Voice of taxi driver: Where to?
Female passenger: Carnegie Hall, please.
[music]
Voice of box office: Okay, here are your tickets. Enjoy the show.
Voice of usher: Your tickets please. Follow me.
[music]
Jeff Spurgeon: In New York City, there are lots of ways to get to Carnegie Hall; a subway, a taxi, a walk down 57th Street. You have just found another way to get to America's most famous home for classical music. Welcome to Carnegie Hall Live, the broadcast series that gives you a front-row seat to concerts by some of the greatest artists in the world, and you hear the performances exactly as they happen. You are part of the audience sharing the experience of music-making at Carnegie Hall. I'm Jeff Spurgeon backstage at Carnegie's Zankel Hall alongside John Schaefer.
John Schaefer: Zankel Hall is the medium-sized hall here at Carnegie Hall, there's the big Isaac Stern Auditorium and the smaller Weill Recital Hall. Zankel is a space that opened a little more than 20 years ago and it is partially subterranean. It hosts chamber music, recitals, featuring all kinds of music genres, classical, pop, jazz, and world music, and occasionally hosts a passing subway car, which is not going to impinge on the music tonight.
It only happens when there's absolute silence in the space, and that will not happen at Zankel tonight because we have two of classical music's finest joining us in just a few minutes, the pianist Emanuel Ax and clarinetist Anthony McGill will be on stage to give us music by Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Beethoven, Florence Price, and Leonard Bernstein, and also, Jeff, two contemporary works by James Lee III and Jessie Montgomery.
Jeff Spurgeon: And you hear the audience still coming into Zankel. They're not coming in in the usual fashion too. The concert is different. Manny Ax and Anthony McGill are performing in Zankel Hall, which has been reconfigured with the audience on all sides, actually. It's not exactly in the round. More in the rectangle. The performance space is about 20 feet square with a dozen rows on two sides and then two rows on the other opposite sides. The performers are right now right near the audience. It's an exciting evening for concert-goers, indeed, and for the musicians too.
John Schaefer: Emanuel Ax, Manny, as he prefers to be called, was born in Lvov, Ukraine, when it was under Soviet rule. His parents were originally from Poland. They were Holocaust survivors. As a young child, Manny and his family moved first to Canada and then eventually to New York City. Their apartment, as luck would have it, was right across the street from Carnegie Hall.
Emanuel Ax (Manny): We lived in a-- They used to have these water towers on top of the old buildings, and there were something called servants' quarters underneath, you know, from the old days when you really had servants. We lived up in those rooms underneath the water tower for a while, yes, so it's an area I know very well.
Jeff Spurgeon: Emanuel Ax knew Carnegie Hall very well too, though he didn't get up on the stage for a little while, until one day one of the Carnegie staff asked him if he wanted to go up and try playing something.
Emanuel Ax (Manny): I first played on the stage of Carnegie Hall when I was 13 years old. No audience. There was a lovely man named Stuart [last name] who used to be the manager of the hall, and I haunted the place. I was there all the time trying to get to concerts, and so-- Once he-- He just said, "Do you want to go up on stage and play something?" He knew I was a young pianist, and I just doodled. That was my first time to actually be on the stage of Carnegie.
John Schaefer: Manny Ax with his early Carnegie Hall memories. As for the other half of our duo tonight, Anthony McGill, he is no stranger to Carnegie Hall, but I think we're more used to seeing him a few blocks away at Lincoln Center's Geffen Hall, because Anthony McGill is the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, the first African American principal player in that organization's long history.
Jeff Spurgeon: Anthony McGill has received many honors in his career, the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize. He was named Musical America's 2024 Instrumentalist of the Year as well. Perhaps you remember that Anthony McGill performed at the inauguration of Barack Obama in Washington in 2009 alongside violinist Itzhak Perlman and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Gabriela Montero.
John Schaefer: Now, the first piece that McGill and Ax are going to play on this Carnegie concert is by Robert Schumann, his Fantasiestücke, Fantasy Pieces. Schumann wrote this work in just two days in 1849. There are three fantasies. They were originally written for clarinet and piano with the idea that they could also be played by a violin or a cello. There are three movements, and the markings, if you translate them into English, are first, tender and with expression; second, lively and light; and third, quick and with fire.
Jeff Spurgeon: So we'll have the fire extinguisher ready here at Carnegie Zankel Hall, as on stage go our artists, pianist Emanuel Ax and clarinetist Anthony McGill to open their concert with Robert Schumann's Fantasiestücke. You'll hear it from Carnegie Hall live.
[MUSIC - Pianist Emanuel Ax and Clarinetist Anthony McGill: Robert Schumann's Fantasiestücke]
[applause]
Jeff Spurgeon: A work in 3 movements, the Fantasiestücke by Robert Schumann, performed by clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Emanuel Ax in Carnegie's Zankel Hall, the first of the selections they're playing tonight. Next on this concert, we'll hear music by American composer Jessie Montgomery, a work called Peace. That's P-E-A-C-E.
[MUSIC - Jessie Montgomery: Peace]
[applause]
John Schaefer: A work by Jessie Montgomery. It's called Peace. She says she wrote that in the early days of the pandemic as a way of making peace with sadness. Originally for violin, transcribed for clarinet specifically for Anthony McGill and Emanuel Ax to say a few words
Emanuel Ax: Just a couple of words about the Arpeggione Sonata. As you probably read in your program notes, the Arpeggione is a kind of hybrid between a guitar, six strings tuned a fourth apart, with frets, with things on the fingerboard to tell you where to go, but also shaped like a cello and with a bow. I guess Schubert had a friend who was the I don't know if you say the leading exponent or maybe the only exponent of this instrument. There may have been a couple of others, but he wrote this piece for him and for that instrument, of course, it's Schubert. It's sublimely beautiful. It's an amazing work. Hope you enjoy the work. Thank you very much.
[applause]
Jeff Spurgeon: Manny Ax discussing Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata, we're about to hear from pianist Manny Ax and clarinetist Anthony McGill from Carnegie Hall live.
[MUSIC - Pianist Emanuel Ax and Clarinetist Anthony McGill: Arpeggione Sonata]
[applause]
John Schaefer: Clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Emanuel Ax live at Carnegie's Zankel Hall with a performance of Franz Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata. Clarinetist Anthony McGill and Emanuel Ax performing the piece to wrap up the first half of this concert performance.
Jeff Spurgeon: I'm Jeff Spurgeon alongside Jeff Spurgeon. We are backstage at Carnegie's Zankel Hall.
John Schaefer: Joining us at the microphone for a few minutes at intermission is Anthony McGill. Anthony, great to see you.
Anthony McGill: Good to see you.
Jeff Spurgeon: A concert like this is a really unusual thing for you. So much different from the environment where you spend most, I think, of your professional time, which is in the middle of 75 or 80 colleagues at the New York Philharmonic.
Anthony McGill: Yes.
Jeff Spurgeon: What's the difference? How do you have to prepare for this? Because you're in the spotlight the whole time. Seems to me, as a clarinetist, you can be very busy in an orchestra. You can also sit back for a while and let the violin people deal with everything.
Anthony McGill: Yes, this is awesome. This is a totally different thing here. It is kind of you are in the, like coliseum or something, because there are people so close to you in this. I've never done this new setup at Zankel Hall.
Jeff Spurgeon: Yes, you got people literally just [crosstalk]--
Anthony McGill: Literally in front of you. You know what I love about it? Is just being in the front of the orchestra too, it's nice, but also being so close to people. It's like a house concert. If you ever played like a chamber music concert, and you're just like-- people are right there, the music-making, the feeling. They can see if there's a tear in your eye from one of the pieces or like a shock, surprise when you miss a wrong note. People can see all of it, and it makes it so real. This is live music. It's the reason why we all do this, is to be able to share music with people directly, just like straight to the spirit.
John Schaefer: While you're here talking to us, the stagehands are out there turning everything around so that, you know, because you are surrounded on all sides by the audience, so everyone will get a chance to see your good side, whichever side they determine that to be, but for you as a performer in this kind of situation where there's no lid on the piano, you're not getting that reflected sound off of the open lid, does it sound or feel different to you?
Anthony McGill: Yes, this totally feels different. I mean, every hall, every space you play in, in rehearsal is one thing, and in the concert it's different with people around, so often it takes a little bit of surprise, that first note happens, and you're like, "Oh, that's interesting. That's a little different," and then you forget about it. You know, a few notes in, it's like, "Okay, we're just making music," but it does make a big difference.
You can, "I can stare right into the piano and see everything moving and stuff in middle of my wrists." It's actually a lovely experience. New experiences as a musician, they can be challenging, nerve-racking, but when you're out there doing it, it really kind of changes your life, your perspective on what this music and art form can be.
John Schaefer: Well, the second half, as with the first half, if you take the whole program as an entirety, you have living and dead composers, white and black composers, male and female composers. How do these pieces speak to each other for you?
Anthony McGill: Yes, I really believe in--, this is kind of a philosophy of mine, that I love lots of different types of music by lots of different people. I really believe that Beethoven can go next to anyone, if you like the music, if you do the programming, like it doesn't matter to me. It just matters if I enjoy the pieces, and I think that the audience will as well, but sometimes we go by intellectualism, we go by that, but I feel like I like to go by the heart when I'm listening to music and when I'm presenting music. That's what we try to do here.
It's like go by the heart and go by what do we want to do? As great as the Brahms' Clarinet Sonatas are, Manny contacted me and was like, "Maybe we should do something different in the future. Maybe we should do a program where if you know any Black composers, maybe we should do some of those. If you know any other things--" This is a program where we blend the old, the traditional than with the new or the undiscovered and present it to audiences because of the beauty of music. That's kind of what we're going for here.
Jeff Spurgeon: Anthony McGill, it is such a pleasure to talk to you and such a wonderful thing to hear you on stage with Manny Ax tonight. Thanks for talking with us.
[crosstalk]
John Schaefer: Thank you so much.
Anthony McGill: Thank you.
John Schaefer: Anthony McGill spending some time with us here at intermission of this concert at Carnegie's Zankel Hall. A few years ago, Anthony McGill and his brother Demarre, who is a flutist, and the pianist Michael McHale, performed a concert at WQXR's Greene Space, our little performance venue in Lower Manhattan, and this trio that performs together on occasion gave us a performance of one of Dvořák's Slavonic Dances. Here is the Slavonic Dance, Opus 46, number one, recorded in April 2016 in The Greene Space.
[MUSIC - Clarinetist Anthony McGill, Flutist Demarre McGill, and Pianist Michael McHale: Dvořák's Slavonic Dance, Opus 46, No. 1]
[applause]
John Schaefer: Antonín Dvořák, music from his popular Slavonic Dances, recorded live in the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in lower Manhattan, recorded live by WQXR. The performers were Anthony McGill, tonight's featured artist, along with pianist Emanuel Ax in this Carnegie Hall Live broadcast, Anthony McGill, the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic. The flutist was his brother, Demarre McGill, who is currently the principal flutist for the Seattle Symphony. The pianist here was Michael McHale, originally from Ireland, and a busy performing career on both sides of the Atlantic.
Jeff Spurgeon: We're nearing the end of intermission here at Carnegie's Zankel Hall. We mentioned this concert is set up a little bit differently with Anthony McGill and Manny Ax in the middle of the hall and the audience on all four sides. To continue a slightly more equitable situation for everyone attending, the piano has actually been spun around 180 degrees. The other half of the audience gets the keyboard view and the Anthony McGill view in this second half of the concert.
John Schaefer: Including us, as it happens.
Jeff Spurgeon: [chuckles] Yes.
John Schaefer: We're going to start with Manny Ax playing solo. It's Beethoven's Piano Sonata Number 14, which you will know as the Moonlight Sonata. We were surprised to learn that this is actually a fairly new addition to Manny Ax's repertoire.
Emanuel Ax: I'm going to try and play the Moonlight Sonata. I learned it this past summer. It's very nice to work on it. It is, in fact, a wonderful piece. It's Beethoven, so you can't annoy too many people.
Jeff Spurgeon: Now, it might occur to you that Manny Ax is pulling your leg. We thought so when we heard him say this as well, but in fact, no, he just learned it last summer. He's played a lot of Beethoven in his career, but not the Moonlight. Coming back on stage at Carnegie Zankel Hall, pianist Emanuel Ax.
[applause]
John Schaefer: No Anthony McGill with him for the moment.
Jeff Spurgeon: We're going to hear Manny Ax play a Beethoven work that he learned only last summer, the Moonlight Sonata.
[MUSIC - Emanuel Ax: Moonlight Sonata]
[applause] [cheering]
Jeff Spurgeon: Pianist Emanuel Ax and Beethoven's Sonata Number 14, the Moonlight Sonata. A work rather new to the repertoire of this distinguished American pianist. A work that Manny Ax learned only last summer, played in this concert, a joint concert, most of which is being performed with clarinetist Anthony McGill from Carnegie's Zankel Hall, and brought to you from Carnegie Hall Live. Backstage at Zankel Hall, I'm Jeff Spurgeon alongside John Schaefer.
John Schaefer: Such a poetic work by Beethoven, who gave it such a prosaic title, Piano Sonata Number 14 in C sharp minor, Opus 27, Number 2, the Moonlight name added by a publisher, not to Beethoven's liking. Anthony McGill back out on stage to join him in a piece now by Florence Price, the first Black American woman to have her music played by a major orchestra. Anthony McGill has a few words to say about this piece by Florence Price that we'll hear called Adoration.
Anthony McGill: It's interesting to grow up, having grown up in Chicago and only, I guess, within the last 15 years or so, know so much more about a person like Florence Price, that her first symphony was performed in Chicago in 1933. I didn't learn about that in school. That would have been nice to know. In any case, I wouldn't have heard it in 1933, but I think her music is gorgeous. Recently, the Philadelphia Orchestra has recorded a lot of her symphonies, and New York Philharmonic and other orchestras around the world are playing a lot of her work. I'm really happy that now we get to explore this gorgeous composer.
[applause]
[MUSIC - Anthony McGill & Emanuel Ax: Adoration]
[applause]
Jeff Spurgeon: Clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Emanuel Ax playing Florence Price's work called Adoration, originally written for the organ. Once again, Anthony McGill.
Anthony McGill: Well, I'm excited to play the next work because the composer is in the house. James Lee III wrote this piece, Ad Anah, so hope you enjoy this work.
[applause]
[MUSIC - Anthony McGill & Emanuel Ax: Ad Anah]
[applause]
John Schaefer: That's a work by James Lee III. Many of his pieces are about the Black American experience. This work is called Ad Anah, Hebrew for how long, how long to wait for social and racial equity and justice. Performed here at Carnegie's Zankel Hall by clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Emanuel Ax. I think Manny's going to pick up the microphone for a change to introduce our final piece.
Emanuel Ax (Manny): I should probably say that I had the privilege of performing with Leonard Bernstein, but not as a pianist. When I was studying at the Juilliard School, all of the pianists had to be in the chorus. One year, Mr. Bernstein did the concert version of Beethoven's Fidelio, and he used the kids from the Juilliard Chorus to do the Prisoners' Chorus. We all had the privilege of four rehearsals and four concerts with Leonard Bernstein, one of the great experiences of my life. I'm happy I got to do that, and I sang well.
[laughter]
Jeff Spurgeon: Pianist Emanuel Ax talking about his youthful experience as a student performing music with Leonard Bernstein, not as a pianist, just as a singer, but we're going to hear him as a pianist now with clarinetist Anthony McGill performing Leonard Bernstein's Clarinet Sonata from Carnegie Hall Live.
[MUSIC - Emanuel Ax & Anthony McGill: Clarinet Sonata]
[applause]
John Schaefer: Music by Leonard Bernstein. That's his Clarinet Sonata. It was actually his first-ever published piece played at Carnegie's Zankel Hall by clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Emanuel Ax. Jeff, I think especially in the second movement there, this young 23-year-old composer, you're already hearing the seeds of what would become West Side Story.
Jeff Spurgeon: You can hear those traces all through the piece, I thought, too Leonard Bernstein, in 1941, took a vacation to Key West and listened there to Radio Havana and picked up a lot of the Latin flavor that informed this work and West Side Story. Yes, there are certainly traces of that later Broadway musical and the movie in this work from the years of 1941 and 1942. Quite simple.
John Schaefer: Standing ovation for Anthony McGill and Manny Ax here at Carnegie's Zankel Hall.
Jeff Spurgeon: Turning in all directions because the audience is on all sides of them. Anthony McGill again.
Anthony McGill: Well, unlike a piano recital, I'm not going to play an hour of encores, okay? Sorry.
[laughter]
Anthony McGill: My lips are tired and we need to go home. In honor of that, we're going to play-- You'll recognize the tune from Dvořák's New World Symphony. It's also known as Going Home.
[laughter]
Anthony McGill: Seriously, when Dvořák was in America, he lived here for a brief time, he discovered the beauty of the spiritual, and he believed that the future of music in America around the world was going to be influenced by those spirituals. His music certainly was. We leave you with this.
[MUSIC - Anthony McGill & Emanuel Ax: Going Home]
[applause]
Jeff Spurgeon: A famous melody from Dvořák's New World Symphony performed by clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Emanuel Ax. Going Home. Their encore at their joint recital here from Carnegie Hall Live, from Carnegie's Zankel Hall. Going Home is what they're about to do, the last work on this program.
John Schaefer: Yes, and a remarkable piece of music when you think about it. Anthony McGill told us how Dvořák was deeply inspired by American spirituals. He wrote that melody for the second movement of the New World Symphony to evoke the sound of the spirituals and ended up writing an actual spiritual.
Jeff Spurgeon: [chuckles] It has become one. [crosstalk]
John Schaefer: Under the name Going Home.
Jeff Spurgeon: That concludes this Carnegie Hall Live concert with performers Anthony McGill and Emanuel Ax. Before we go, let's preview a performance we'll hear in a future broadcast. The Cleveland Orchestra, led by music director Franz Welser-Möst. Here's an excerpt from Stravinsky's Petrushka.
[MUSIC - The Cleveland Orchestra: Petrushka]
Jeff Spurgeon: With the promise of hearing the rest of that performance on a future broadcast, that was the Cleveland Orchestra and an excerpt from Igor Stravinsky's ballet, Petrushka, with music director Franz Welser-Möst on the podium. That wraps up this Carnegie Hall Live broadcast with thanks to Clive Gillinson and the staff of Carnegie Hall. WQXR's team includes engineers George Wellington, Duke Marcos, Bill Siegmund, Neil Shaw, and Noriko Okabe. Our production team is Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, and Lauren Purcell-Joiner. Our project director is Christine Herskovits. I'm Jeff Spurgeon. Carnegie Hall Live is a co-production of Carnegie Hall and WQXR in New York.
[01:57:42] [END OF AUDIO]
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