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Music

Listening During Covid, Part 11: Making Classical Music New in All Kinds of Ways

Two exquisite sopranos bring us refreshing songs, arias, and cantatas; and a noted Broadway composer and a remarkable Black librettist offer a searing opera about police brutality.

By: Ralph P. Locke Filed Under: Classical Music, Featured, Music, Opera, Review Tagged: Carolyn Sampson, Chen Reiss, Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn: Arias, Gordon Hawkins, Jeanine Tesori, Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Lieder, Onyx, Overtures, Pentatone, Ralph P. Locke, Tazewell Thompson, Trennung: Songs of Separation

Pop Album Review: Florence + The Machine’s “Dance Fever” – Inside the Artist’s Mind

Dance Fever is one of the few pandemic-themed artworks that doesn’t feel contrived — it is specific about the value of music to the individual and by extension to the community.

By: Henry Chandonnet Filed Under: Featured, Music, Review, Rock, Uncategorized Tagged: Dance Fever, Florence + The Machine, Henry Chandonnet

Classical Album Review: Orion Weiss’s “Arc 1” — Crafting a Strong Sense of Impending Doom

The album serves up exceptional stuff, even if the program’s a touch macabre and pianist Orion Weiss’s well-written liner notes make uncomfortable connections between the world of pre-World War 1 Europe and our own pandemic-riddled age.

By: Jonathan Blumhofer Filed Under: Classical Music, Featured, Music, Review Tagged: Arc 1, First Hand Records, Orion Weiss

Concert Review: Joe Jackson at the Shubert Theatre — A Restlessly Creative Artist at the Peak of his Powers

Trampling on the expectations of his fans, of course, is a big part of what makes Joe Jackson the singular talent he is — and most of his admirers wouldn’t have it any other way.

By: Jason M. Rubin Filed Under: Featured, Music, Review, Rock Tagged: Jason M. Rubin, Joe Jackson

Opera Review: “Champion: An Opera in Jazz” — Fought to a Draw

The cast for this Boston Lyric Opera production was first-rate, and composer Terence Blanchard has worked in a wide variety of jazz styles and shifts gears to keep the score swinging throughout.

By: Con Chapman Filed Under: Classical Music, Featured, Music, Opera, Review Tagged: Boston-Lyric-Opera, Champion: An Opera in Jazz, Con Chapman, Emile Griffith, Michael Cristofer, Terence Blanchard

Classical Album Review: The Claremont Trio’s “Queen of Hearts”

What might be the most impressive feature of this disc: everything on it was written for The Claremont Trio since 2008. The album stands as a shining testament to their adeptness as an ensemble as well as their curiosity as musicians.

By: Jonathan Blumhofer Filed Under: Classical Music, Featured, Music, Review Tagged: Andrea Lam, Emily Bruskin, Julia Bruskin, Queen of Hearts, The Claremont Trio, Tria Records)

Rock Album Review: Cave In’s “Heavy Pendulum” — Covering the Battlefield from Both Sides

Cave In’s new album is more than a return to form — it is a surging breakthrough.

By: Scott McLennan Filed Under: Featured, Music, Review, Rock Tagged: Cave In, Final Transmission, Heavy Pendulum, Scott McLennan

Jazz Album Review: Ches Smith’s “Interpret It Well” — Confident Improvisations

I am not sure where the track titles come from, but I am guessing the problems the band had getting together under Covid must have something to do with them.

By: Michael Ullman Filed Under: Featured, Jazz, Music, Review Tagged: Ches Smith, Craig Taborn, Interpret It Well, Mat Maneri, Pyroclastic

Music Commentary: The Gershwin Prize and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — Selling Out Quality for Profit

Both the Gershwin Prize and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exist to glorify popular song. Both, in fairly short order, relaxed their initial high artistic standards.

By: Daniel Gewertz Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, Music Tagged: Gershwin Prize, Lionel Richie, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Album Review: Omar Apollo’s “Ivory” — Making Good on His Promise

Ivory is at its best when Omar Apollo fully commits to taking adventures into different sonic spaces.

By: Alexander Szeptycki Filed Under: Music, Popular Music, Review, Rock Tagged: Alex Szeptyck, Apolonio, Ivory, Omar Apollo

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