Classical Music

Classical Music Sampler: March 2010

February 27, 2010
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By Caldwell Titcomb March 2: The Contemporary Music Ensemble in residence at Boston University, Alea III, under the direction of Theodore Antoniou, offers a free concert in celebration of the late eminent composer/teacher/conductor Lukas Foss (1922–2009). Works by Foss to be performed are “Echoi,” “For Toru,” “Elegy for Anne Frank,” “For Aaron,” “The Prairie,” and…

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Classical Music Review: Pianist Victor Rosenbaum

February 13, 2010
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Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb Among the top pianists who live in our area is Victor Rosenbaum (b. 1941). A faculty member of the New England Conservatory since 1967 (and a former chair of its Piano and Chamber Music Departments), he was also president of the Longy School of Music for 16 years (1985-2001). He teaches…

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Classical Music Review: Two Pianists Together

February 9, 2010
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Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb Solo piano recitals occur all the time, but concerts by duo-pianists are not common these days. The Celebrity Series filled the gap on February 7 when Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss teamed up for a Jordan Hall program of music for piano duet and for two pianos.

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Classical Music Review: Cantata Singers

January 18, 2010
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By Caldwell Titcomb The Cantata Singers, founded in 1964, has for 27 years had David Hoose as its Music Director. This year Hoose chose Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) as the composer to be featured in all four of the season’s concerts. There were numerous fine composers working in the seventeeth century, but Schütz is the greatest…

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Classical Music Review: Emanuel Ax

January 13, 2010
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By Caldwell Titcomb Jordan Hall in Boston was filled to capacity for the January 8 Celebrity Series recital by pianist Emanuel Ax. Now 60 years old, he has long harbored a reputation as a serious and thoughtful musician.

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Classical Music Sampler: January 2010

December 27, 2009
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By Caldwell Titcomb Jan. 6,7,8,9,12: The Boston Symphony is led by Ton Koopman (b. 1944), Dutch keyboardist, conductor, and specialist in early music, knighted in 2003 in the Netherlands. With a bow to Haydn, the bicentennial of whose death occurred in 2009, there are two works: Symphony No. 98 in B-flat Major (1792), and Cello…

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Classical Music: Gustavissimo – A Dudamel Update

December 7, 2009
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Leonard Bernstein was the most charismatic conductor of the last century. Gustavo Dudamel is the most charismatic of this one – and is likely to remain so for a long time to come. By Caldwell Titcomb In the arena of classical music, the world’s most exciting personage continues to be Gustavo Dudamel, the dynamo from…

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Opera Review: ‘The Bartered Bride’

May 9, 2009
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By Caldwell Titcomb In “The Bartered Bride,” Jennifer Aylmer plays Marenka, who loves the farmhand Jenik, but is pressured to marry Vasek, the son of a wealthy neighbor. Boston has had the unusual luck of experiencing two major Czech operas within a few weeks. First, the Boston Lyric Opera gave us Antonin Dvořák’s “Rusalka” (see…

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Classical Music Review: Boston Musica Viva

May 5, 2009
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By 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…

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Classical Music Review: Russians Do Russians

April 27, 2009
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By 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…

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