Classical Music
Music making of this caliber communicates—yet transcends—the tragic tone of these dramatic, religious texts. It brings both the words and the audience who hears them to life. By Susan Miron. Stile Antico, the youthful vocal superstars of Early Music, thrilled a packed St. Paul Church in Cambridge Friday evening. Having wowed audiences at Boston’s Early…
Read MoreAlfred Brendel was the first pianist to record all of Beethoven’s piano music in the 1960s and made many world tours with the 32 sonatas, which seemed like old, close friends. At times he would simply play a snippet here and there to illustrate a point, yet never long enough to satisfy this listener. I…
Read MoreI’ve been ruined by the Met at the Mall. Despite the worn-out, industrial carpeting and the popcorn and the lack of glamor, there are great advantages in seeing opera at the movies these days with state-of-the-art technology, especially the sound. By Helen Epstein. After spending most of the last opera season at the Burlington Mall…
Read MoreWe often hear about how Brahms and Mahler lived under the shadow of Beethoven’s symphonies, but I suspect many other composers had the last three sonatas in their heads, keeping them both inspired and humble. Beethoven Opus 109. 110, 111. Performed by pianist Till Fellner. At Seully Hall, Boston Conservatory, October 12, 2010. By Susan…
Read MoreThe Cantata Singers, a choral group highly esteemed for their programming and superior music making, has devoted the past few years to examining the choral music of one composer per season. The three previous composers to receive this lavish attention were Kurt Weill, Benjamin Britten, and Heinrich Schütz. This is their 47th season and their…
Read MoreThe bottom line is that Opera in HD is a huge hit all over the United States and is transforming the art form as it succeeds. Via The Met: Live in HD, New Englanders can experience parts of Wagner’s Ring Cycle without going to New York beginning on October 9 at 1 p.m. with the…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb. October 2: The Longwood Symphony Orchestra opens its 28th season, the sixth under conductor Jonathan McPhee, with a program of Sibelius and Delius. Award-winning Zina Schiff will be soloist in the demanding Sibelius Violin Concerto. Also on the program are Sibelius’s “Karelia Suite” and Delius’ lovely “Walk to the Paradise Garden.” At…
Read MoreOpera on Tap is designed to be surprising and fun – what other opera performance encourages its singers to walk right up to your table warbling high C notes? Opera on Tap at Oberon, September 26 and 27 By Chantal Mendes World famous opera master Luciano Pavarotti wouldn’t have been caught dead performing on a…
Read MoreSnobby and sober no more! Made up of singers who perform arias and duets in bars, Opera on Tap currently presents its innovative songfests in Chicago, New York, New Orleans, and Ann Arbor. Now the concept comes to Boston, with performances tomorrow and Monday night (September 26 and 27) at Oberon in Cambridge. Anne Ricci,…
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