Music
No matter his musical surroundings, there is never any doubt that it is Joe Lovano you are hearing.
It’s Beethoven’s 250th birthday year: reviews of four sets of the complete piano concertos from, respectively, Paul Lewis, Stewart Goodyear, Inon Barnatan, and Stephen Hough.
The Haim sisters’ third album is their best yet, full of breezy, warm, and masterfully crafted songs.
Barely beyond his teenage years, MIKE still has a lot to discover about himself and the world. But he seems undaunted by the task, moving through this recording with pride and self-assurance.
An impressively original release from violinist Lara St. John and pianist Matt Herskowitz; a tremendous Ligeti performance from the Jupiter String Quartet; Justin Badgerow releases a finely curated and played survey of mostly 20th-century solo piano music from Brazil.
Arca’s first solo foray into pop music is as infectious as it is strange.
Pianist Thomas Adès proves himself a sympathetic champion of Czech composer Leoš Janáček; it’s not often that a Schumann-Mendelssohn album focuses on the music of Clara and Fanny (rather than Robert and Felix); Jenny Lin’s performances of piano pieces by Philip Glass don’t lack for style or technical command.
It took more than a century, but Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet has finally got the recording it deserves; it would be hard to beat the all-star line-up featured in The Cave of Wondrous Voice; and ready for some flawless Shostakovich?
That this assemblage works so well is a tribute to the big ears and hearts — and collective intelligence — of all the players here.
A superior new Lamb of God disc was not entirely unexpected; an excellent new Cro-Mags record, well, I didn’t see that coming.
Theater Commentary: Live Theater—An Incomparable Art Form