This concert was the idea of local flutist Julie Scolnik, who is herself a breast-cancer survivor. (It should be noted that this affliction strikes men as well as women.) She was able to get no less a conductor than Sir Simon Rattle, who along with his 77 orchestral players contributed their services without fee. By […]
Classical Music Review: Pianist Haochen Zhang
Pianist Haochen Zhang’s Boston appearance proved that his Cliburn win was no accident. He may be only 20, but his playing was nearly flawless all evening, and his interpretations were those of a fully mature artist. By Caldwell Titcomb. Last year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition turned out to be a most remarkable event. The […]
Classical Music Sampler: December 2010
December classical music offerings range from a recital by 20-year-old Haochen Zhang, who won last year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, to The MIT Chamber Music Society presentation of a free, two-piano concert, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project taking on, without charge, an evening of music by three women composers. By Caldwell Titcomb. December […]
Classical Music Review: The Parker Quartet’s Haydn
The Parker Quartet’s appearance here in Jordan Hall on November 22 was marked by one surprising feature: there was not a single music stand to be seen on the stage. It turned out that the four musicians played the entire concert from memory. By Caldwell Titcomb Haydn is widely called the Father of the Symphony, […]
Classical Concert Review: Garrick Ohlsson’s Chopin
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson is helped by having unusually wide stretches in both hands. And like Chopin’s own playing, he never resorted to harshness or banging even in climactic passages. By Caldwell Titcomb Of all the musical events scheduled for this season I was most eagerly looking forward to the November 14 Symphony Hall recital by […]
Classical Review: BMOP’s ‘Virtuosity’s Velocity’
Composer John Adams (b. 1947) was represented by two impressive works: “Chamber Symphony” (1992), and “Son of Chamber Symphony” (2007). For some reason the latter opened the concert and the former closed it, but no matter. By Caldwell Titcomb The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) kicked off its season with a Jordan Hall program on […]
Classical Music Review: Cantata Singers
Laudably, the Cantata Singers music director David Hoose, now in his 28th year at the helm, has chosen to bring forward works not often played, of which there were two on this month’s program. Three other composers were also represented during the evening. By Caldwell Titcomb. In the first major concert by the Cantata Singers […]
Opera Review: ‘Tosca’
The Boston Lyric Opera’s current production, adapted from the Scottish Opera, is updated, but this does no real damage. The three locales are properly preserved. And the three principal characters—opera diva Floria Tosca, her lover Mario Cavaradossi, and the lusting and villainous Baron Scarpia—hit their mark solidly. By Caldwell Titcomb. Some years ago the noted […]
Classical Music Sampler: November 2010
Among the classical possibilities this month, the Discovery Ensemble tackles Stravinsky’s perky, neo-classical “Dumbarton Oaks Concerto,” The Spectrum Singers offers a rare chance to hear the Mass, Op. 130 by the Belgian composer Joseph Jongen, and Boston Musica Viva serves up two world premieres: Bernard Hoffer’s Piano Trio (“Cosmic”), and Chris Arrell’s “Convergence.” By Caldwell […]
Classical Music: Organist Paul Jacobs Dazzles
There is no doubt that Paul Jacobs, playing the whole recital from memory, is a phenomenal artist, as the advance word had indicated. By Caldwell Titcomb. For the last several years, there has been incredible buzz around the globe concerning a young organist named Paul Jacobs. As one who played a public pipe organ recital […]