Jonathan Blumhofer

Concert Review: Bach’s Goldbergs, Reimagined by A Far Cry

September 23, 2026
Posted in , , ,

Simone Dinnerstein and A Far Cry brought warmth, virtuosity, and strikingly inventive instrumental color to an expanded version of Bach’s keyboard masterpiece at Jordan Hall.

Arts Commentary: Trump’s War on the Kennedy Center Is a War on Culture Itself

September 18, 2026
Posted in , , , ,

His threatened destruction of the nation’s living memorial to John F. Kennedy exposes not merely an assault on a building, but the petty authoritarianism, civic vandalism, and cultural contempt driving his presidency.

Classical Music Review: Flutes, Stones, and Ecstasy — Terry Riley’s “The Holy Liftoff”

September 16, 2026
Posted in , , ,

Claire Chase and her collaborators make a persuasive, vivifying case for Terry Riley’s hourlong score of freewheeling fantasy, grief, birdsong, and release.

Classical Music Album Review: The Limits of Musical Consolation

September 12, 2026
Posted in , , ,

In “Silent Depths,” Kristian Sensini responds to the suffering of civilians in the West Bank and Gaza with sincere, accessible music that ultimately needs greater tension and complexity.

Classical Music Album: The American Songbook, Recast for Solo Violin

September 11, 2026
Posted in , , ,

Curtis Stewart transforms two dozen American songs into inventive, virtuosic studies for solo violin.

Classical Music Album: Radius Ensemble’s Spirited “Carnival”

August 31, 2026
Posted in , , ,

On its lively new recording, the Boston chamber group gives buoyant, colorful, and sharply characterized performances of three works by a longtime MIT composer.

Classical Album Review: Duo Gazzana plays Prokofiev, Pärt, and Schnittke with Bracing Insight

August 29, 2026
Posted in , , ,

The sisters’ new ECM recording catches the volatile interplay of lyricism and menace in a compellingly programmed set.

Classical Music Album: Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Restless New-Music Advocacy

August 21, 2026
Posted in , , ,

Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter’s latest Alpha recording pairs two late works by André Previn with Sebastian Currier’s witty, searching “Ringtone Variations.”

Film Review: “Bernstein’s Wall” — A Vivid Portrait of the Artist as Activist

August 9, 2026
Posted in , ,

Douglas Tirola’s documentary draws on a remarkable archive to make Leonard Bernstein’s musical, political, and moral commitments feel urgently contemporary.

Classical Album Review: Film Composers in the Concert Hall

August 2, 2026
Posted in , , ,

A Singapore Symphony Orchestra recording of compositions by John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, and Hugo Friedhofer quietly punctures old prejudices about film composers and “serious” music.

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives