NEW PRODUCTION OF RAPHAEL MOSTEL’S MUSICAL VOYAGE
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NEW PRODUCTION OF RAPHAEL MOSTEL’S MUSICAL VOYAGE “THE TRAVELS OF BABAR” FIRST U.S. PERFORMANCES IN NEW YORK CITY NOVEMBER 2 & 3, 2018 AT FLORENCE GOULD HALL For more information and media coverage: JC Agid | 37EAST Phone: (917) 349-8361 – [email protected] | www.thirtyseveneast.com For immediate release. New York, November 5 th , 2018. The first performances in the U.S. of the new production of American composer Raphael Mostel’s “Travels of Babar,” a multi-media composition based on Jean de Brunhoff’s classic picture-book of the same name, “Le Voyage de Babar,” were presented at Florence Gould Hall in New York City on November 2 (in French) and 3 (in English), 2018. Neal Goren conducting Raphael Mostel’s Travels of Babar at Florence Gould Hall – November 2 nd , 2018 © Amber De Vos / Source Music Inc
Transcript of NEW PRODUCTION OF RAPHAEL MOSTEL’S MUSICAL VOYAGE
NEWPRODUCTIONOFRAPHAELMOSTEL’SMUSICALVOYAGE
“THETRAVELSOFBABAR”
FIRSTU.S.PERFORMANCESINNEWYORKCITY
NOVEMBER2&3,2018ATFLORENCEGOULDHALLFormoreinformationandmediacoverage:JCAgid|37EASTPhone:(917)349-8361–[email protected]|www.thirtyseveneast.comForimmediaterelease.NewYork,November5th,2018.ThefirstperformancesintheU.S.ofthenewproductionofAmericancomposerRaphaelMostel’s“TravelsofBabar,”amulti-mediacompositionbasedonJeandeBrunhoff’sclassicpicture-bookofthesamename,“LeVoyagedeBabar,”werepresentedatFlorenceGouldHallinNewYorkCityonNovember2(inFrench)and3(inEnglish),2018.
NealGorenconductingRaphaelMostel’sTravelsofBabaratFlorenceGouldHall–November2nd,2018©AmberDeVos/SourceMusicInc
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Freshfromitsuniversally-acclaimed,sold-outdebutinEuropebytheBerlinerPhilharmoniker("ShoutsofJoy"wroteMusikHeute[MusicToday]),composerRaphaelMostel'snew"TravelsofBabar"waspresentedbySourceMusic,Inc.completeinitsoriginalscoringforeightmusiciansandnarrator,inthefullnewHDmulti-mediaproductionusingtheoriginalwatercolorsofJeandeBrunhoff’sillustrationsforthefirsttime.RaphaelMostel'shour-longshowisbasedonthemuch-lovedclassicpicture-bookofthesamenamebyJeandeBrunhoff.InBerlin,critics,suchasthereviewerforWDR3[Germanradio],were“amazed—becausetheaudience’sconcentrationlastedaninsanelylongtime!…thekidswerereallyengaged.Mosteldrewsomanycolorsfromtheeightmusicians.”AllthreeperformanceswerenarratedbyLeahPisar,whohasbeennarratingthetextwrittenbyherlatefatherforLeonardBernstein’sSymphonyNo.3,“Kaddish”,withorchestrasthroughouttheworld.ThescorewasconductedbyNealGorenandperformedbyeightmusicians:TakaKigawa(piano);AuroraManuel(viola);JillianAnnieBlythe(cello);TylerNeidermayer(clarinet);ErikHöltje(bassoon);ThomasHoyt(cornet);WilliamLang(trombone);andBarryCentanni(percussion).Mostel’snewproductionembedstheoriginalimageswithmusiciansperforminghiscomposition,theatricallighting,andanarratorreadingdeBrunhoff’soriginaltext.Mostel’sscorewasoriginallycommissionedandrecordedforJapanin1994,andhis"TravelsofBabar"wasfirstpubliclyperformedinCaliforniaandNewYorkin1998.TheBerlinerPhilharmonikerpresentedthefirstperformanceofthenewproductionofthecompleteworkin2017.“Icomposedonesceneforeachofthe46illustrationsofthebook,withmusicaswide-rangingasthishumorouslywildstory.IhavenowenrichedthatmusicaltraveloguewithanelaboratevisualproductionusingJeandeBrunhoff’soriginalwatercolorsofthefamousillustrations,sothisproductionhasbecomeanadventurous‘voyage’within‘LeVoyagedeBabar’”,Mostelexplains.“Eventhosewhothinktheyknowthebookwellmaybesurprisedatthemanydetailsintheoriginalwatercolors.TheBerlinerPhilharmoniker’sstaffandcrewcomparedtheexperiencetowatchingafilmbeingeditedliveinrealtime,”thecomposeradds.CallingJeandeBrunhoff"thefatherofthemodernpicture-book",MauriceSendakwrote"Babarisattheveryheartofmyconceptionofwhatturnsapicturebookintoaworkofart.MyfavoriteamongJean'sbooks,TheTravelsofBabar,isfullofalarmingandveryamusingtwistsoffate…dazzling,dramatic."LaurentDeBrunhoff,the93-year-youngsonofJeandeBrunhoffwhowroteandillustratedmorethan45additionalBabarbooksafterhisfatherdied,attendedtheperformanceonNovember2ndandautographedhisbooksafterwards.RaphaelMostel’s“TravelsofBabar”isoneoftherarehandfulofmusicalworksthatappealstoageneralaudienceofallages—young,oldandin-between—andalllevelsofsophistication.Mostel'scompositionmirrorstheinventivenessofdeBrunhoff'sillustrations,usingeachtoshowcasedifferentelementsofmusic,turningthe"alarmingandveryamusingtwistsoffate"intoseductive,wide-rangingvoyagethroughthewondersandpowerofconcertmusic.MostelhasalsocreatednewversionforfullorchestraofhisBabar,thatwasfirstintroducedbytheOrchestresymphoniquedeMontréal,andtheNewYorkPhilharmonicperformedexcerpts.ThefirstU.S.performanceofthenewversionforfullorchestrawillbepresentedbytheNationalSymphonyOrchestraattheJohnF.KennedyCenterinWashingtonD.C.nextApril7,2019FrenchcomposerFrancisPoulencwasthefirsttosetaBabarstoryin1940,“L’HistoiredeBabar”(thefirstbookbydeBrunhoff),whichtellsthestoryofthechildhoodandadolescenceofthefamouselephantuntilhemarriesCeleste.MostelcontinuesthemusicalhistoryofBabarbysetting“LeVoyagedeBabar”,(deBrunhoff’ssecondbook)whichpicksupthestorywhenthesefancifulelephantsleaveinaballoonontheirhoneymoonandsubsequentadventurestoreturnhome.WhentheOrchestreSymphoniquedeMontréalintroducedthenewversionfororchestraofMostel’scomposition,theyperformedbothPoulenc’sandMostel’sBabarsonthesameprogram.
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AboutRaphaelMostel:RaphaelMostelisacomposer,writerandlecturerbasedinNewYorkCity.HisworkshaverecentlybeenperformedbytheBerlinerPhilharmoniker,NewYorkPhilharmonic,OrchestreSymphoniquedeMontréal,NewYorkCityOpera,thecombinedbrassoftheChicagoSymphonyandRoyalConcertgebouworchestras.MostelalsofoundedtheTibetanSingingBowlEnsemble:NewMusicforOldInstrumentsforwhichhecomposedalargerepertoirethathasbeenfrequentlybroadcastliveonWNYCandNPR.Mostel’scompositionswerealsoperformedattheatombombcommemorationsatHiroshimaandNagasakiinJapanandhonoredwitharetrospectiveexhibitionatthePerformingArtsLibraryatLincolnCenter.Foroveradecade,Mostelhasalsobeenco-teachingthe“ArchitectonicsofMusic”AdvancedStudiowitharchitectStevenHollatColumbiaUniversity’sGraduateSchoolofArchitecturePlanningandPreservation,aswellasconsultingonanumberofHoll’sprojects.Thispastmonth“ArchitectonicsofMusic”wasawarded(byanonymoussubmission)theStudioPrizeastopclassintheU.S.byArchitectureMagazine,thejournaloftheAIA.AboutLeahPisar:AnAmericaninParisandaParisianinNewYork,LeahPisar’slifehasbeenataleoftwocultures.SheiscurrentlyChairoftheAladdinProject,whichseekstocombatextremismbybuildingbridgesofknowledgeamongJews,ChristiansandMuslims.Apoliticalscientistwithexpertiseintransatlanticrelations,shealsowrites,teachesandisafrequentnewscommentator.Sheregularlynarratesformajororchestrasaroundtheworld,withhermother,thetextwrittenbyherfather,oneoftheyoungestsurvivorsofAuschwitz,forLeonardBernstein’sSymphonyNo.3,“Kaddish”,andisalsoworkingonafamilymemoir.LeahPisarservedonthestaffofPresidentClinton’sNationalSecurityCouncilandtheDepartmentofStateandtheU.S.EmbassyinParis.SheholdsaBAfromHarvardCollege,amaster’sfromtheInstitutd’ÉtudesPolitiquesofParisandaPhDfromtheUniversityofParis.SheservesontheboardoftheFrenchInstitute-AllianceFrançaiseaswellasotherculturalandadvocacyorganizations.SheregularlyreadsBabarstoriestoheryoungsoninbothEnglishandinFrench.SourceMusic,Inc.—www.SourceMusic.org—presentedtheseU.S.Premiereperformancesofthenewproductionof“TheTravelsofBabar”byRaphaelMostelatFlorenceGouldHallwithfundingfromTheFlorenceGouldFoundation.Imagesandrecordedaudioexcerptsavailableonrequest(courtesyofRaphaelMostel|SourceMusic,Inc.)
JeandeBrunhoffwatercolor,BibliothèqueNationaledeFrance,courtesyofthecomposer
