It was truly incredible to me that one of the most prolific American composers, and at the same time one of the most performed in the fifties and sixties of the last century, has almost completely disappeared from being programmed by American orchestras: Alan Hovhaness.

I am rediscovering Alan Hovhaness because his music seems to speak with a particular clarity to our own time. There is in it a serenity, a purity of line, and an almost ritual sense of stillness that sets him apart from much of the music written around him.

What fascinates me most is how Hovhaness brings together distinct musical worlds. His language is unmistakably American, yet it is deeply informed by Armenian and broader Eastern traditions: modal writing, long melodic lines, drones, bells, chant-like gestures, and a conception of time that is often contemplative rather than dramatic. He did not simply borrow exotic colors; he created a genuine synthesis of East and West.

Listening to Mysterious Mountain today, one can also hear something remarkably prophetic in his music. Its spaciousness, repetition, luminous harmonies, and sense of spiritual contemplation seem to anticipate qualities later associated with minimalism, ambient music, and even what came to be called “New Age” music—although Hovhaness’s language has far greater structural and spiritual depth than most actual “New Age” labeled works.

Perhaps this is why his music deserves to be heard again with fresh ears. Hovhaness offers neither irony nor complexity for its own sake. Instead, he seeks simplicity, transcendence, and a direct relationship among sound, nature, and the spiritual imagination. For me, returning to his music today feels less like reviving a forgotten composer than like discovering how modern he has remained.

A visionary work ahead of its time, only relying on pure sound layers, perception of absolute time, and devoid of melody or harmony. Ligeti? No, Rued Langgaard, in 1916 (this piece was finished in 1918). Ligeti, after reading Langgaard’s score, defined himself as “Langgaard’s epigone.” Studying this score is pure sensual pleasure, but also an intellectual one, thinking about how this composer, for this very piece, rebuked all rules of the time and devoted himself – and his piece – to pure sound immersion. Astonishing…. and fascinating!

I will conduct this singular work in October in Copenhagen with my beloved Danish National Symphony Orchestra at the Koncerthuset.

Everybody seems to fear Schoenberg. You name it in a meeting with presenters, for concerts, or for tours, you immediately see a concerned mimic and have the feeling of being considered an idiot only for having dared to suggest it. We should better listen, without prejudice, and we would understand that especially works like “Verklärte Nacht” or “Pelleas und Melisande” are written in the big romantic tradition of Wagner. I am happy to conduct this fantastic masterwork with the NHK Orchestra in Tokyo in December. I hope, no, I am sure of a big success with this score: its luxury and beauty will surely seduce our audience.

Nulla per un direttore d’orchestra è più difficile di una delle ultime sinfonie di Mozart, delle quali la “Jupiter” è sicuramente la più raffinata e complessa (basti pensare all’incredibile Fugato a cinque voci dell’ultimo movimento). Nel momento dello studio l’annosa questione di cosa portare sull’isola deserta – Bach o Mozart – pende fortemente a favore di Mozart, anche considerando il fatto che lui, a differenza di Bach, ha composto opere liriche straordinarie, nelle quali, come in tutti i grandi capolavori dell’arte, il mondo, in tutti i suoi aspetti, si rispecchia. Ma su questo torneremo sicuramente più tardi. Ma mi è difficile esprimere a parole la gioia, l’entusiasmo, il piacere che provo nel ristudiare – per l’ennesima volta – questo formidabile capolavoro, scoprendone ogni volta nuovi e sorprendenti aspetti.

Con la Dallas Symphony Orchestra il prossimo Dicembre

Nothing is more difficult for a conductor than one of Mozart’s last symphonies, of which “Jupiter” is certainly the most refined and complex (think of the incredible five-voice Fugato of the last movement). When it comes to studying, the age-old question of what to bring to the desert island – Bach or Mozart – weighs heavily in favor of Mozart, also because he, unlike Bach, composed extraordinary operas, in which, as in all great masterpieces of art, the world, in all its aspects, is reflected. We will undoubtedly return to this later. But it is difficult for me to express in words the joy, the enthusiasm, the pleasure I feel in studying again – for the umpteenth time – this formidable masterpiece, discovering new and surprising aspects each time.

With the Dallas Symphony Orchestra next December.

This continues a significant “Ring des Nibelungen” project with DSO. After a long hiatus, I will conduct my third complete “Ring” production (semi-staged) in Dallas. If we consider the “Ring des Nibelungen” to be a giant symphony (“Rheingold” being the introduction, “Walküre” the first movement, and “Götterdämmerung” the final apotheosis), “Siegfried” is undoubtedly in form and character the “scherzo”.

We continue the Scriabin project for Deutsche Grammophon with DNSO.

They accuse Bellini of musical infantilism. I can’t even. More than anyone else, he embodies the art of knowing what to remove (like Michelangelo with his sculptures) rather than adding (a horror vacui from a lack of ideas), creating an astonishing simplicity that says so much about the character’s personality, the dramatic situation, and the emotional impact. No wonder he was admired by the greatest musicians of his time, like Chopin, Wagner, and many others.