Music
1944 results
Page 139
Blue Man Group: An "80s relic
Growing up and selling out
Blue Man Group was quite avant-garde in the '80s. But this male trio can't seem to accept that modern society has outgrown the group's message and even its form. Flashing lights on stage screens just don't do it any more.
Articles
3 minute read
Valentina Lisitsa: Who needs concert halls?
A virtuoso for the Internet age: The greatest pianist you never heard of
The Ukrainian-American pianist Valentina Lisitsa has been playing for years at a level worthy of comparison with the likes of Vladimir Horowitz and Sviatislav Richter. Yet she's easier to find on YouTube than in concert halls.
"Tannhäuser': Blasphemy or piety?
The TannhÓ¤user riddle: What was Wagner's game?
Is Tannhäuser a religious opera, or sacrilegious? Put the blame on Wagner, a composer who insisted on his right to partake of both worlds.
Articles
4 minute read
On sitting in Verizon's "conductor's circle'
The other side of the podium, or: ‘You can practically read their scores'
The conductor's circle at Verizon Hall may not be the best place to hear violin concertos and subtle nuances. But sitting so close to the musicians should appeal to anyone who appreciates intensity and passion.
Articles
4 minute read
Piffaro's Renaissance Christmas
Pagans and Christians on common ground
On a single Christmas program, Piffaro managed to combine our mix of pagan rite, Christian holy day and All-American party-time.
Articles
4 minute read
Jazz pianist Trudy Pitts: an appreciation
In sushi heaven with Trudy Pitts
What defines a musical treasure? For me, it was the pleasure that the jazz pianist and organist Trudy Pitts brought to many a weekend evening and Sunday brunch.
Khaner/Abramovic concert at Settlement
Composers propose, performers dispose
Flutist Jeffrey Khaner and pianist Charles Abramovic demonstrated what two superb musicians can do with music intended merely for gifted amateurs.
Articles
3 minute read
The Met's "Don Carlo': The high-def screen version
Little details make a big difference
What's the difference between a live opera performance and a high-definition screen transmission? Like night and day, to judge from the Met's Don Carlo. On screen, for one thing, singers can whisper. For another, you can notice whose portrait is in a jewel box.
Articles
2 minute read
Tempesta di Mare channels Couperin and Louis XIV
Music for the royal couch potato
Some people spend Sunday reading the New York Times. Louis XIV summoned Francois Couperin and his court chamber players, who keenly understood audience psychology.
Articles
4 minute read
Monteverdi Vespers by Choral Arts and Piffaro (3rd review)
Monteverdi's magnificent job application
To appreciate Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, it helps to understand the age and the place in which it was composed. In effect this operatic pioneer was following in Michelangelo's artistic footsteps.
Articles
4 minute read