8 THENEWYORKER,DECEMBER2, 2019
ILLUSTRATION BY LUCY JONES
It’s the time of year when holiday festivities and retail bustle leave tranquillity
in short supply—which makes the pianist Ashlee Mack’s already attractive
concert an even more alluring prospect. Mack, who performs on Dec. 2, on
what would normally be a dark night for the Stone at the New School, plays
James Romig’s “Still,” a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize. The hour-long
piece, inspired by the painter Clyfford Still’s radiant color-field abstractions,
moves through forty-three continuous iterations, played gently and slowly; its
alternating sparseness and density develop with the naturalness of breathing.
An excellent recording, issued last year, is proof that Mack is a compelling
and sure-handed advocate for this contemplative piece.—Steve SmithRECITALS
nabbing a rare exclusive recording contract
with Decca. Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of
Spades,” a stormy work with startling emo-
tional swings and dense orchestrations, is a
sensible vehicle for Davidsen’s gifts, providing
her with moments to shine without forcing
her to carry the show alone. She takes the role
of Lisa, a woman driven to desperation by
her love for the deranged gambler Hermann,
played by the tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko;
Vasily Petrenko conducts.—Oussama Zahr
(Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 at 7:30.)Concerts on the Slope
St. John’s Episcopal Church
The cellist Benjamin Larsen started Concerts
on the Slope, in 2012, as a forum for young
musicians to present thoughtfully curated pro-
grams. In the series’ home base, at St. John’s
Episcopal Church, in Park Slope, Larsen and
his colleagues present a concert of string quar-
tets by American composers. Robert Sirota’s
“Wave Upon Wave” is the third in his trilogy of
quartets; at the time of its première, Sirota said
that it “is about our fears, our hopes, and our
prayers that we will triumph over the forces of
darkness which threaten to overwhelm us.” In
that vein, Samuel Barber’s Quartet in B Minor
offers its middle movement, the nearly anthe-
mic “Adagio for Strings,” as a monument to
grief and catharsis.—Hélène Werner (Dec. 1 at 3.)“Noël”
St. Ignatius of Antioch Church
Ravenous consumers of Christmas fare can
sample something new in this concert of festive
Baroque music, played by the American Classi-
cal Orchestra. Corelli’s sumptuous “Christmas
Concerto” has storms and shivers and a choco-
late-box ending. Scarlatti’s “Cantata Pastorale,”
for which the soprano Nola Richardson joins
the players, was written with feasting Popes and
cardinals in mind—its orchestrations are rich,
but the “fortunate shepherds” sound a little
prim. The carolling “Symphonie des Noëls,” by
de Lalande, evokes something more pungent and
profane: medieval dances, laced with hints of
the donkey and the manger.—F.M. (Dec. 3 at 7.)Talea Ensemble
Americas Society
The omnivorous, invaluable Talea Ensemble
presents the première of an evening-length
work by David Adamcyk, a Canadian com-
poser, installation artist, and sound engineer.
Adamcyk describes “Father, My Father” as a
reflection on the #MeToo movement from
a father’s perspective; the piece involves an
immersive audio collage of recorded poems,
texts, and interview fragments that represent
different ages and perspectives, played in alter-
nation with segments of live music featuring
the incisive soprano Lucy Dhegrae. Admission
is free, but reservations are strongly encour-
aged.—Steve Smith (Dec. 3 at 7.)Ensemble Connect
Weill Recital Hall
Ensemble Connect, a versatile Carnegie Hall
house band made up of young professionalsof the record in a one-night-only engagement
at the Apollo Theatre.—Julyssa Lopez (Dec. 2.)
Sam Amidon/Xylouris White
Le Poisson Rouge
On Sam Amidon’s latest EP, “Fatal Flower
Garden,” he explores a snippet of “Anthology
of American Folk Music,” the fabled six-album
dive into the musical underbelly of the twenties
and thirties. Amidon may seem a placid ambas-
sador for such sounds, yet, given his upbringing
in Vermont bohemia and his immersion in folk,
the music lives in his bones. He splits this bill
with Xylouris White, a dazzling lute-and-drums
duo with its own deep-rooted tradition (Cretan
folk) and hippie heritage: its lutist, George
Xylouris, grew up accompanying his dad, the
lyre virtuoso Psarantonis.—J.R. (Dec. 3.)
Berhana
Elsewhere
Berhana hinted at the easy coolness of his
alt-R.& B. sound on “Grey Luh,” a laid-back
ode to longing that piqued the interest of the
creator of “Atlanta,” Donald Glover, who fea-
tured the song on the show last year. The cameo
gave Berhana a whoosh of momentum that
ushered him into his studio début, “HAN,”
from October. The album is configured like a
plane ride through his influences, with in-flight
1
CLASSICALMUSIC
Daniil Trifonov
David Geffen Hall
For Daniil Trifonov’s first appearance as the
New York Philharmonic’s new artist-in-resi-
dence, he plays the lone, ecstatic piano con-
certo by Scriabin, another epochally accom-
plished Russian pianist; Jaap van Zweden
conducts, with Tchaikovsky’s luminous Sym-
phony No. 5 as the program’s other half. Near
the end of his four-night run, Trifonov shows
off his version of a lazy Sunday afternoon,
appearing at the 92nd Street Y with the Phil’s
in-house quartet (Dec. 1 at 3). They’ll play
string quartets by Mozart (K. 387) and Ravel,
and give Trifonov’s own Quintetto Concer-
tante its New York première.—Fergus McIntosh
(Nov. 27 and Dec. 3 at 7:30 and Nov. 29-30 at 8.)“The Queen of Spades”
Metropolitan Opera House
The fresh-voiced Wagnerian soprano Lise Da-
vidsen arrives for her Met début after winning
the Operalia vocal competition, in 2015, andannouncements that pop up between touches of
soul, disco, and Japanese funk.—J.L. (Dec. 3.)