In Wednesday’s (2/11) New York Times, Vivien Schweitzer writes, “The 83-year-old composer Gunther Schuller has long been affiliated with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which has introduced many of his works. ‘Where the Word Ends,’ a 125th-anniversary commission from the orchestra, received its world premiere last week in Boston and its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall on Monday, conducted by the orchestra’s music director, James Levine. … ‘Where the Word Ends,’ a 25-minute work divided in four sections played without pause, opens with a gentle shimmering trill in the strings before rapid figurations are played over bold statements from the lower strings and brass. The colorful, theatrical score builds in intensity to a riotous conclusion before an introspective Adagio with lush string melodies. The lower strings provided a steady ostinato pattern in the Scherzo, over which a flurry of dialogue ensued among brass and percussion and other instruments. The hints of jazz reflect Mr. Schuller’s significant experience as a jazz performer and composer. (He coined the term ‘Third Stream’ to represent music blending jazz and classical music.)”
