Music
Pianist Haochen Zhang’s Boston appearance proved that his Cliburn win was no accident. He may be only 20, but his playing was nearly flawless all evening, and his interpretations were those of a fully mature artist. By Caldwell Titcomb. Last year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition turned out to be a most remarkable event. The…
The first weeks of December feature lots of fine jazz, from the 25th-anniversary concert of the Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra to the Moroccan vocalist and sintir player Hassan Hakmoun and a Klezmer Nutcracker. By J. R. Carroll. At 8 p.m. on Friday, December 3, Emmanuel Church hosts the 25th-anniversary concert of the Jazz Composers Alliance…
The Ups and Downs of the biz. At this time of year it’s easy to question your choice of residence in sun-deprived New England. The cold, the wet, and the absence of vitamin D in your skin rattles through to your bones and leaves you asking, can we just skip to June already? You are…
A modern version of the venerable double bill: first, Drácula, a 1931 Spanish-language film accompanied by guitarist Gary Lucas performing his half-improvised original score. Next came the film Spark of Being, a re-imagining of the plot of Frankenstein, co-directed by filmmaker Bill Morrison and trumpeter-composer Dave Douglas, who led his band Keystone in 13 pieces…
BEMF’s Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs have, once again, produced a work of impeccable and imaginative scholarship for a production that’s not only historically informed, but musically, dramatically, and visually entertaining. Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell and Nahum Tate. Presented by the Boston Early Music Festival. At New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA,…
December classical music offerings range from a recital by 20-year-old Haochen Zhang, who won last year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, to The MIT Chamber Music Society presentation of a free, two-piano concert, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project taking on, without charge, an evening of music by three women composers. By Caldwell Titcomb. December…
The Parker Quartet’s appearance here in Jordan Hall on November 22 was marked by one surprising feature: there was not a single music stand to be seen on the stage. It turned out that the four musicians played the entire concert from memory. By Caldwell Titcomb Haydn is widely called the Father of the Symphony,…
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson is helped by having unusually wide stretches in both hands. And like Chopin’s own playing, he never resorted to harshness or banging even in climactic passages. By Caldwell Titcomb Of all the musical events scheduled for this season I was most eagerly looking forward to the November 14 Symphony Hall recital by…
Like a guru, Sonny Rollins offered words to live by at the conclusion of the show, words that are his own guidelines as much as they were advice to his fans: “Keep yourself straight and never mind the rest of the world.” By Steve Elman Imagine a great, blank canvas. Now begin to populate the…
Composer John Adams (b. 1947) was represented by two impressive works: “Chamber Symphony” (1992), and “Son of Chamber Symphony” (2007). For some reason the latter opened the concert and the former closed it, but no matter. By Caldwell Titcomb The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) kicked off its season with a Jordan Hall program on…
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