Steve Smith
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"In Brooklyn, a New Leader Who Knows No Boundaries"The New York Times, October 2, 2011 An article about the arrival of Alan Pierson as the new artistic director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, an esteemed ensemble that has known tremendous highs and disheartening lows over the years. At a time when the orchestra is not only…
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The Humans (Toyah Willcox, Chris Wong, Bill Rieflin, Igor Zarbzan), Highline Ballroom, Sept. 27, 2011 After 32 years as a singer, Toyah Willcox plays her first-ever show in New York City. Ms. Wilcox's personal set list for the evening (provided by An Official), transcribed: Sugar RushTitanium GirlLabyrinth *Love in a Different WaySmall Town PsychopathPlaying in…
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Tan Dun Martial Arts Trilogy in Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center Out of DoorsThe New York Times, August 15, 2011 Snapped with my iPhone, the image above depicts one of those moments described in the last paragraph of my Times review, when martial-arts movie images ceded to live-action video of Tan Dun conducting. Here he's leading…
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International Contemporary Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall and the Kaplan PlayhouseThe New York Times, August 9, 2011 Everything about these two Stravinsky-centric concerts was hugely admirable. But the opening stretch of the Tully concert — an unmanned "player piano" piece seguing into four small-ensemble pieces in tight sequence, accompanied by thoughtful lighting design — was…
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Photograph: Ruby Washington/The New York Times Joshua Bell with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Avery Fisher HallThe New York Times, August 8, 2011 Along with the amazing Ruby Washington photograph you see above, my review of last Friday's Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra concert is in The New York Times today. I'd previously stated that…
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Welcome back, my friends, to the show that repeatedly ends. Late June and early July were a time of uncertainty, with several disparate, largely unrelated issues and agendas conspiring to take up my attention. During the last week, though, a few key distractions were resolved at last. One tangible result, though perhaps not one of…
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Thinking back on the Batman and Detective comics I collected back in the early to mid 1980s, I remember preferring the issues drawn by Don Newton and Tom Mandrake, with strong, clean lines and clear depictions of the various characters in Doug Moench's hyperbolic dramas. The issues drawn by Gene Colan I felt less strongly…
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"Billy Bang, Jazz Violinist Inspired by Vietnam Experience, Dies at 63"The New York Times, April 17, 2011 Probably no more than a year after I moved to New York in 1993, my head full of dazzling notions about downtown-jazz royalty developed during previous years of listening and learning from afar in Texas, I was out…
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I didn't mean to let the blog slip again, honest. But the daily workload I manage is onerous enough on its own terms; factor in an impending vacation, and it was clear that something had to give. But that vacation, around nine days in Costa Rica from April 30 to May 8, did what it…
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New Juilliard Ensemble at Alice Tully HallThe New York Times, April 12, 2011
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21c Liederabend, Night One, at the KitchenThe New York Times, April 9, 2011 An outstanding event, but not my favorite piece of writing. Deadlines, word counts and basic human frailties are a continual challenge, and you don't win them all.
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WQXR "Trout Week": Ebène Quartet at the Greene SpaceThe New York Times, April 7, 2011 Between musical selections midway through this show, host Bill McGlaughlin asked the members of the Ebène Quartet how many concerts they present in a typical year. Around 120 was the response. After a few more tunes – "Misirlou," "Libertango," the…
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Anne-Sophie Mutter, Roman Patkoló and members of the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher HallThe New York Times, April 6, 2011 What kind of musician attracts Anne-Sophie Mutter's attention? Watch bassist Roman Patkoló playing Pablo de Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, a familiar violin showpiece, and you'll know the answer.
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Anne-Sophie Mutter with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher HallThe New York Times, April 2, 2011 In tempus praesens, the solemn, beautiful violin concerto by Sofia Gubaidulina that Anne-Sophie Mutter just performed with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New York Philharmonic, is the subject of a recent documentary film, Sophia: Biography of a Violin…
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American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie HallThe New York Times, March 31, 2011
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The Belcea Quartet at Alice Tully HallThe New York Times, March 30, 2011
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The Juilliard Orchestra at Avery Fisher HallThe New York Times, March 29, 2011
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The New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher HallThe New York Times, March 25, 2011 Writing reviews is seldom easy, but this one was an exception; somehow, once the opening bit came to me, the rest flowed without much effort. I had real fun with it. And yes, the opening quotes are genuine.
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Center for Contemporary Opera The Secret Agent at the Kaye PlayhouseThe New York Times, March 22, 2011
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Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien at Weill Recital HallThe New York Times, March 22, 2011 Already deeply impressed with Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova through her remarkable series of recordings on the Hyperion label — one of which I reviewed for the Times, here — I was thrilled to finally get a chance to hear her…
Night After Night 