Jonathan Blumhofer

Classical CD Reviews: John Adams’ “Absolute Jest” (SFS Media); Alexander Melnikov plays Schumann (Harmonia mundi)

August 27, 2015
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John Adams’ Absolute Jest is a sheer blast of fun, wildly inventive and, at its best, a vertiginous collage.

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Concert Review: Monadnock Music String Quartet (in Trio Form)

August 5, 2015
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The trio’s musical offerings were substantial and not the easiest things for an occasional group to pull together.

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Classical CD Reviews: James MacMillan conducts Vaughan Williams, MacMillan, and Britten and Boston Lyric Opera’s “Clemency”

July 30, 2015
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Two recent albums feature compositions by James MacMillan, one of Europe’s leading composers, as well as an opportunity to hear him conducting.

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Classical Music Reviews: Andris Nelsons conducts Shostakovich, James Brawn plays Beethoven

July 29, 2015
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This recording is the first of a partial Shostakovich cycle Andris Nelsons and the BSO are embarking upon.

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Classical CD Reviews: Isabelle Faust plays Schumann and the Dmitri Ensemble plays Shostakovich Chamber Symphonies

July 22, 2015
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Listening to Isabelle Faust’s performance of Schumann’s Violin Concerto I wondered why the piece has remained on the fringes of the repertoire for so long.

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Opera Review: Thomas Adès’ “Powder Her Face” — Scandalously Relevant

June 25, 2015
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Powder Her Face proved the perfect capstone to Odyssey Opera’s month-long survey of British (mostly comic) opera: biting, darkly humorous, provocative, and relevant.

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Concert Reviews: The First Wave of Odyssey Opera’s “The British Invasion”

June 4, 2015
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To say that Odyssey Opera continues to set the bar for opera performances in Boston may be a bit superfluous, but it’s true.

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Commentary/CD Reviews: Recent Symphonic Recordings From Boston Orchestras

May 19, 2015
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A series of new and recent recordings by Boston orchestras demonstrate that, in the right hands, symphonic music since 1945 remains alive and well, still powerful, fresh, and vibrant.

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Classical Music Commentary: On Andris Nelsons’ First Season in Boston and a Look Ahead at 2015-16

May 18, 2015
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By the end of Andris Nelsons’s inaugural season he had the BSO playing with lots of energy and like they really care, night in and out.

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Fuse Opera Preview: Odyssey Opera Presents “The British Invasion”

May 17, 2015
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Taken together, it’s a bracing, provocative, and – perhaps above all – fun survey of music for the stage from, for England, the conspicuously abundant 20th century.

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