Review
Composer Michael Daugherty’s lovely survey of 20th-century touchstones continues; violinist Philippe Quint plays a lineup made up (mostly) of commissions.
Poet Adrienne Rich’s journey serves as a model for meeting the challenge posed for artists and the rest of us today, confronted with the rise of authoritarian forces in America.
For fans of guitar music, two excellent new documentaries offer plenty of insight into impressive musical accomplishments as well as some memorable playing.
The at times chilling narrative of “The Atomic Bowl” raises probing and vexing questions about why we continue to face the threat of nuclear peril today.
Instead of living the life of James Bond, the spy hero of “Ghost Trail” copes with PTSD, the result of living in exile and surviving torture.
There are reassuring lyrics here that suggest that, no matter what terror comes along, our noble charge is to fight to the end, joyously.
Pianist Daniil Trifonov’s no stranger to playing Rachmaninoff with Nelsons and the BSO—they delivered a memorable outing of this very piano concerto in 2019—and, while Saturday’s traversal was periodically rusty, it built in spirit and tightness as the evening proceeded.
On “hommages,” United Strings of Europe is technically secure, rhythmically precise, richly colored, and ever attuned to matters of nuance and spirit. Tchaikovsky’s output could be uneven, and this installment of Alpesh Chauhan’s continuing traversal of the Russian icon’s orchestral music with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is proof.
The new “Portrait” package contains five hours of music by Bizet that is mostly unknown to music lovers and music lovers. Plus one of his best operas, a one-act written just before “Carmen”: 1872’s “Djamileh,” which is set in a harem.
This is an auspicious feature debut, a doomsday thriller that touches on resonant topical issues.
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