Stradisphere — May 19, 2026

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s premiere of Tyshawn Sorey’s "For Marilyn Crispell" reconfigures the piano as a site of resonance rather than a vehicle for display. By prioritizing sostenuto (the holding of a note for its full value) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sostenuto], Sorey constructs a landscape of static harmonic blocks that avoids the kinetic development typical of the concerto form. The decision to pair this with the 1873 version of Bruckner’s Third Symphony—the "Wagner" Symphony—is a rare instance of intelligent programming. [Score on IMSLP. Where the later revisions of the Bruckner attempt to smooth out the composer's architectural disruptions, the 1873 original embraces the same unyielding sonic masses found in Sorey’s score. The program frames both works not as narratives, but as tectonic shifts in sound.

The passing of soprano Felicity Lott at 79 signals the end of a specific lineage of English Strauss singing defined by Glyndebourne and the late-century EMI recording culture. Lott’s vocalism was anchored in a precise portamento (a smooth slide between two pitches) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portamento] and a mastery of rubato (the expressive stretching of time within a phrase) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo_rubato] that felt organic rather than applied. Unlike the high-pressure vocal production favoured by modern houses for Strauss’s Marschallin or Arabella, Lott’s approach was essentially Mozartian—valuing clarity of line and verbal wit over sheer decibel count. Her career was a 40-year argument that authority on stage is a matter of poise and prosody, not volume. She remains the definitive counter-example to the industrialization of the lyric soprano voice.

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has extended the leadership of David Finckel and Wu Han through 2032, securing a quarter-century of aesthetic continuity. This long-range tenure is an American anomaly, more reminiscent of the mid-century European Kammermusik (instrumental music played by a small ensemble) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_music] tradition where long-term curation built a distinct institutional sound. At a time when major US orchestras and festivals cycle through directors on five-year horizons, CMS has prioritized the stability of the subscription model and the archival integrity of its roster. The challenge for the next decade lies in whether this stability will act as a platform for new stylistic dialogues or as a barrier to them. By 2032, the Finckel-Wu Han era will be the benchmark against which all future American chamber music models are measured.

American jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, who died on May 19, 1969, was born in 1904. His nearly five-decade career established the tenor saxophone as a primary solo voice in jazz, moving it from a section instrument to a vehicle for profound individual expression. From his foundational tenure with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra in the 1920s to his engagement with bebop innovators in the 1940s, Hawkins consistently pushed the harmonic and melodic boundaries of the instrument.Hawkins's 1939 recording of "Body and Soul" stands as a landmark in jazz history. Rather than merely embellishing the melody, Hawkins constructs a new melodic line built upon the song's underlying chord changes, a sophisticated approach to harmonic improvisation (the technique of creating new melodies based on the harmonic progression of a piece rather than its original melody). This rhapsodic phrasing, characterized by its rich vibrato (a rapid, slight variation in pitch used to add expression and warmth to a tone) and monumental tone, became the standard for generations of saxophonists. At a time when jazz was transitioning from collective improvisation to emphasizing individual soloists, Hawkins provided a template for expressive freedom within a structured harmonic framework. His artistic output paralleled the increasing complexity of jazz itself, reflecting the genre's evolution through the swing era and into the nascent stages of bebop.His influence extended globally, particularly during his European sojourn in the 1930s, where he cultivated an international following and collaborated with European musicians, disseminating the developing language of jazz. For a definitive listen, the 1939 "Body and Soul" recording on RCA Victor (now widely available on various compilations such as Coleman Hawkins: A Centennial Celebration) remains indispensable.