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Film and the Arts

New York Philharmonic Ushers in a New Year at Carnegie Hall

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Monday, 07 February 2022 15:18; Written by Jack Angstreich

Branford Marsalis with the New York Philharmonic. Photo ©2022 Chris Lee.

On the evening of Thursday, January 6th, at Carnegie Hall, I had the great pleasure of hearing an excellent concert featuring the impressive New York Philharmonic under the sterling direction of the remarkable Finnish conductor, Susan Mälkki.

The program opened promisingly with an unfamiliar but marvelous work, the exciting An American Port of Call by contemporary African-American composer, Adolphus Hailstork. The celebrated jazz saxophonist, Branford Marsalis, then took the stage as soloist for the concerto for his instrument written by the eminent John Adams. There was a compelling propulsive segment in the first half of the piece but, regrettably, on the whole I had the impression that this is not one of his most engaging creations.

The true highlight of the event, however, was the second part of the performance, devoted to a magnificent reading of the extraordinary Fifth Symphony by Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. After a somewhat enigmatic—even mystical—introduction, the opening Allegro moderato attained moments of awesome grandeur as it unfolded, amidst turbulent episodes. The breathtaking execution and sheer wondrousness of the music garnered surprising applause at the movement’s conclusion. The lyrical beginning of the ensuing Andante mosso was succeeded by dancelike passages as well as instances of intense Romanticism, until the movement gradually acquired a portentous character before quietly closing. The finale began suspensefully while rapidly acquiring the majesty heralded at the work’s outset, achieving a stunning apotheosis.

The Philharmonic season continues at Lincoln Center while I hope for the return of this outstanding conductor to a local stage soon.

Kathleen Turner In “Finding My Voice” Gives Voice To Strong Views and Lengthy Career

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Thursday, 03 February 2022 15:19; Written by Brad Balfour

Kathleen Turner
“Finding My Voice”
Director: Andy Gale
Producer: Ken Davenport
Musical direction/arrangements/accompaniment: Mark Janas

Town Hall
123 W. 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
Thursday, December 16th

Recently when I got invited to see Kathleen Turner’s one-woman show Finding My Voice. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Certainly she was never seen as a mellifluous singer. But with her husky-smoky tonality, she applies her voice to offer commentary on a life of fame and money but one graced with a sense of social responsibility, too.

She filled out her solo stage performance with songs from the great American songbook, crooning hits such as It’s Only a Paper Moon, I’d Rather Be Sailing, On the Street Where You Live and Every Time We Say Goodbye. Showcasing not only her trademark voice, “Finding My Voice” proves to audiences that she can project a sense of intimacy cabaret-style even in a concert venue such as Town Hall.

She took the sizable audience on a quip-laden behind-the-scenes look at her extensive and well-documented career. She’s a talented performer, a stage and screen star, a notable name who has struggled with the travails of age in a world where women get the shit end of the stick as they grow older and seem less bankable.

As the 67-year-old actress has said: “When they know me, they love me.” People have been telling Turner about her career since she broke out in 1981’s Body Heat — a steamy thriller co-starring William Hurt. That film and “War of the Roses” both earned her Golden Globe nominations. Turner’s other movies include “Romancing the Stone” and “Prizzi’s Honor,” each of which also earned her a Golden Globe; Peggy Sue Got Married, which brought both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations to her. Turner supplied the voice of temptress Jessica Rabbit in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

kath For her stage work, she was nominated for Tonys in 1990 for playing Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and in 2005 for her performance as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opposite Bill Irwin. She also toured as Texas-based political columnist Molly Ivins in Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins. And she starred in Joan Didion’s solo drama, The Year of Magical Thinking, at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

Whether it was producers intimidated by her power at a young age or studio executives’ insistence that men sold more tickets than women, Turner has never walked away from a challenge. She maintains that those she’s worked closely with over the years regard her with respect — despite her reputation as a crusty diva. But her survival in this cut-throat business is testimony to her power of personality and an ability to earn continuing recognition.

For all those reasons, seeing her live on stage was a rare experience. That coupled with her strong progressive political views, self-deprecating humor and lighthearted takes on various standards made the night all the more worthwhile.

Directed by Andy Gale, Finding My Voice featured musical direction, arrangements and accompaniment from pianist Mark Janas. Though the show never took any really adventurous turns, this rarely seen, bluntly honest performance made the evening a memorable event. Packed with humor, classic music, and pointed insights spanning her lengthy career, it was a rare opportunity to see another aspect of her life.

February '22 Digital Week I

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Thursday, 03 February 2022 00:10; Written by Kevin Filipski

In-Theater/Streaming Release of the Week

A Taste of Hunger

(Magnolia Pictures)

Danish actress Katrine Greis-Rosenthal is one of the subtlest performers around today, with a remarkable ability to find the truth in her characters with a minimum of seeming effort, like her presence in Bille August’s masterly A Fortunate Man and here as Maggie, a brilliant foodie but unfulfilled wife in Cristoffer Boe’s smart, sassy anti-romcom about a top chef gunning for a Michelin star and the woman who was his muse and now is an anchor.

Greis-Rosenthal works superbly with the equally fine Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who makes the chef, Carsten, a captivating if bemusing mixture of talent, charisma and narcissism—but Boe shrewdly keeps the shifting dynamics of their relationship front and center rather than grounding the food, however tempting that may have been. The resulting fun, fulfilling fare is worth at least a few Michelin stars.

Blu-ray Releases of the Week

The Capture

(Film Detective)

John Sturges, a director of sturdy if unexceptional westerns like Bad Day at Black Rock and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, helmed this ordinary but diverting 1950 genre piece that throws together a widow, Ellen, with a young son and Lin, the man who accidentally killed her husband.

The storyline is certainly intriguing, but once Lin convinces Ellen he didn’t murder her husband in cold blood, she falls into arms even quicker than Lady Anne does with Shakespeare’s Richard III. Still, this is tidy, respectable filmmaking with an only semi-happy ending for purists. Too bad the film doesn’t look that spiffy in hi-def; extras are short featurettes on Sturges and actress Teresa Wright, who plays Ellen.

Little Girl

(Music Box)

Sébastien Lifshitz’s astonishing documentary follows a French family for a year to chart their lives as the youngest daughter Sasha deals with the fallout of her gender dysphoria, which includes stonewalling school administrators—who refuse to accept her “new” gender—and sympathetic doctors.

At the heart of the film, though, is a remarkably loving family whose acceptance gives Sasha what she needs at a very difficult time. The film looks terrific on Blu; extras include deleted scenes and three different interviews with Lifshitz.

Stage Fright

(Warner Archive)

This minor but entertaining 1950 Hitchcock mystery is the very definition of old-fashioned: Eve, an American drama student in London, hoping to clear Jonathan, an actor friend, of being framed for a murder, starts working as a maid for Charlotte, the legendary actress whose husband was suspiciously killed.

Hitchcock’s lean, economical direction makes this straightforward, unsurprising story workable, with fine performances from Jane Wyman (Eve), Marlene Dietrich (Charlotte) and even Alastair Sim (Eve’s father). There’s an excellent hi-def transfer; lone extra is a retrospective featurette.

DVD/Streaming Release of the Week

The Great Postal Heist

(Cinema Libre)

Jay Galione—whose father retired from a 30-year career at the US Post Office that was marred by accusations of wrongdoing he fought against—has made a polemical documentary that does exactly when it sets out to do: outrage viewers over how the USPS treats longtime employees (leading to some “going postal,” committing murder or suicide at work) and show how Congress—led by Republicans, of course—has been undermining the post office’s mandate and try and privatize it despite the Constitution’s specifically saying otherwise.

Through emotional interviews with current and former postal employees, family members, experts, executives and politicians, Galione paints an urgent portrait of another American institution that needs saving, not scrapping.

CD Release of the Week

Simone Dinnerstein—Undersong

(Orange Mountain)

For her third pandemic recording, adventurous pianist Simone Dinnerstein zeroes in on works that have a refrain, or a hook, that’s reiterated to the point of repetition, but as she notes in her always astute liner notes, that very act of repeating allows one to hear subtle changes in the music, which can provide a hypnotizing quality.

Indeed, in Erik Satie’s Gnossienne No. 3, for example, the spaces between the notes have never seemed so edge-of-the-seat, so tantalizing. And even Philip Glass’ Mad Rush, which can sound maddening in lesser hands, moves inexorably forward to its conclusion sounding almost imperceptibly different. Works by Robert Schumann—whose Kreisleriana is a masterpiece of piano writing—and François Couperin are also heard, with the latter’s Les Barricades Mystérieueses bookending the recording, and sounding ever so slightly—but emotionally—transformed when heard at the end of this rewarding journey.

75 Years of The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Wednesday, 02 February 2022 10:00; Written by Jack Angstreich

Vasily Petrenko conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Photo by Richard Termine

At Carnegie Hall, on the evening of Monday, January 31st, I had the privilege to attend a memorable concert featuring the fine Royal Philharmonic Orchestra—in its first appearance at this venue in twenty years—under the effective direction of Vasily Petrenko. The conductor addressed the audience at the outset, noting that this is the 75th anniversary of this ensemble and that it was the first international orchestra since March 2020 to tour the United States.

The program opened splendidly with an excellent version of the extraordinary Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten. The evocative “Dawn” was succeeded by the ebullient, impressionistic “Sunday Morning,” followed by the mystical “Moonlight,” concluding glitteringly with the tumultuous and thrilling “Storm” movement.

The accomplished Kian Soltani then took the stage as soloist in a credible account of Edward Elgar’s enduring Cello Concerto. After a mournful introduction, the body of the first movement was by turns elegiac, lyrical, inward and even sprightly—a complex journeying through variegated moods that drew unexpected applause. The ensuing Lento was even more melancholy but with a playful scherzo section. The third movement was soulful, preceding a rousing finale. As an exquisite encore, Soltani presented his delightful arrangement for cello ensemble of the marvelous Introduction from Dmitri Shostakovich’s score for the 1955 Soviet film, The Gadfly—notable for an adapted screenplay by the eminent Formalist critic and theorist, Viktor Shklovsky.

The second half of the concert was devoted to an absorbing realization of the acclaimed and wonderful The Planets by Gustav Holst, which received applause after several of the individual movements. It began with the riveting “Mars, Bringer of War” and the luminous “Venus, the Bringer of Peace.” There was a fanciful reading of “Mercury, the Winged Messenger” before a celebratory “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” and a somber “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age.” “Uranus, the Magician” was humorous and ultimately triumphant while, at long last, “Neptune, the Mystic” proved enigmatic and enchanted, a signal influence of the famous film scores of Bernard Herrmann. An enthusiastic ovation elicited another terrific encore: the exhilarating "Dance of the Tumblers" from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1873 incidental music for the first production of the play, The Snow Maiden, by Aleksander Ostrovsky. I look forward to a less prolonged reappearance of these impressive musicians to a New York house.

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