Steve Smith
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New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, by Richard Termine/The New York Times New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players: Patience at Symphony Space, January 3, 2014The New York Times, Jan. 6, 2014 Don't know that I would call Patience my favorite Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, as did a friend of mine on Facebook – I love…
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Yefim Bronfman with the New York Philharmonic, by Hiroyuki Ito/The New York Times New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, January 2, 2014The New York Times, Jan. 4, 2014 My first concert review of 2014: a terrific program featuring the New York Philharmonic with its current artist in residence, pianist Yefim Bronfman, in a concerto…
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"Tomorrow's Valhalla: Critics Weigh in on Standout Operas of Recent Decades"The New York Times, January 5, 2014 As longtime perusers of this blog already know, I always enjoy features in which all the classical-music reviewers for The New York Times are asked to mix it up on a single topic. I missed posting the recent…
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Michael Pisaro – Unter Eichen – Barry Chabala (Roeba) Matt Davis, Phil Durrant, Mark Wastell – untitled (Confront Recordings) Anne Guthrie & Barry Chabala – Preston Hollow (Roeba) The Sealed Knot Live at Café Oto (Confront Recordings) Anne Guthrie – Perhaps a Favorable Organic Moment (Copy for Your Records) Rapoon – Vernal Crossing Revisited (Zoharum)…
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Kate Soper and Gelsey Bell, by Kobi Davis Welcome to 2014—and what a crazy weekend for contemporary American opera in NYC January 11-12 is turning out to be. Not only will the second PROTOTYPE Festival be in full swing (about which more to come), but Morningside Opera will present Here Be Sirens, a new chamber…
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<a href="http://noveller.bandcamp.com/album/artifact" data-mce-href="http://noveller.bandcamp.com/album/artifact">ARTIFACT by Noveller</a> "And you can tell everybody that this is your song…" Just out from Noveller – a.k.a. guitarist/looper/soundscaper Sarah Lipstate – is ARTIFACT, a new compilation of 12 short solo tracks, each created for an individual who purchased a copy of the limited-edition DVD box set of the same title that…
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Michael Pisaro – asleep, forest, melody, path – ensemble/Greg Stuart (SoundCloud) Various artists – *AND (Parlour Tapes+) Gustav Mahler – Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen; Kindertotenlieder; Rückert-Lieder – Christian Gerhaher, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal/Kent Nagano (Sony Classical) Antonio Vivaldi - Concertos for Two Violins and Strings I – Dmitry Sinkovsky, Riccardo Minasi, Il Pomo d’Oro (Naïve) Trabajo…
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Morgan Krauss and Rebekah Heller Rebekah Heller and Ryan Muncy at Spectrum, December 14, 2013Night After Night exclusive I first encountered the music of Morgan Krauss almost exactly one year ago in Chicago, during the valiant "(Re)New Amsterdam" benefit concert organized by Marcos Balter and Doyle Armbrust at the Empty Bottle. The day was long…
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Giuseppe Verdi – Falstaff – Regina Resnik, Cloe Elmo, Licia Albanese, Martha Lipton, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Leonard Warren, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus/Fritz Reiner (Sony Classical) Clime – Paleochannels (S.I.N.K. CDs) Nectar of the Moon – Synthetic Perceptions/Neural Oscillations (S.I.N.K. CDs) Nathan McLaughlin – Karen Studies (Scissor Tail) Motion Sickness of Time Travel – Ballade…
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American Symphony Orchestra, by Hiroyuki Ito American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, November 17, 2013The New York Times, Nov. 19, 2013 The other of my two reviews that ran on November 19. Another satisfying outing with the A.S.O., and maybe the first review in which I came right out and said that anyone still getting…
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John Orfe of Alarm Will Sound, by Hiroyuki Ito Alarm Will Sound at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 16, 2013The New York Times, Nov. 19, 2013 Finally getting around to posting two reviews that ran in the Times last Tuesday. Both concerts were events I specifically requested, and neither disappointed. This Alarm Will Sound…
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I've written about the music-sales website/service Bandcamp so often, here and on social-media channels, that I run the risk of sounding like a shill, I know. But I can't help it: I just love the browsing, streaming, shopping and sharing capabilities it delivers. Early on, my admiration was slightly mitigated by the idea that even…
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New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, November 14, 2013The New York Times, Nov. 18, 2013 A brilliant local premiere for Christopher Rouse's gorgeous Oboe Concerto by Liang Wang, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic, bracketed by rock-solid renditions of Richard Strauss's Don Juan and Also sprach Zarathustra. This was the kind of night…
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Marcos Balter, by Kat Keers Classical Playlist: András Schiff, Janine Jansen, Rebekah Heller and MoreThe New York Times ArtsBeat, Nov. 13, 2013 A playlist of a different kind than the sort this blog is known for, and an attempt at solving the recent problem of too many worthy recordings and not enough space in…
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Rangefinder – Night Ride (Bun Tapes) Son Lux – Lanterns (Joyful Noise) Tim Hecker – Virgins (Kranky) Jennifer Koh and Shai Wosner – signs, games + messages (Cedille) Billy Gomberg – Waiting in Poor Lighting (Avant Archive > Bandcamp) Juan Blanco – Nuestro Tiempo/Our Time (Innova) GE Stinson – masters of the abstract (an homage)…
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Green Heights by Toshimaru Nakamura + Ken Ikeda + Tomoyoshi Date There's no reason why I should be surprised to find anything on Bandcamp nowadays… and anyone who knows me even a little, in person or online, also knows what an avid ’camper I am. Still, I admit that I was pleasantly taken aback to…
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<a href="http://gestinson.bandcamp.com/album/masters-of-the-abstract-an-homage" _mce_href="http://gestinson.bandcamp.com/album/masters-of-the-abstract-an-homage">masters of the abstract (an homage) by g.e.stinson</a> Left coast guitar artist GE Stinson, a founding member of seminal New Age/fusion ensemble Shadowfax who moved onward to all manner of rich, gripping projects, has just reposted this 2011 "homage to some of the masters of abstract jazz and improvisation." I was going to…
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The New York Times building, by Richard Perry/The New York Times I've promised myself for quite some time now that I'd finally get around to catching up with posting my writing for the Times here with a couple of omnibus posts, and now I'm finally making the time for it. Here's the first, covering everything…
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Rebekah Heller – 100 names (Tundra) Phyllis Chen – Little Things (New Focus) Motion Sickness of Time Travel – Ballade for a Harvest Moon (Hooker Vision) Grant Evans – Roman Persuasion (VAALD) Kevin Drumm/Jason Lescalleet – The Invisible Curse (Glistening Examples < Bandcamp) William Winant – Five American Percussion Pieces (Poon Village) Katie Gately –…
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&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;amp;amp;quot;http://recordings.irritablehedgehog.com/album/eva-maria-houben-piano-music&amp;amp;amp;quot; _mce_href=&amp;amp;amp;quot;http://recordings.irritablehedgehog.com/album/eva-maria-houben-piano-music&amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Eva-Maria Houben: Piano Music by R. Andrew Lee&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; It's not all bad news today; it only seems that way. The world's a mess, but all is right with pianist R. Andrew Lee, who continues to blaze deep trails into the music of major minimalists past and present. New today on the Irritable…
Night After Night 