Kenneth Woods- A View From the Podium

It was a fine evening of music with the SMP- Schumann and Haydn make for a very good pair anytime they appear on the same program together. Both criminally under-rated, both great inventors and innovators, both with supreme wit…

On top of this, they both seem masters of those moments that make you want to stop in the middle of the concert (or even just 10 seconds before the end of the concert!) and say “did you hear that!?!?!?!?! That is pure genius! Let me show you what Haydn just did! Let me show you what wonders Schumann has tucked away in the texture here.” There are so many moments of magic in these pieces that probably get missed on first, second and tenth hearing.

Read more…