The New York Philharmonic offers their first performance of Gyorgy Ligeti’s Violin Concerto this week with German violinist Christian Tetzlaff. For those of you unfamiliar with Ligeti, he’s the guy that wrote that really creepy music for Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (which Ligeti never approved of, BTW.) You can hear the piece on a full program with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue and Schumann’s 3rd symphony, or you can catch it as the featured piece in tomorrow’s Hear and Now concert at 6:45, hosted by composer Stephen Stucky.
I’ve attended several Hear and Now concerts over the past two seasons, and I’ve found them truly enjoyable, with video projections, live musical excerpts, and commentary, usually from the composer themselves. (Ligeti had been scheduled to appear at tomorrow’s concert, before his untimely death last June.) Unfortunately, they have been sparsely attended, and it appears the Philharmonic is discontinuing them after this season, so this is your last chance.