Caldwell-Titcomb
By Caldwell Titcomb The world’s largest festival of classical music is the BBC Proms in London. Founded in 1895 by Sir Henry Wood (who in 1918 was offered the conductorship of the Boston Symphony Orchestra but declined), the Proms this season run for two months from mid-July to mid-September. The core of the enterprise is…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb The Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra (PACO), made up of the most talented high-school string players in California’s Bay Area, kicked off its first East Coast tour with an impressive June 27 concert in Harvard’s Sanders Theatre before a large audience that spilled over into the balcony.
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb If you know a bit about opera, you will have heard of Verdi – but perhaps not of Monteverdi. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was the first major composer in the history of opera, and the biennial Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is presenting his last opera, “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” (“The Coronation of Poppaea”)…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Starting in 1769 serious questions have been raised as to whether William Shakespeare (1564–1616) of Stratford-upon-Avon actually wrote the plays and poems attributed to him. For some years the true author was claimed to be Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626). So far, at least 60 persons have been put forward as the rightful…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Richard Pittman ends the 40th season of the Boston Musica Viva on a strong note. Back in 1969, Richard Pittman founded the Boston Musica Viva (BMV), the first local ensemble dedicated entirely to contemporary music. On May 1, Pittman and his colleagues wound up their 40th season with a concert of three…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Back for a return visit to Symphony Hall on April 22 was the National Philharmonic of Russia (NPR), founded in 2003 and not to be confused with the 19-year-old Russian National Orchestra. On the podium for this Celebrity Series event was violin virtuoso Vladimir Spivakov, who will turn 65 in September and…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Murray Perahia is the greatest living pianist – and you can take that to the bank. In 1974 I went to Boston’s Jordan Hall to hear a recital by the famous British tenor Peter Pears (1910-86), who would be knighted four years later. At the end of the concert it was clear…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Conductor Valery Gergiev’s podium demeanor is rather bizarre, but his musicianship is first-class. Valery Gergiev is one of the busiest musicians in the world. Among other assignments the 55-year-old conductor has headed the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly the Kirov Opera) for two decades, is principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New…
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