Steve Smith
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“A Composer Forever English, Cows and All”The New York Times, July 13, 2008 Meant to be posted yesterday but delayed due to Typepad shenanigans, here’s an article marking the 50th anniversary of the passing of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Specifically, the article focuses on two recent audio and video releases meant to mark the…
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I never saw At the Gates “back in the day,” so to speak, so I can’t compare last night’s show at Irving Plaza to what the band might have sounded like when they last played here 12 years ago. In 1996 I was barely keeping up with what was new in metal at all, and…
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The downward spiral continues: According to a recent declaration from the Environmental Protection Agency, the “value of a statistical life” in America is $6.9 million, down a million dollars from just five years ago. Sounds like a punchline, but Associated Press science writer Seth Borenstein spells out what it actually means: When drawing up regulations,…
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Washington Square Music Festival Ensemble in Washington Square ParkThe New York Times, July 10, 2008
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The Attacca Quartet at the Museum of Modern ArtThe New York Times, July 8, 2008
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The word waterboarding has become a familiar part of American conversation during the last year or so, but in practical terms it still remains something out of black-ops fiction. That’s why controversial author Christopher Hitchens agreed to a challenge from Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter and submitted to a waterboarding session at the hands of…
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That classical music critics are losing their jobs all over the place is a fact, and a seriously lamentable one. But Justin Davidson — formerly of Newsday, now of New York magazine — offers some sobering context in an essay, “Whither Withering Criticism?,” published today on MusicalAmerica.com: After I left Newsday, where I worked as…
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Andrew Druckenbrod, the sharp classical music critic at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has been posting short, spontaneous essays in a blog-esque online forum provided by the newspaper for just over a year now. As of just a few days ago, however, Classical Musings has transformed into a real blog. Andrew now operates the whole thing; comments…
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The NeoLit Ensemble at BargemusicThe New York Times, June 30, 2008 (web exclusive, at least so far)The New York Times, July 1, 2008
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Luca Francesconi – ‘Etymo’; ‘Da Capo’; ‘A Fuoco’; ‘Animus’Barbara Hannigan, soprano; Pablo Márquez, guitarist; Benny Sluchin, trombonist; Ensemble Intercontemporain, conducted by Susanna Mälkki.Kairos 0012712KAI; CD.The New York Times, June 29, 2008(Kairos Music Shop)
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It’s always a pleasure to welcome a new voice to the classical blogosphere, but in the case of South Florida Classical Review, it comes at a high cost. The blog is run by Lawrence A. Johnson, a veteran journalist and critic whose writing we’ve all read in Gramophone, Opera News, Opera, The New York Times,…
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The Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Naumburg BandshellThe New York Times, June 25, 2008
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I promised on Monday that I wouldn't subject you to a tirade regarding the horrible compromise that the current version of the FISA bill, passed by the House and now under Senate consideration, represents, and I won't. I will, however, urge anyone interested in this critical piece of legislation, and the genuine threat to civil…
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At least I don't have to make any excuses for not writing a post about last night's show by Rickie Lee Jones at (Le) Poisson Rouge — it was canceled. Otherwise, though, I've let issues old (overwork) and new (spotty connectivity) prevent me from checking in for slightly more than a week — which really…
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The Orchestra of St. Luke's at the Caramoor International Music FestivalThe New York Times, June 23, 2008
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Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance at Mannes College the New School for MusicThe New York Times, June 12, 2008
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The banner in the Denver airport welcomes everyone to the 2008 National Performing Arts Convention, a gathering of presenters, artists, advocacy organizations and other interested parties from across the country. I'm specifically here to take part in the annual meeting of the Music Critics Association of North America, which I haven't been able to attend…
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New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' H.M.S. Pinafore at City Center and American Composers Alliance at the Leonard Nimoy ThaliaThe New York Times, June 9, 2008
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Hillary, please, ignore everything I've said since Wednesday night: I didn't waste my primary vote, and I love you all over again. This beautiful speech made me proud to be a thinking American.
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Morton Feldman – ‘The Viola in My Life’Marek Konstantynowicz, violist; Cikada Ensemble; Norwegian Radio Orchestra, conducted by Christian Eggen.ECM New Series 1798; CD.The New York Times, June 8, 2008(ArkivMusic, Barnes & Noble)
Night After Night 