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Classical CD Reviews: Nancy Dalberg’s String Quartets, Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto, Osmo Vänskä conducts Mahler

August 22, 2019
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Nancy Dalberg’s string quartets are worth getting to know, Wynton Marsalis’s violin concerto receives an electrifying performance, and Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra continue to churn out a less than necessary Mahler cycle.

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Poetry Review: “One Lark, One Horse” — Michael Hofmann’s Comic Skepticism

August 22, 2019
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Michael Hofmann nicely captures our age of truthiness and alternate facts and multiple perspectives, the hollowness of everything from the news-cycle to pop-up restaurants, all of the distractions driven by money and advertising.

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Classical CD Reviews: Herbert Blomstedt conducts Mahler, Christopher Jacobson plays Saint-Saëns & Poulenc, and Kirill Petrenko conducts Tchaikovsky

August 21, 2019
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Herbert Blomstedt conducts a powerful version of Mahler’s valedictory essay, organist Christopher Jacobson provides a so-so “Organ” Symphony, and Kirill Petrenko’s initial recording as the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic is lovely.

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Classical CD Reviews: Bartók Ballets, Saint-Saëns Complete Symphonies vol. 2, and Korngold’s Symphony in F-sharp

August 20, 2019
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A can’t-miss album of Bartók Ballets, Thierry Fischer continues to do right by the symphonies of Saint-Saëns, and a spirited recording of the “last great symphony in the German Romantic tradition.”

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Music Interview: Michael C. Smith on the Boston Caribbean Carnival and How “Culture Lives Here”

August 20, 2019
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Michael C. Smith’s new Boston Carnival photo book proves that “Culture Lives Here.”

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Visual Arts Review: The ICA’s Watershed Points to How We Got Here

August 20, 2019
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Purple is an ambitious, over-the-top endeavor, which feels completely appropriate, given the calamity at hand.

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Dance Review: Red Sky Performance — A Stunning Look into the Origins of Things

August 20, 2019
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Red Sky Performance’s hold-your-breath physicality provides plenty of “wow factor.”

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Concert Review: The English Beat at Lowell Summer Music Series

August 19, 2019
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Mainstay singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Wakeling and the band were in fine form in Lowell, whipping through a hit-laden 90-minute set to an enthusiastic crowd.

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Book Commentary: “Portnoy’s Complaint” at 50

August 19, 2019
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Doctor, do you understand what I was up against? My wang was all I really had that I could call my own…

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Classical CD Reviews: Finley & Drake’s “Schwanengesang,” Bostridge & Adès’ “Winterreise,” Meglioranza & Uchida’s “Die schöne Müllerin”

August 18, 2019
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Reviews of three superior vocal recordings, featuring baritone Gerald Finley, tenor Ian Bostridge, and baritone Thomas Meglioranza.

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