Chopin masterpieces, Rossini duets, and songs, spirituals, and arias — all performed in ways that make the music dazzle.
Music
Arts Reconsideration: The 1971 Project — Celebrating a Great Year in Music (September Entry)
Arts Fuse writers continue their countdown of great music celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. This month’s list includes such big names as Bob Dylan, ZZ Top, The Who, The Beach Boys, and George Rochberg.
Rock Album Review: The Beach Boys, “Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions, 1969-1971”
It’s quite clear that the fickle record-buying public really screwed up in the early ’70s; the Beach Boys were on top of their game.
September Short Fuses – Materia Critica
Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.
Classical Music Review: “Dreams of a New Day — Songs by Black Composers”
The young baritone Will Liverman’s performances are full of spirit and a wide range of moods.
Concert Review: Dead and Company Still Alive and Kickin’
This was a generous two-set show whose imaginative pacing spotlit exploratory jams and interesting reconstructions of classic Dead fare.
Classical Album Review: Composer Joan Tower’s “Strike Zones”
For Joan Tower fans, this disc is a must; for the Tower-curious, it offers an excellent introduction to the composer’s wider work, all of it compellingly played.
Jazz Album Reviews: Andrew Cyrille and Amir ElSaffar — Two Restless Spirits
It might seem a stretch to pair drummer Andrew Cyrille’s disc with composer/trumpeter Amir ElSaffar’s. But both spent time under the tutelage of the redoubtable Cecil Taylor, and it shows.
Classical Album Review: Andris Nelsons Conducts Shostakovich
Interpretively, this installment in the BSO’s cycle of Dmitri Shostakovich’s fifteen symphonies is occasionally (and a bit surprisingly) spotty.
Music Remembrance: Gospel singer Lee Williams
A household name in Black America, Lee Williams had little need for the kind of crossover project that can earn a gospel act attention from the secular music media.