Music

Opera Album Review: “Judita” — A Stirring Modern Croatian Opera of Faith, Siege, and Beheading

February 21, 2026
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In its first commercial recording, Frano Parać’s “Judita” wrings compelling drama out of the biblical tale.

Book Review: The Look of the Sound — The Album Art of Prestige Records

February 19, 2026
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Along with its slew of images — photos, sketches, and ephemera as well as album covers — WAIL offers what amounts to a compelling oral history of the mid-century explosion, not only of recorded jazz but of graphic design and, by extension, a burgeoning New York cultural scene.

Album Review: “Love Life” — Lerner and Weill’s Pioneering 1948 Concept Musical Finally Gets Its First Recording

February 19, 2026
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Lauded in histories of Broadway but rarely performed, “Love Life” proves to be an insightful and effective work of social criticism, nearly eight decades after its premiere.

Jazz Album Review: “American Crow” — Maria Schneider’s Urgent Jazz EP Crows Against Big Tech

February 17, 2026
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Composer and bandleader Maria Schneider is a storyteller, and that’s the best way to approach her music for the first time. You listen like you read a short story, with your full attention, and your imagination synced with all of your senses.

Concert Review: Joy and Virtuosity Meet in “In the Fiddler’s House” at Symphony Hall

February 17, 2026
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Overall, the In the Fiddler’s House concert captured the infectious joy of this wondrous musical genre.

Musician Interview: George Steel on Launching a New Thursday-night Series at the Gardner Museum with Steve Reich’s landmark “Music for 18 Musicians”

February 17, 2026
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“I would say Music for 18  Musicians was probably the most influential piece of American concert music of the last quarter of the 20th century. You could conceivably stretch that to the most influential piece of American concert music since it was written.”

Film Review: “The Moment” — Charli XCX’s Self-Parody Is Just Another Product

February 14, 2026
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Perhaps “The Moment” did manage to nail one truth about the music industry: when fame and opportunity come knocking, it’s near impossible not to wring out every drop of profit.

Book Review: Spotlight on Rock’s Backbone: The “Backbeats” of 15 Drummers

February 13, 2026
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Backbeats is a detailed and informative story. Each profile functions as an entry point into a selective but substantial survey of roughly seventy-five years of rock history.

Rock Album Review: On “Normal Isn’t,” Puscifer Dances Through the New Abnormal

February 11, 2026
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Puscifer is alarmed that so many values, including bedrock rights, are under attack, with real people getting hurt (in some cases killed) in the process.

Jazz Album Review: Freedom Within Structure — Dave Douglas’s Bold and Playful “Four Freedoms”

February 6, 2026
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The members of Dave Douglas’ quartet members are alertly sensitive to each other and unfailingly intelligent in their choices, which makes them fun to hear.

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