Music
Biographer James Kaplan was aided by the assistance of Irving Berlin’s two elder daughters, and that makes this biography particularly valuable.
Nearly halfway into the set, Twigs finally turned to Magdalene, which casts an empowering light on Jesus Christ’s female companion — and stands among 2019’s best albums.
But really, what is a Bob Dylan concert these days if not a case study in transformation?
The Henry Purcell Society proves that playing mad can be a lot of fun.
These superbly produced — and sung, played, and conducted — holiday music albums are perfect stocking stuffers.
Michael Tilson Thomas delivers a towering Ives Fourth; pianist Conrad Tao’s American Rage is hard-edged and defiant, but also poignant and stirring; Gianandrea Noseda’s Shostakovich Fourth is ferocious.
A noteworthy recording of Ernst von Dohnányi’s Symphony no. 1; as usual, Harry Christophers and the Handel & Haydn Society play Haydn with their customary elegance and character; a celebration of British composer Eric Coates – his music’s impossibly fresh tunefulness, striking progressions, and vividly idiomatic orchestrations.
Violinist Liza Ferschtman and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra’s account of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto lacked nothing for momentum and spirit.
Terrific, fiery playing from George Li, one of the most compelling young pianists on the scene; Mariss Jansons’ recording of Shostakovich’s Tenth trudges from start to finish; irrefutable proof of Andris Nelsons’ excellence as a new-music conductor.
Tool is going to remain relevant as long as the band can still effectively unleash its nightmare-ish delights for fervid fans.
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