Music
A worthy present for Mozart on his 250th birthday: an original, sometimes eclectic, and mostly well-written book about the composer and his operas. “Mozart and His Operas” by David Cairns. (University of California Press) By Mark Kroll Mozart mania is back. In fact, it never left and don’t say I didn’t warn you. We are…
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth and just about every classical performing group is paying tribute. Enterprising souls are marketing everything from standard keepsakes to off-the-wall Mozart items. Mozart Salami, anyone? “Mozart: The Early Years, 1756-1781″ by Stanley Sadie. (Norton) By Mary Ann Nichols Among the more erudite celebrations of the event…
Bruce Springsteen’s latest album, widely billed as his homage to folk music, is a tribute to Pete Seeger “We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions,” Bruce Springsteen. By James Marcus It’s hard to pin down exactly when my Bruce Springsteen problem began. As a teenager I worshipped the guy, and still recall a blistering 1977 show…
The current kings of sly-clown fox-rock, Eagles of Death Metal and Electric Six know how to put the fun back into rock and roll. The Eagles of Death Metal, “Death by Sexy” (Downtown); Electric Six, “Senor Smoke” (Metropolis Records) By Milo Miles Rock and roll used to be a joke. The most dangerous joke in…
A consumer guide for those who want the low-down on the best of the recent crop of music fundamentalists.
The Italian composer’s famous masterpiece “La Traviata” receives a production that is worthy of the opera’s enduring artistry. By Mark Kroll The Boston Lyric Opera has just begun a nice long run of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” and this is a good thing for Boston’s opera lovers. “La Traviata” finds Verdi at the height of…
The composer turns 250 this year and everyone is trying to cash in on the worldwide party. By Mark Kroll You might not know if 2006 is the year of the dog or the dragon in the Chinese calendar, but you couldn’t have possibly missed the news that this year marks the 250th anniversary of…
Two excellent books, one by Boston rocker Jen Trynin, plumb the insides of the worlds of jazz and rock ‘n’ roll.
Old timers Ray Davies, an ex-Kink, and Donald Fagen, ex-Steely Dan, have released surprisingly youthful solo albums. “Morph the Cat” (Reprise); “Other People’s Lives” (V2) By James Marcus “Hope I die before I get old,” declared The Who’s Pete Townshend in 1965, and certainly there have been times, during his drink-and-drug-addled middle decades, when he…
In new albums, three innovative African musicians manage to turn what has been called neotraditionalism into a progressive style. Amadou & Miriam, Dimanche a Bamako (Nonesuch); Thione Seck, Orientation (Stern’s Africa); Daby Balde, Introducing Daby Balde (Introducing/World Music Network). By Milo Miles Starting in the late 1980s, the watchword for many leading African-pop performers was…
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