Jonathan Blumhofer

Classical Music Album: “African American Voices”

November 2, 2022
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Overall, this is a strong program done in by unsatisfying recorded sound.

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Classical Album Review: Pianist John Wilson’s “Upon Further Reflection”

November 1, 2022
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Pianist John Wilson, like his mentor Michael Tilson Thomas, is a servant of the music rather than its dictator and he knows both when and how to step back and let it speak.

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Classical Album Review: Thomas Adès’s Tuneful “Märchentänze”

October 31, 2022
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As the composer moves from youth to middle age, Thomas Adès is unique among his contemporaries for his singular embrace of melody, harmony, and form.

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Classical Critic’s Notebook: Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2

October 20, 2022
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Whatever Rachmaninoff’s conflicted feelings about writing symphonies were, there’s nothing ambiguous about the content of his Second Symphony. From start to finish, it’s a marvel of melodic freshness and brilliant instrumentation.

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Classical Music Preview: Boston Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2022-23 Season

October 12, 2022
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The season-long celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Benjamin Zander’s debut as a conductor, which gets underway later this month when the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) returns to the stage, doesn’t stint on festive spirit.

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Classical Music Review: Violinist Augustin Hadelich’s “Recuerdos”

October 4, 2022
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Augustin Hadelich has the feeling of this music – its bittersweet melodic phrases, dancing riffs, and restrained passion – well in hand.

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Classical Album Review: “John Adams” — Mastering the Style of an Iconic American Composer

October 3, 2022
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This recording presents one of the most lucid and well-programmed portraits of John Adams to emerge, well, in a long while.

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Classical Album Review: Khachaturian Piano Music

October 2, 2022
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Soviet Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, at his best, was compelling. Granted, he wasn’t working at this level in every piece. But most of his bigger works are better than not.

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Classical Album Review: Composer Derek Bermel’s “Intonations” — Turning Acerbity and Complexity on Their Heads

October 1, 2022
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For Derek Bermel fans, Intonations is a must. For new music enthusiasts and the otherwise curious – ditto.

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Book Review: Steve Reich’s “Conversations” — Something Special

September 15, 2022
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At its best, Steve Reich’s Conversations is illuminating and engaging, an honest discussion of the creative process by one of the major composers of our times.

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