Arts Fuse writers continue their countdown of great music celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and this month’s list includes Leonard Bernstein, Leon Russell, The Faces, Carla Bley, and Rod Stewart.
Music
Classical Album Review: Saint-Saëns Symphonies courtesy of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège and Jean-Jacques Kantorow
A welcome entry in complete sets of Camille Saint-Saëns’ five symphonies — a composer of his caliber deserves a wealth of viewpoints.
Jazz Album Review: Saxophonist Ivo Perelman and Pianist Matthew Shipp — Creating Potent, Laser-like Thoughts
Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp’s duets will draw in and fascinate listeners who are open to intelligent, virtuosic, and intimate improvisations, simultaneously logical and free.
Jazz CD Reviews: Dave Holland and Ben Goldberg — Venturing into New Lands
Bassist Dave Holland’s new album, Another Land, will take you to interesting places. Clarinetist’s Ben Goldberg’s latest, with its guitar/bass/drums core, might do the same.
Book Review: “Seeing Sideways” — Parenting on the Edge
Those who have followed Throwing Muses’ Kristin Hersh’s career over the past three decades are the target audience for this memoir. But she is a good enough writer to interest people who may never have listened to her music.
Arts Interview: The New Head of Global Arts Live Talks Culture and Accessibility
It’s so important in these times to present international and culturally diverse music and dance. It can be a joyful source of healing for our world, and Global Arts Live has been doing this since its inception..
Rock Album Review: Goose’s “Shenanigans Nite Club” — Likeable and Durable
The group’s exuberance makes it easy to like, an enthusiasm that is compounded by the quality of its live shows and its recordings.
June Short Fuses – Materia Critica
Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.
Classical Album Review: Richard Danielpour’s “An American Mosaic” — A Potent Reminder of Shared Humanity
An American Mosaic is a fascinating study of how a contemporary composer can fuse the gestures and syntax of a tradition rooted in Bach with contemporary sensibilities.
Classical Album Review: Antonio Pappano conducts Vaughan Williams’ Symphonies 4 & 6
These are tough, feisty, devastating pieces — easily among the 20th century’s finest symphonies — and they receive ferocious readings from Antonio Pappano and the LSO.