Music

Rock and Book Review: New Visions of Metal, Heavy, Black, and Thrash

November 25, 2020
Posted in , , ,

“I think these shots bring out the fierceness of black metal, and the models are saying, ‘We can be this.’”

Read More

Classical CD Reviews: Anna Clyne’s “Mythologies,” Simone Dinnerstein’s “A Character of Quiet,” and Hélène Grimaud’s “The Messenger”

November 24, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Composer Anna Clyne’s new disc displays her maturity as a composer and brilliance as an orchestrator; pianist Simone Dinnerstein builds a number of bridges between Philip Glass and Franz Schubert; pianist Hélène Grimaud’s interesting program is marred by some uneven Mozart.

Read More

Book Review: “Sittin’ In” — Remembrance of Jazz Clubs Past

November 24, 2020
Posted in , , , ,

Sittin’ in raises fascinating issues and its wealth of ephemera provides an amusing context in which to ponder deeper questions.

Read More

Classical CD Reviews: Delibes Ballet Suites, John Williams in Vienna, and John Harbison Concertos

November 23, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Terrific performances, blazing with color, character, and wonderful technique from Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; John Williams and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra offer considerable pleasure with some misteps; another triumphant release from Gil Rose and the BMOP.

Read More

Book Review: “Nobody Ever Asked Me About the Girls” — A Disappointing Look at Women, Music, and Fame

November 23, 2020
Posted in , , , ,

Journalist Lisa Robinson deconstructed the idea of the girl who could hang with the guys (and laugh off their casual misogyny) long before Gillian Flynn immortalized the Cool Girl in Gone Girl.

Read More

Classical CD Reviews: François-Xavier Roth and Schumann, Herbert Blomstedt and Brahms, and Daniel Barenboim and Elgar

November 21, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Françoix-Xavier Roth delivers a must-have cycle of Robert Schumann’s symphonies; Herbert Blomstedt’s Brahms’s Symphony no. 1 is spacious, restrained, and – too often – dull; Daniel Barenboim’s latest Elgar installment features a regrettably unsung masterpiece.

Read More

Classical CD Reviews: Listening During COVID, Part 2 — A Lute, a Particularly Silken Steinway, and Mahler Himself Playing in a 1905 Piano Roll

November 18, 2020
Posted in , , ,

A trio of recordings help us rethink and rehear composers as varied as Barbara Strozzi (from the seventeenth century), Chopin, and Mahler.

Read More

Jazz Album Review: The Yellowjackets Celebrate Turning 40 — With a Big Band

November 17, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Now that ¾ of the Yellowjackets are eligible for Social Security, the emphasis is more on confirming a legacy of creative compositions and expanding their art of arranging with a broader range of colors.

Read More

Opera CD Review: Verdi’s Opera about Attila the Hun Gets a Taut, Vivid New Recording

November 16, 2020
Posted in , , , ,

Metropolitan Opera stars Ildebrando d’Arcangelo and Liudmyla Monastyrska headline a new recording that reveals Verdi operatic mastery five years before Rigoletto.

Read More

Jazz Album Review: The Royal Bopsters — A Polished “Party of Four”

November 15, 2020
Posted in , , ,

This recording displays a mastery of the techniques of the jazz vocal group genre.

Read More

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives