Attended four concerts at the 2025 TIME:SPANS Contemporary Music Festival in NYC, featuring Ensemble Nikel, Christopher Trapani, Bekah Simms, and more, showcased cutting-edge sound art and offered a glimpse of the present and future of global contemporary music.
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From the left, Lori Freedman (Bass Clarinet), Gabriel Dufour-Laperrière (Sound Engineer), Geneviève Liboiron (Violin), Daniel Aniez García (Piano), Steven Kazuo Takasugi (Musical Direction), Sarah Albu (Soprano), Huei Lin (Video Artist), Emilie Girard-Charest (Cello), Noam Bierstone (Percussion, and production leader), Jeff D’Ambrosio (Lighting), and Felix Del Tredici (Bass Trombone) TIME:SPANS 2025
Il Teatro Rosso - 赤い劇場
Montreal's Red Theater merges poetry, sound, video, and performance into a total artwork. Takasugi and Huei Lin’s score, performed by seven vaudevillians, blends chaotic microtones with vivid visuals, dissolving illusions and evoking infinity. At Time: Spans 2025, the ensemble, led by Noam Bierstone, revealed mastery over time, space, and perception.
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Webern
Balse told me about Leica.
It captures shadows, not light.
In music, it can be said to reflect silence rather than sound.
And then, an old memory came back: when we lived in the same apartment and listened to Webern's Op. 7 (1910) together.
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Clara Iannotta
A few years ago, I got a sudden phone call from a friend to tell me that a family member had passed away. I was very confused. For better or worse, any encounter with contemporary music begins with confusion. As I listen, I get used to it, and sometimes I can see it much more clearly than I do now. This is because the stimulation reaches parts of the brain that I haven't used before, activating my senses.
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amor fati
After listening to Kreisleriana, I remembered Kurtág's "Martha Ligature," which I heard in April at Uchida's recital. Kurtág studied unity using as few materials as possible. He was also fascinated by Webern.
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Kreisleriana
I received a photo letter from Balse.
There were a few words in it.
After reading, I looked up the schedule for next May and found that I will be listening to Schumann's Kreisleriana.
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To future Siegfried
LA Phil classics on 2025-2056
Extensive symphonic experience and exceptional soloists at LA Philharmonic.
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Severance Hall, Cleveland
THE ROOTS OF FORGIVENESS, Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, Ohio
The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst performed Janáček’s Jenufa at Severance Hall (May 25). With Nina Stemme as Kostelnička, the music’s raw motifs and immediacy revealed Janáček’s deep empathy for ordinary lives. Unlike New York, the intimacy of Severance Hall revived the author’s youthful passion for music.
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The five must-see works at the Metropolitan Opera in 2025-26
The Met’s 2025–26 must-sees: Tchaikovsky’s Onegin with a world-renowned diva, Wagner’s Tristan under Yannick and Sharon’s new staging, Strauss’ poignant Arabella, Saariaho’s contemporary Innocence, and a fresh production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
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Tchaikovsky's Salvation, Queen of Spades at Met Opera
At the Met’s Queen of Spades, Herman, consumed by gambling, betrays Lisa to learn the Countess’s secret, leading to Lisa’s suicide and his own. Tchaikovsky’s drama blends corrupted aristocracy, aching folk songs, and Herman’s tormented passions. Stunning contrasts of love, riveting choruses, and Sonya Yoncheva’s tragic Lisa made it unforgettable.
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New Salome at The Met
Claus Guth’s new Salome at the Met reimagines Strauss’ 1905 shocker with seven Salomes, tracing abuse, obsession, and fractured identity. Transparent orchestral colors heighten the perverse, ecstatic drama, while Elsa’s portrayal adds compassion over pure decadence. Childhood, violence, and desire fuse in a haunting 21st-century vision.
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Nelsons and Boston Symphony tell Shostakovich's Nabat
At Carnegie Hall, the BSO and Andris Nelsons performed an all-Shostakovich program with Yo-Yo Ma in the Cello Concerto No. 1 and the Symphony No. 11. Before playing, Ma said, “We play Shostakovich so that no death is ever just a statistic.” The concerto’s D-S-C-H motif, ironic colors, and Russian soul resonated deeply, honoring the composer’s legacy.
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Boston Symphony and Nelsons tell Shostakovich's magic spel at Carnegie Hall
4.23.2025. Andris Nelsons led the BSO with Mitsuko Uchida in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, her quiet intensity evoking a sense of struggle, fragility, and resolve. Shostakovich’s final Symphony No. 15 followed—whimsical, grotesque, and haunted by death. The concert felt less about form than shared spirit, Boston’s essence shining through.
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Mitsuko Uchida Carnegie Hall Recital
Pianist Uchida's recital (Apr 9) paired Beethoven’s Sonata Op.90, Schoenberg’s atonal Op.11, Kurtág’s elegy, and Schubert’s final Sonata D960. With clarity and depth, she traced battles of head and heart, Schoenberg’s freedom, Kurtág’s grief, and Schubert’s fragile late beauty—an intimate journey across centuries of sound.
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Joana Mallwitz - Metropolitan Opera debut by true globalist comedy
At the Met, Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro reveals 18th-century aristocratic life through human drama and elegant polyphony. Under Joana Mallwitz, the orchestra’s dynamics highlight solos and recitatives, while a diverse cast portrays love, jealousy, and forgiveness. The Count’s apology brings a moving coda, blending humor, emotion, and harmony.
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Chochieva's Carnegie Debut
Zlata Chochieva’s Carnegie Hall debut (Apr 2) showcased Bach, Schumann, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and Mendelssohn. Her delicate tone, deep expression, and nuanced control brought out both youthful intensity and mature depth. The recital, capped by Rachmaninoff and Villa-Lobos encores, was a masterful and memorable debut.
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Julia Fischer and Jan Lisiecki's Spring battle in New York
Julia Fischer and Jan Lisiecki performed at the newly renovated David Geffen Hall on April 1st. Their program featured Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, highlighting the evolving violin-piano dialogue: Mozart’s piano leads, Beethoven balances both, and Schumann favors the violin. The hall’s intimate acoustics enhanced the purity of Mozart, the expansiveness of Beethoven, and the passion of Schumann, while the performers’ interplay created a thrilling, deeply expressive evening, capped by two encores.
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Welser-Möst and Cleveland Orchestra's 23rd years fate at Carnegie Hall
Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall on March 19, presenting Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Mösto’s passionate direction revealed every nuance, from Petrushka’s playful mischief to Tchaikovsky’s portrayal of fate. The orchestra’s precision, expressive solos, and vivid storytelling made for an emotionally powerful, masterful evening.
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Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra - Fighter for freedom at Carnegie Hall
Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra faced challenges but triumphed in their 23rd New York concert. They opened with Beethoven’s “Fate” Symphony, performed Janáček’s poignant suite from From the House of the Dead, and ended with Beethoven’s Leonore No. 3, celebrating freedom, courage, and human dignity with deep sincerity and passion.
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