Classical Music
Conductor Robert Treviño celebrates what we might call the dawning of the North American vernacular school; composer Ethan Iverson displays a fascination with instrumental color.
Wow. Stewart Goodyear can play Prokofiev. The Czech Philharmonic and Tomás Netopil are compelling advocates, playing Dvořák with plenty of rhythmic zest and tonal warmth.
The opera repertory is so much richer than what gets staged nowadays; many of the most exciting recordings that came my way are of somewhat or entirely forgotten operas from past eras.
There are already countless fine documents of the Sibelius Concerto, but Canadian violinist James Ehnes finds new angles from which to examine this favorite; Frank Dupree is a dexterous keyboardist whose grasp of Nikolai Kapustin’s jazzy style is assured.
The group presented a program of edgy music with the bloom of youth.
Kevin Puts’s mesmerizing song cycle probes the passion, loss, and resignation in the relationship between the artists Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz.
The whole effort culminated in the finest orchestral performance these ears have heard in Boston since, well, the last time the Berliner Philharmoniker was here.
The Belvedere Series is a chamber music group whose mission of bringing the art form to new audiences is matched by an admirable desire to expand and redefine just what the canon is. Even better: that ambition is backed up by top-flight programming, playing, and musicianship.
The only serious flaw in Boston Lyric Opera’s stripped-down staging approach to Aida was that not all the participants were quite up to the organization’s usual standards.
Concert Review: Horizon Ensemble Ushers in a Festive Autumn
There wasn’t much autumnal despondency in this Horizon Ensemble program; it was dedicated to the upside of the season, an invitation to enjoy all its warmth, friendship, and festivity.
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