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Classical CD Reviews: Michael Tilson Thomas’ “From the Diary of Anne Frank,” Nielsen Symphonies nos. 1 & 2, and Arabella Steinbacher’s “Four Seasons”

July 27, 2020
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This San Francisco Symphony release proves to be a fitting send-off for music director Michael Tilson Thomas; there’s much to admire in the Seattle Symphony’s playing of Carl Nielsen’s first two symphonies; fiery energy from both violinist Arabella Steinbacher and the excellent Münchener Kammerorchester make their new disk a gem.

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Pop Album Review: Oliver Tree’s “Ugly Is Beautiful” — Embracing Our Inner Kookiness

July 27, 2020
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Though it’s inconsistent, Oliver Tree ‘s debut album offers an ample display of songwriting acumen along with his determined eccentricities.

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Book Review: “Lake of Urine: A Love Story” — Breaking Established Reality

July 27, 2020
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It’s hard to critique a novel that flies under such a resplendent banner, a wholesale rejection of the dead and decaying world of trends and war and meaninglessness.

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Book Review: Ornette Coleman –The Life of a Jazz Visionary

July 27, 2020
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“Ornette was looking for those notes, the ones that feel no pain.”

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Jazz Album Review: Following the Lessons of the Master, “Thumbscrew – The Anthony Braxton Project”

July 27, 2020
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The album’s set of pieces not only revels in the spirited formal experimentation of the great musician’s music, but its expressive urgency as well. Read More

Theater Review: “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” – What Lurks in a Zoom-screen Void

July 26, 2020
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The play’s swift running give-and-take is chillingly beguiling, its myriad allusions arousing your curiosity as you consider the characters’ positions and conclusions yourself.

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Classical CD Reviews: David Lang’s “love fail,” Christopher Rouse’s Orchestral Music, and Hub New Music’s “Soul House”

July 26, 2020
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For fans of David Lang and/or one of the country’s best choirs, this is a can’t-miss release; Christopher Rouse’s Fifth is about as fresh and engaging a Symphony as the composer wrote; Hub New Music plays the daylights out of Robert Honstein’s Soul House.

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Film Review: “The Rental” — Low Rent B and B Horror

July 25, 2020
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The Rental chugs along predictable genre rails, its characters settling into the expected “types” as screws are gradually turned on them by whoever’s surveilling from a distance.

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Live Concert Review — Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace

July 25, 2020
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The solo format at Alexandra Palace recalled his recent “Conversations with Nick Cave” tours, a similar chance for the singer to deconstruct his songs at the piano, except that he never addressed an imagined audience beyond his lyrics.

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Film Review: “Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful” — Naughty or Nice?

July 24, 2020
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In this documentary, the photographer and his art are not so much defended as explained through the voices of the world’s top models and movie icons with whom he worked.

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