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Fuse Concert Review: Stravinsky and Ravel Operas by the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Dutoit

October 28, 2012
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That Symphony Hall was probably a third empty is inexplicable, but, if you missed any of these concerts, it’s truly your loss. These were among the BSO’s benchmark performances of the last decade.

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Book Review: A Wilted “Black Flower” From Korea

October 28, 2012
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I can see why celebrated Korean writer Young-ha Kim was attracted to this real life story of about a thousand Koreans emigrating from Asia in 1904.

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Classical CD Reviews: John Harbison’s “Winter’s Tale” (Soloists, Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose) and Derek Bermel’s Canzonas Americanas (Alarm Will Sound/Alan Pierson)

October 28, 2012
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If you think contemporary music is the domain of fusty academics and has no bearing on (or relationship to) the outside world, you really need to check out “Canzonas Americanas.”

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Theater Review: Eighteenth Century Pen Pals — Voltaire and Frederick

October 27, 2012
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Playwright Gericke-Schönhagen, hoping to avoid the phenomenon of talking heads, deliberately placed emphasis on those letters between Voltaire and Frederick that dramatized personalities rather than ideas.

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Classical CD Reviews: Bruckner Symphonies (complete), Gewandhausorchester Leipzig/Herbert Blomstedt (Querstand SACD)

October 27, 2012
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Herbert Blomstedt and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig present us here with what is easily the most memorable classical box set of 2012 and, possibly, the most important addition to the Bruckner discography in a generation.

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Classical Music Review: Clarinetist McGill Thrills (with Pacifica Quartet)

October 27, 2012
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It 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.

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Film Review: “The Sessions” — An Honest Film about Sexuality

October 26, 2012
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“The Sessions” quietly and lovingly engages humor, philosophy, sexuality, and spirituality to create a poetic meditation on the nature of physical love and emotional connection.

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Film Review: “Cloud Atlas” — Pushing Cinematic Boundaries

October 25, 2012
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“Cloud Atlas” is irresistible, a visual and sensory marvel with a winning mix of charm and humor to offset the darkest violence and mayhem within the sobering tale.

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Theater Review: A Top-Notch Staging of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”

October 25, 2012
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Despite the material’s limitations, the stellar SpeakEasy Stage cast and designers nail “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”‘s irreverent, over-the-top vibe, serving up plenty of humor and high amplitude entertainment.

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Classical Music Review: The Romantic Temperament of Pianist Nareh Arghamanyan

October 23, 2012
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Nareh 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.

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