A vocally perplexing economics assignment from David Lang with the New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel deliver the world premiere of Lang's The wealth of nations, inspired by Adam Smith's famous treatise.
Because my review of David Lang’s new economics oratorio performed by the New York Philharmonic is published in Bachtrack, I will not be publishing my show notes, here, and instead direct you to read more off-site. I didn’t hate it.
Performance Date: 19 March 2026
Given news both recent and evergreen, economics might seem like the last subject classical musicians would be interested in taking up, but composer David Lang is known for bold concepts. The world premiere of his the wealth of nations, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel in the world’s economic capital, could not be more replete with challenging context…