Music

Classical CD Reviews: Offenbach Fantastique!, Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana,”and Rossini Project vol. 2

April 15, 2020
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More proof that Offenbach’s is a remarkable body of work; a serviceable, but not particularly notable, Cavalleria rusticana; another installment in the Rossini Project, brilliantly curated, stirringly played and sung, and beautifully recorded.

Classical CD Reviews: Thomas Adès’s Orchestral Works, Aaron Copland’s Symphony no. 3, and Leonard Bernstein’s “Songfest”

April 14, 2020
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A terrific release showcases the Boston Symphony Orchestra and composer Thomas Adès. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony deliver a radiantly honest recording of Aaron Copland’s Symphony 3.

Music Album Review: “Ghosts” — The Cowboy Junkies Confront Heartbreak and Sorrow

April 9, 2020
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Darkness is pervasive in this Cowboy Junkies album, but it is not all-encompassing.

Rock Album Review: Phish — Comfortably Optimistic at Home

April 6, 2020
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Sigma Oasis is one of Phish’s better albums since the group reunited in 2009 after a five-year breakup.

Arts Remembrance: Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020) and Christopher Rouse (1949-2019)

April 5, 2020
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Many of the qualities that mark Penderecki’s best work – exquisite technique, an innate feel for rhythmic athleticism, an ear for dazzling colors and theatrical gestures, an impeccable sense of musical structure, and the affinity for emotional immediacy – are also hallmarks of Rouse’s.

Jazz CD Reviews: Lakecia Benjamin & Dave Liebman Group — Rejuvenating the Past

April 5, 2020
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I’d have to give the edge to Dave Liebman in terms of innovative creative reach. But Lakecia Benjamin more than holds her own in how she gives re-vitalizing attention to some very important musical roots.

Music Review: Childish Gambino’s “3.15.20” — The Best (And Worst) of Both Worlds

April 4, 2020
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Childish Gambino is hamstrung by ambition, but 3.15.20 still contains a bevy of enjoyable songs, including one or two tracks that brush against brilliance.

Arts Remembrance: The Three Funkiest Handclaps in Music History — An Appreciation of Bill Withers

April 3, 2020
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When I think of Bill Withers I think of just three handclaps. It’s my favorite example in his music, or just about anyone else’s, of the power of restraint — not slamming and flailing about to shift a groove into overdrive.

Short Fuse Podcast #26 — Live Music and Talk with Student Musicians Aaron Halford and Matty Michna

April 3, 2020
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Musicians Aaron Halford and Matty Michna describe their journeys to Boston and ponders their futures beyond The Hub.

Music Review: Bob Dylan’s “Murder Most Foul”

April 2, 2020
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Bob Dylan’s new song not only articulates the madness that undermines the American experience, but supplies a certain kind of corrective, a tonic, for that kind of insanity.

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