Caldwell Titcomb
By Caldwell Titcomb One of the most engrossing concerts in ages took place on January 22 in the new 365-seat Distler Performance Hall at Tufts University, thanks to tenor Charles Blandy and pianist Linda Osborn-Blaschke. No Schubert. Schumann, Brahms or Wolf. Instead we were treated to an entire program of rarities, most of which I…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb NEW YORK CITY–Nearly thirty years ago – 14 December 1979, to be exact – the estimable Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) opened at its off-Broadway venue a play by one of its actors, Samm-Art Williams. Entitled “Home,” the production proved one of its major hits, and was extended thrice its scheduled run to…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Who stands at the top of the American musical theatre? Many people will at once cite Rodgers & Hammerstein. They were indeed illustrious collaborators, and produced eleven works for the stage starting in 1943. But only four of these are top-notch: “Oklahoma!,” “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” and “The King and I.” The master…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb The scientist Spalanzani (tenor Neal Ferreira) strikes an unlikely deal with the nefarious inventor Coppélius (baritone Gaétan Laperrière) in the BLO’s fine production of “Tales of Hoffmann.” One of history’s most famous and beloved French operas wasn’t written by a native Frenchman. “The Tales of Hoffmann” came from the pen of Jacques…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb An amazing pair of instrumentalists gave a concert at the Longy School of Music on October 25. Styling themselves Duo Diorama, they are the husband-and-wife team of pianist Winston Choi and Violinist Minghuan Xu. These young players (he is 30 and she is 31) have been concertizing together for a long time,…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Considered the father of Armenian music, Gomidas (or Komitas) was born Soghomon Soghomonian in 1869, and became active as a composer, singer, choir conductor, ethnomusicologist and priest. In 1915 he was one of 300 artists arrested and deported at the start of the Armenian genocide. He became so unhinged that he ceased…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb “The Winter’s Tale” is one of the glories of our theatrical inheritance. Of Shakespeare’s total output, the Big Four tragedies stand at the head. Then comes “Twelfth Night,” the greatest comedy in our language. Next I would place “The Winter’s Tale” as the finest of the late romances, though most people would…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb The two greatest American pianists to emerge in the twentieth century are Leon Fleisher (b. 1928) and Murray Perahia (b. 1947). From 1958 to 1962 Fleisher recorded all five Beethoven piano concertos and the two by Brahms with the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell. These constitute the yardstick against which all other…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb The New England Conservatory (enrollment 750) recently decided to upgrade its orchestral program. Its major move was to appoint the newly-endowed Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood Director of Orchestras. The inaugural holder of the post is the well-established conductor Hugh Wolff. In 1975 he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard (where he…
Read More