Debussy is Ugly! #violin #piano #igudesman #malkovich #debussy

OCT 17 - SEATTLE - Benaroya Hall
Presented by the Seattle Symphony
@benaroyahall @seattlesymphony

OCT 20 - LA - Orpheum Theatre
Presented by Live Nation
@orpheumtheatrela @livenation

OCT 21 - DALLAS - Majestic Theater
Presented by AT&T Performing Arts Center
@majestictheatredallas @attpac

OCT 22 - SAN ANTONIO - Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
Presented by Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
@tobincentersa

OCT 23 - AUSTIN - Long Center for the Performing Arts
Presented by Long Center for the Performing Arts
@longcenter

OCT 25 - DETROIT - Filmore Theatre
Presented by Live Nation
@fillmoredetroit

OCT 26 - CHICAGO - Chicago Theatre
Presented by Live Nation
@chicagotheatre

OCT 28 - NYC, The Beacon Theatre
Presented by Live Nation
@beacontheatre

JUNE 12, 2024 - PORTLAND, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
US Premiere of The Music Critic at the Symphony – with the Oregon Symphony
Presented by the Oregon Symphony @oregonsymphony

Schumann fancies himself a „composer“, while Brahms is a „giftless bastard“ and Claude Debussy is simply ugly. Aleksey Igudesman has created a sardonic mix of the most evil music critiques of the last centuries written about some of the greatest works of music. Equipped with a frivolous potpourri of musical insults, John Malkovich slips into the role of the evil critic who believes the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Prokofiev and the likes to be weary and dreary.

Aleksey Igudesman, Hyung-ki Joo and other great musicians beg to differ and fight back. The grand finale is „The Malkovich Torment“, a horrific review about Malkovich himself, which Igudesman has set to music in a uniquely sardonically humorous way.

Music by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann, Debussy, Prokofiev, Ysaÿe, Kancheli, Piazzolla and Igudesman.
​
“I have always loved the opportunity to collaborate on The Music Critic with Aleksey Igudesman, Hyung-ki Joo, and many other gifted and thoughtful young classical musicians. We are all happy to be back on the road, and for the first time also in the USA, participating in an evening which consists of some of the greatest compositions in the history of classical music, paired with the perhaps rather unexpected initial reactions those compositions elicited from some of the world’s renowned music critics, along with some other surprises.” - John Malkovich
​
"The Music Critic" is created and conceived by Aleksey Igudesman.

[tomestubbs]

Interesting how critics of that time could be so opinionated with a dash of racism. Debussy's music by today's standards is gentle, no pretty tubercular maiden, it is actually beautiful music. Debussy's critique of Schoenberg might have some merit to an extent, but Schoenberg was radically expanding the timbral quality of his music say something other than beautiful--quite a palette actually. There was a critic who commented about how bad Brahms smelled as offensive odor and the like. And how Mark Twain stated that Wagner's music was better than it sounded. I like this presentation especially how John Malcovich performs it.

[BethDiane]

This sounds like an entry in the Lectionary of Musical Invective.

[vaccavo]

I am Brazilian and know that it is "ugliness". "Uglyness" looked so ugly.

[jtjpro]

I know not how valid the musical critique is, but to take such a personal attack on appearance speaks more discredit to this man's personal character than to who he's critiquing. Everything he tried to point out, in somewhat ethnically discriminatory ways, all landed more towards causing me to see ugliness in the aspects of the speaker's humanity. Physical attractiveness being equated to virtue and worth is such an obvious and deficient falsehood, and this man seems to wish it to be true.

His musical knowledge sounds very deep and vast though. Shame.

[javierreyna]

I don't get the point. Clair de lune is beautiful

[gayathriparthasarathy]

Listen to his earlier music, esp piano music. It can be ĥaunting.

[AndreasWernerReiske-lnkr]

Hold it back -- and please: you never talk about BEETHOVEN...

[michaelschmidt]

This guy - they call him Malkovich? - is obviously deaf or simply toxic.

[bennaarsongidi]

What the hell!
What kind of humor is this ?