Le Grand Macabre

One of the better stories from the music world in the last few weeks was the success of the New York Philharmonic’s new staging of György Ligeti’s strange, wonderfully surreal opera Le Grand Macabre. Ligeti was one of the great composers of the second half of the twentieth century – possibly the greatest, as his reputation continues to grow. And Le Grand Macabre may have been his most visionary composition of all. That this production could have sold out all three of its performances says a lot – about the New York Philharmonic (and its brilliant marketing), its Music Director Alan Gilbert, and Ligeti and his music. I am looking forward to writing more about Le Grand Macabre soon. In the meantime, you can read Anthony Tommasini’s New York Times review.