Susan Miron
The tremendous success and rave reviews elicited by this “Orfeo” are due in large part to Boston Early Music Festival’s superb orchestra and cast of eight singers.
Read MoreWhere does such musical maturity and – let’s face it – genius come from? Pianist George Li’s phrasing, the beauty of his sound, his perfect pedaling and expressive rhythm – all were in play.
Read MoreThe Takács Quartet have won the kind of acclaim that most chamber groups can only dream of, and their concert in Boston made their enviable reputation understandable.
Read MoreWhy, Rita Costanzi asks incredulously, do harpists, albeit occasionally, marry other harpists: “Does the word masochist mean anything to you?”
Read MoreTeams of string coaches were deployed to make this quartet of actors look like they knew what they are doing with their instruments, but no critic has noticed how completely unrelated the motions of their left hands — finger placement and vibrato — are to the music that is played, with the exception of Christopher Walken, who looks like he is playing his cello correctly and producing real music.
Read MoreConsidered by some to be a guardian of ancient music, Jordi Savall has inspired adulation for a variety of reasons, but in the end it’s because he plays the viol or viola da gamba better than just about anyone else alive.
Read MoreIt was an absolute pleasure to finally hear the extraordinary clarinetist Anthony McGill in person, and clearly the audience felt the same, because there were several curtain calls and much cheering.
Read MoreNareh Arghmanyan is a personality and technique that thrives on performing Romantic music, and it was her Rachmaninov and Schumann that were most impressive on a recital that also featured the Second Bach Partita.
Read MoreThe late John Updike, Harvard Professor Maria Tartar recalled, described fairy tales as “the television and pornography of an earlier era.”
Read MoreJorge Luis Prats’ performance was absolutely breathtaking, and one had the sense of being at a historic recital, of discovering a hugely gifted, yet virtually unknown, artist.
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Arts Commentary: Rich in Creativity — But Nothing Else