Music

Concert Review: Boston Philharmonic Orchestra/Benjamin Zander at Sanders Theater

February 22, 2013
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In the slow third movement, Mr. Zander, the BPO, and the Symphony seemed to really be in sync: the music breathed, sighed, sang, and unfolded at a natural pace that brought out the best in everybody.

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Jazz Review: The Bad Plus Celebrates Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”

February 17, 2013
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Postmodern jazz trio The Bad Plus plays some of the prettiest Stravinsky ever performed.

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Fuse Jazz Review: Terri Lyne Carrington Takes on the “Money Jungle”

February 15, 2013
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No one would say that Terri Lyne Carrington’s versions of Ellington’s pieces are definitive, but they extend the legendary composer’s legacy in a personal and significant way.

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Book Review: Guilty Pleasures? — Rocker Peter Hook Takes Us Inside Joy Division

February 13, 2013
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Peter Hook’s memoir contains no earthshattering revelations, but it does offer a new way (or at least another way) of thinking about the four young men who made up Joy Division.

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Music Interview: In a “Heartbeat”

February 13, 2013
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Heartbeat is an international non-profit organization that is aimed at uniting Israeli and Palestinian musicians, educators and students in order to transform conflict through the power of music.

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Opera Review: An Uneven “Clemency” at the Boston Lyric Opera Annex

February 9, 2013
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Composer James MacMillan’s musical strategy in this opera is a stylistic patchwork that seems to mean to convey that each character inhabits a different, mutually misunderstood world.

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Rock Music Review: The Vaccines Grow Up, But It’s Not Easy

February 6, 2013
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While The Vaccines Come of Age is a very good album, I can’t listen to it without thinking that maybe the band grew up a little too fast.

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Concert Review: Renée Fleming and Susan Graham at Symphony Hall

February 6, 2013
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In an effort to give the proceedings an intimate, salon feel, the Symphony Hall stage was dotted with a couple of potted plants, three armchairs, and a pair of music stands; the cavernous environ of the space was still very much present, but one appreciated the effort to minimize it, even if only partially successful.

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Coming Attractions in New England Rock: February 2013

February 3, 2013
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Forget the Superbowl and screw Valentine’s Day. There is too much great music happening in our corner of the country to waste time on such frivolous occasions. Will you need snow boots or sunscreen this month? Only time will tell! Just make sure you have some cash and your ID and you’ll be good to go.

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Coming Attractions in Jazz: February 2013

February 3, 2013
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Miguel Zenón and Catherine Russell digging deep into the Great Puerto Rican and African-American Songbooks, celebrations of Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, and the Third Stream, and an impressive series of CD releases highlight the shortest month of the year.

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