Music
This San Francisco Symphony release proves to be a fitting send-off for music director Michael Tilson Thomas; there’s much to admire in the Seattle Symphony’s playing of Carl Nielsen’s first two symphonies; fiery energy from both violinist Arabella Steinbacher and the excellent Münchener Kammerorchester make their new disk a gem.
Though it’s inconsistent, Oliver Tree ‘s debut album offers an ample display of songwriting acumen along with his determined eccentricities.
“Ornette was looking for those notes, the ones that feel no pain.”
The album’s set of pieces not only revels in the spirited formal experimentation of the great musician’s music, but its expressive urgency as well.
For fans of David Lang and/or one of the country’s best choirs, this is a can’t-miss release; Christopher Rouse’s Fifth is about as fresh and engaging a Symphony as the composer wrote; Hub New Music plays the daylights out of Robert Honstein’s Soul House.
The solo format at Alexandra Palace recalled his recent “Conversations with Nick Cave” tours, a similar chance for the singer to deconstruct his songs at the piano, except that he never addressed an imagined audience beyond his lyrics.
For an hour and a half, Blu examines himself on Miles, trying to understand who he is and where he comes from.
Music in Eight Parts is a welcome and inviting addition to the Philip Glass canon; the Summer of Thomas Adès continues with a stirring new recording of the British composer’s keyboard work; Anna Clyne’s Dance is, without a doubt, one of the finest pieces I’ve heard this year.
Cloud Nothings’ latest effort is less muscular than their previous work, but it still contains its fair share of hooky bliss.
Jazz Commentary: Ornette Coleman — An Outsider Cracks the Egg
The final, ineluctable quality that Ornette Coleman brought to the table was that he had an individual “voice,” which is the sine qua non and preeminent ethos in jazz.
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