Music
By Caldwell Titcomb A concert in memory of composer-teacher Edward Cohen (1940-2002) took place in the Kresge Auditorium of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on April 27. The participants included instrumentalists, vocal soloists, and the M.I.T. Chamber Chorus, led by Dr. William Cutter, director of choral programs at the Institute. Eddie Cohen
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb The Spectrum Singers, founded in 1980 and still led by John W. Ehrlich, presented a concert on March 29 entitled “An American Sampler.” Taking place in Emmanuel Church, the program was devoted to six composers of distinction, with particular emphasis on Aaron Copland (1900-1990) and Irving Fine (1914-1962). American composer Aaron Copland
Read Moreby Bill Marx A recent study in Editor & Publisher delivers the lowdown; with its circulation down about 20% in four years, The Boston Globe is in free fall. Two major investors in The New York Times, which owns the Globe, are “challenging the company’s investment decisions, including its commitment to the struggling newspaper industry…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb The most enterprising program offered by any of our local orchestras in years took place on February 23 when the New England Philharmonic presented a concert at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center. Founded in 1976, the orchestra is composed of both professional and non-professional musicians, led by Richard Pittman. The evening offered…
Read MoreBy J. R. Carroll This review/commentary will focus on Coltrane’s recordings with the Miles Davis Quintet for Columbia (in October 1955 and June and September 1956) and Prestige (in November 1955 and May and October 1956), as well as a variety of sideman dates and nominally leaderless sessions, many of which have recently been reissued…
Read MoreBy William Webster New Yorker music critic Alex Ross’ recent positive review of a concert featuring the compositions of Steve Reich at New York’s Carnegie Hall made me look forward to the presentation of the same program at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music late last month. Reich has garnered considerable attention and respect as…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb The operas of Lee Hoiby don’t come around often, but the best known of his seven stage works is Summer and Smoke, based on the play by Tennessee Williams. I still vividly remember the 1952 New York production of the play, which put off-Broadway firmly on the map and elevated the late…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb There are many who claim that the Berlin Philharmonic is the greatest symphony orchestra in the world. Whether true or not, this formidable institution visited Boston’s Symphony Hall this week, led by Sir Simon Rattle (b. 1955). From 1980 to 1998 Rattle raised the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to the top…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb Boston now knows what the international shouting has been about this year. In the field of classical music, the greatest buzz has focused on the frizzy-haired young conductor Gustavo Dudamel and his Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela (SBYO), which came to town for a November 7 concert in Symphony Hall.
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