Classical Music
By Caldwell Titcomb July 7: The Church of St. John the Evangelist offers a series of free, late-afternoon Wednesday concerts, now in their fourth year. The July series starts off with a tribute to the 200th anniversary of Robert Schumann in the form of two of the greatest song cycles ever written (both from 1840).…
The narrative turns out to have the blandly cheerful tone and slightly stilted prose of an official biography: the sort of thing with the CEO’s picture on the cover, given out at stockholders meetings. Chuck Close: Life, by Christopher Finch. Prestel, 352 pages, $34.95. Reviewed by Peter Walsh In these media-saturated, image-obsessed times, every public…
Working with Bernstein: A Memoir by Jack Gottlieb. Amadeus Press, 370 pages, $24.99. Reviewed by Caldwell Titcomb A strong case can be made that the late Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was the all-round greatest musician our country has produced—virtuoso pianist, composer of both classical and popular music, the most charismatic conductor of his century, acclaimed educator…
Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb The Jordan Hall stage was crammed full of 70 players for the season’s final concert by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) on May 28. Under its artistic director Gil Rose, we heard music by five composers, the earliest dating from 1989. For two works the distinguished baritone Sanford Sylvan (b.…
By Caldwell Titcomb June 4: The Old West Organ Society presents Yuko Hayashi in an organ recital celebrating the 40th anniversary of the C. B. Fisk organ. Old West Church, 131 Cambridge Street, Boston, 7 p.m.
Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb The Boston Pops, celebrating its 125th anniversary, is devoting its third week of programs (May 18-22) to “American Heroes”—both living and dead. The most newsworthy feature is a new cantata entitled “The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers.” Pops conductor Keith Lockhart addressed brief remarks to the audience…
Like music directors of orchestras and chamber groups, choral conductors cannot resist a program with a theme, and for this one, Steven Karidoyanes struck pay dirt. Reviewed By Susan Miron The Masterworks Chorale finished their 70th season at their customary home, Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA on Sunday, May 16. To these ears, it was the…
Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb Opera Boston is winding up its season with a delightful production of Jacques Offenbach’s La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867). This operetta, one of more than 100 of Offenbach’s works for the music stage, followed closely after three of his most accomplished contributions: La Belle Hélène (1864), Barbe-Bleue (1866), and La Vie…
By Caldwell Titcomb May 1: The month kicks off with an unusual concert celebrating the noted tuba player Kenneth Amis, who joins the MIT Wind Ensemble. Amis will play his own “Concerto for Tuba” (2007), along with the premiere of his “Bell-Tone’s Ring,” and pieces by famous European composers. At MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts…
Mozart wrote some wonderful music in Idomeneo for his wind players, who were up to the task under the capable baton of David Angus. Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb Turning out an enormous amount of music in a host of genres during his short life (1756–91), Mozart felt that opera was his most important task. It…
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