MUSIC
From Maple Leaf Rag to the Prepared Piano: The Making of an American Music, 1899–1948
MONDAY – FRIDAY, JANUARY 24 – 28, 2022
7:30 PM
Focus Festival 2022 In Person & Live Stream
Peter Jay Sharp Theater, The Juilliard School
155 West 65th Street, Upper West Side, Manhattan
Free
MONDAY TICKETS + INFORMATION
TUESDAY TICKETS + INFORMATION
WEDNESDAY TICKETS + INFORMATION
THURSDAY TICKETS + INFORMATION
FRIDAY TICKETS + INFORMATION
Juilliard continues this year’s Focus Festival, focusing on American music from the first half of the 20th Century. This week the focus expands from the American Maverick Non-School to include the great mainstream symphonists who took Boulangerian Neo-Classicism and made something distinctly American (and hugely attractive) of it — and who have pretty much sunk from the repertoire like a stone. Monday through Thursday are chamber recitals; Friday is a closing orchestral concert. My personal pick of the week is Tuesday’s Mav/main chamber recital, featuring prime Cage (Mav), Piston (main), Copland (main), and Sessions (main) — and a recreation of a music/dance piece by Henry Cowell (Mav) and Martha Graham!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: In person, before the shows, let’s keep it all-American with a Cadillac burger proceeded by a Martini (and shit, why not some oysters with that Martini?) at P.J. Clarke’s. Those streaming at home can also have a Martini: pour 2 oz. Gin and 1 oz. dry Vermouth into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir (a lot: you want that sucker to be cold). Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist or an olive.