Month: September 2012

Dance Review: Viva Ballet Folklórico de México!

September 24, 2012
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No question that the culture of Mexico is suffused with memories of music, bright colors, and joy. Would that contemporary political realities reflected more closely the life-enhancing images on stage.

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Poetry Review: A “Memorial” Written in a Voice That Does Not Break

September 23, 2012
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Alice Oswald’s “Memorial” begins with a list of 214 names, a bare, sorrowful cousin to the ship’s roll. If you know the old stories, you’ll begin to recognize some names, and then start to look forward to others.

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Jazz Review: Ray Charles Inspires One Hell of a Party at Berklee

September 23, 2012
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Ray Charles had one of the great voices of the 20th century, and even the best singers have very large shoes to fill when paying tribute.

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Classical Concert Review: Worcester Chamber Music Society’s “Beginnings and Endings”

September 22, 2012
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The first concert of the Worcester Chamber Music Society augured a promising start for the ensemble’s seventh season.

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Visual Arts: Bureaucratic Vandalism and the Survival of Sheer Excellence

September 22, 2012
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In order to pay tribute to the supreme Frits Lugt and his Fondation Custodia — and to protest the announced closing of the Institut Néerlandais with which it is joined — the column describes an example of Lugt’s collecting genius.

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Stage Review: “Blood Rose Rising” — The Mysterious Perils of The “Immaterial Girl”

September 21, 2012
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Part of the problem with the first episode of the “Blood Rose Rising” series may be signs of the show’s indecisive intent: is it a comic thriller spoof, a scary horror mystery, or a serious drama about relationships and spirituality?

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Film Review: Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down — “Hit So Hard”

September 20, 2012
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Musician Patty Schemel’s slow climb to sobriety and wellness serves as the gripping backbone of the documentary “Hit So Hard,” to the point that it is difficult to believe that someone thumped so severely lived to tell her story.

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Coming Attractions: 2012-13 Boston Orchestral Music Season Preview

September 20, 2012
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On the whole, then, there’s quite a bit to look forward to in orchestral performances this coming season.

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Classical CD Review: Schumann, Wagner, and Strauss (Soloists, Bayrisches Staatsorchester/Kent Nagano)

September 20, 2012
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There are plenty of classic recordings of the “Siegfried-Idyll” and “Metamorphosen” already, but here’s one more – and it also includes a rollicking Schumann with which you can’t go wrong.

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Coming Attractions in Jazz: September 2012

September 19, 2012
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Updated Sept. 19. Performances tonight and tomorrow evening by the Fred Hersch Trio and the Jeremy Pelt Quintet at Scullers have been cancelled due to a power outage at the DoubleTree hotel. Also, a late addition to the schedule: poet Robert Pinsky and pianist Laurence Hobgood at Club Oberon; plus, a reminder that Brazilian guitarist Rogerio Souza is at Ryles tonight. (For details, see below.) As autumn approaches, Berklee celebrates Ray Charles, NEC kicks off 40th anniversary festivities for its Contemporary Improvisation department, and New England jazz boasts a series of spectacular duo performances, Brazilian music in a variety of flavors, release events for new CDs, and some all-star quintets.

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