Sittin’ in raises fascinating issues and its wealth of ephemera provides an amusing context in which to ponder deeper questions.
Featured
Classical CD Reviews: Delibes Ballet Suites, John Williams in Vienna, and John Harbison Concertos
Terrific performances, blazing with color, character, and wonderful technique from Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; John Williams and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra offer considerable pleasure with some misteps; another triumphant release from Gil Rose and the BMOP.
Book Review: “Nobody Ever Asked Me About the Girls” — A Disappointing Look at Women, Music, and Fame
Journalist Lisa Robinson deconstructed the idea of the girl who could hang with the guys (and laugh off their casual misogyny) long before Gillian Flynn immortalized the Cool Girl in Gone Girl.
Theater Review: “The Tattooed Man Tells All” — Memories of a Survivor
Peter Wortsman has made a valuable contribution with this play; it is a rare theatrical account about how living through the Holocaust shaped survivors.
Classical CD Reviews: François-Xavier Roth and Schumann, Herbert Blomstedt and Brahms, and Daniel Barenboim and Elgar
Françoix-Xavier Roth delivers a must-have cycle of Robert Schumann’s symphonies; Herbert Blomstedt’s Brahms’s Symphony no. 1 is spacious, restrained, and – too often – dull; Daniel Barenboim’s latest Elgar installment features a regrettably unsung masterpiece.
Album Review: Clifton Hicks’ “Banjo Heritage” — If Trouble Don’t Kill Me, I’ll Live a Long Time
A master of America’s instrument with an abiding love for the people and their traditions – – despite everything. This is Clifton Hicks.
Theater Review: A Raucous Zoomified “Much Ado” — “Thou Art Muted, Don Pedro”
Hub Theatre’s virtual production of Much Ado About Nothing recognizes Zoom’s potential for farce and leans into it: this is a rollicking delight of a show that refuses to take itself seriously, to everyone’s benefit.
Film Review: “Sound of Metal” — A Test of Character
To Sound of Metal’s credit, the narrative remains open-ended, refusing to descend into a predictable “Hollywood” story of triumph over adversity.
Theater Review: “On Beckett / In Screen” — Bill Irwin Honors Samuel Beckett
Bill Irwin’s homage to Samuel Beckett explores what makes the writer so fascinating, even inspiring, for those who appreciate the knockabout beauty of his despair.
Book Review: “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” — Would you like Time Travel with that Latte?
To his credit, Kawaguchi is a canny enough craftsman to give the time tripping cliché a healthy spin.