Review
The arrangements seem to emerge organically from the structure and feel of the compositions and harmonies, like leaves unfolding from the stem of an exotic plant.
“The Mother and the Whore” is a film about failure: its characters are pushed towards misery not only by their own flaws, but by the failure of the ‘60s to deliver a promised revolution.
Three re-issued albums reinforce the claim that jazz recordings hit their peak from 1956 to 1964.
While the experience is new and otherworldly, it was daunting to realize that it had taken over a decade for Compagnie Käfig’s exercise in cutting-edge art and technology to reach the hinterland of Jacob’s Pillow.
The album is a welcome appendix to the conductor’s admirable symphonic cycle with this orchestra, as well as a timely reminder of Vaughan Williams’ compositional range.
Children’s Book Reviews: Stories for Kids about Empowerment, Protest Movements, and Multiculturalism
A trio of books for kids about combating injustice.
“Spooky Action” succeeds at its ‘unreasonable’ mission — to supply poetry that sears the mind, charms the heart, and uplifts the spirit.
A three-movement concerto for violin and orchestra, “Dependent Arising” fuses the worlds of heavy metal, punk rock, and 20th-century classical composition into a furious, frenetic, sometimes tortured thirty-minute whole.
Ultimately, then, we’ve got something special here: a fresh take on some canonic works by a conductor and soloist whose bread-and-butter is this very fare.
Aharon Appelfeld’s final novel is haunting meditation on how to deal with past hostilities that are all too present.
Arts Commentary: The Nelsons Case