Music
Legendary soul and gospel diva Mavis Staples will ‘take you there’, into the New Year, at Symphony Hall (@ 9 p.m.) this Saturday, December 31th, marking the performer’s First Night debut in Boston.
Most importantly, there were the amazing, booming acoustics of St. Paul’s, which favored the soaring soprano voices that were, for me, the reason to see this excellent ensemble.
As nicely played as the Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky were, I left feeling that there was something distinctly anticlimactic about the Aviv Quartet’s programming choices. I would much rather have heard the Erwin Schulhoff close the evening –- or at least heard it sandwiched between the Romantic selections.
What the few of us in Jordan Hall heard that night was a richly conceived and beautifully performed song cycle, mostly serious, but with some great wit in exactly the right places. It made for a fascinating and enlightening contrast to the CD version of “Vespers,” which Steve Lacy recorded in 1993.
The superb Harvard University Choir, which is arguably one of the best ensembles of its kind in the country, was in fine form throughout the evening.
This is shorter, no-frills Opera as Cinema than the Met HD supplies: without long intermissions, star interviews and audience preludes and postludes from Lincoln Center, it’s almost an hour shorter.
In “Three Pianos,” three young actor-musicians unite in their irreverent passion for the music of Franz Schubert.
Boston Conservatory’s New Music Festival is inspiring a series of commentaries from Fuse Jazz Critic Steve Elman. Here is his third installment, which focuses on Gunther Schuller, who has inspired at least four generations of artists and revitalized a venerable institution of higher musical learning.
Wondering about what to give the arts and culture lover on your gift list? No problem — the sage writers for The Arts Fuse (with an assist from our readers) come to the rescue with thoughtful suggestions.
Boston Conservatory’s New Music Festival is inspiring a series of critical and speculative commentaries from Fuse Jazz Critic Steve Elman. Here is the second, which focuses on The Fringe and some of the qualities that make the trio special in the world of jazz.
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