Music
For all the hand-wringing in the media about the death rattle of jazz, what with record stores closing and radio stations losing listeners, Newport reminds you that the art form is alive and well, with a growing audience of people of all ages and races. By Charles McEnerney, Host + Producer, Well-Rounded Radio Both the…
Read MoreBy Helen Epstein This Tanglewood season, overshadowed by the absence of ailing maestros James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, and others who have canceled their appearances, has got me thinking about age and illness. There have been some compelling concerts these past two months, including Michael Tilson Thomas’s riveting Mahler renditions, but the absence of a strong…
Read MoreThe 51st Newport Folk Festival ended on Sunday with 35 acts over 3 days. When all is said and done, you could argue that this is no longer a festival about folk music, but two of the elder statesman that appeared this year—Richie Havens and Levon Helm (of The Band fame)—served as an inspiring bridge…
Read MoreThe death of Abbey Lincoln on Saturday August 14, just a week after her 80th birthday, rewound my audio memory to 1959. By Steve Elman I didn’t have to re-listen to “Lost in the Stars,” from her Riverside album Abbey is Blue. I can replay that performance any time I wish, just by thinking about…
Read MoreAmbient indie-pop and summery surf sounds take over Boston in the second half of August. By Thomas Samph August 13, Deerhunter at Royale At a Deerhunter show, the sight of frontman Bradford Cox’s skeleton-like figure striding on to the stage through a thick mist (sometimes wearing a dress) is as ethereal and spooky as his…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Harvard’s two main volunteer musical events of the summer took place on consecutive nights in Sanders Theatre. The Summer Chorus, buttressed by a full orchestra, held forth on Friday, July 30, and the Summer School Orchestra followed on Saturday, July 31. The former was of special significance since the conductor, Jameson Marvin…
Read MoreBy J. R. Carroll Now that we’ve reached the midpoint of the festival season, the early summer festivals have wrapped up or are in their final weeks, and some of the late summer festivals have firmed up their rosters. Photo by 18 Brumaire The ageless Newport Jazz Festival returns to Rhode Island the weekend of…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Stephen Sondheim, the greatest genius in the history of musicals, has turned 80 this year, and there have been celebrations of all sorts to mark this milestone. London joined the hoopla by devoting its BBC Prom 19 on July 31 to a full evening drawn from Sondheim’s achievements and presented in the…
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Arts Commentary: Rich in Creativity — But Nothing Else