Simone McIntosh Talks about Messiaen’s Harawi
On March 4, Canadian mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh gave a mesmerising performance of the song-cycle Harawi by French composer Olivier Messiaen as part of the second Schwabacher Recital of 2020 in the Taube Atrium Theatre in San Francisco. Readers may check out my review of this recital in the March 7 online issue of Berkeley Daily Planet. This event was of such impact and importance in our Bay Area musical life that I decided to follow up by engaging Simone McIntosh in a dialogue about Messiaen’s Harawi. Due to the Shelter in Place restrictions imposed, however, due to the coronavirus, my dialogue with Simone McIntosh had to be online through email. Here, with few revisions, are the results of our online dialogue. -more-