes Lina an elegantly empathetic protagonist.

Forastera

(Grasshopper Film)

Teenager Cata’s beloved grandmother Catalina dies, and Cata herself discovers her body—this leads to her trying to deal with her grief in ever more confusing ways in Lucía Aleñar Iglesias’ achingly intimate chamber drama.

Anchored by Zoe Stein’s magnificent and moving performance, Iglesias’ film shows how those we loved and lost are still among us in different ways, whether in our memories or otherwise, as her infinitely suggestive final shot underlines.

Streaming Release of the Week

Blum: Masters of Their Own Destiny

(Icarus Films)

The fascinating true story of Emerik Blum, a Bosnian-Jewish businessman whose Yugoslav company Energoinvest was successfully run as a socialist collective of sorts (women workers were paid the same as men), is recounted in Jasmila Žbanić’s concise but often illuminating documentary.

The film is structured from valuable archival footage and interviews with many of those involved, including Blum and several colleagues, but it would have been even more interesting if Žbanić had given more time to delving into Blum’s personal history—his family was murdered during the Holocaust, which is mentioned but not gone into in any depth.

CD Release of the Week

Thomas de Hartmann—Esther

(Pentatone)

Thomas de Hartmann (1884-1956) was a Ukrainian composer who composed this neglected opera—based on the Biblical story of Esther, who saved the Jewish people from annihilation—in Paris during World War II, which also threatened the very existence of the Jewish people.

This world-premiere recording displays the de Hartmann opera’s strengths, notably the lyrical vocal writing, although it also brings its static nature to the fore. Still, it’s a treat to be able to hear this valuable work in its entirety, and it’s performed superbly by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under conductor Kirill Karabits and sung beautifully by a top cast led by American soprano Corinne Winters as Esther.

Reviews

Lise Davidsen Performs Schubert at Carnegie Hall

Broadway Play Review—David Auburn’s “Proof” with Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle

Philadelphia Orchestra Take Part in "United in Sound: America at 250"

June '26 Digital Week I

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