Steve Smith
-
From the December 28 issue of Time Out New York (on newsstands this afternoon), here are my lists of the year’s top ten classical events, classical recordings and non-classical recordings. TONY‘s list of top non-classical live events, which was assembled by the entire music staff, included two of my choices: Anthony Braxton’s 12(+1)tet at Iridium…
-
Trinity Choir and Rebel Baroque Orchestra at Trinity ChurchThe New York Times, December 19, 2006
-
So Much More Than ‘Messiah’: Appreciating Handel in All SeasonsThe New York Times, December 15, 2006 I’ve always loved it when the Times staff has done these single-composer record round-ups, in which each critic gets to sound off about a handful of favorites. This one, in which the mandate was everything by Handel except Messiah,…
-
I should have guessed that spotting Elliott Carter at Monday night’s recital by pianist Pierre Laurent Aimard at Zankel Hall portended something out of the ordinary. Carter has been a genial presence at practically every performance of his music that I’ve caught in recent years, but nothing of his was scheduled for Aimard’s concert —…
-
Arnaldo Cohen at Town HallThe New York Times, December 12, 2006
-
CD review: Augusta Read Thomas – Prairie SketchesTony Arnold, soprano; Amy Briggs Dissanayake, pianist; Callisto Ensemble, conducted by Cliff ColnotART 19912005; CDThe New York Times, December 10, 2006(Amazon.com) Fortunate and few are the contemporary composers whose works have been documented by record labels in a timely manner. But Augusta Read Thomas provides a shining example…
-
The Tallis Scholars at St. Thomas ChurchThe New York Times, December 7, 2006
-
Remember the recent flurry of activity that surrounded Dave Douglas’s call to arms with regard to the overlooked heroes of jazz in the ’70s and ’80s — the period in which the music was allegedly dead? Remember Ethan Iverson’s response, and his subequent challenge to the Internet masses, summoning proof to the contrary? Remember how…
-
Chanticleer at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe New York Times, December 5, 2006 (Headline inspired by Time Out New York theater and cabaret critic Adam Feldman.)
-
"I know what’s on your minds, because it’s on our minds, too," saxophonist Phillip Johnston announced from the stage of Joe’s Pub shortly into a set by his temporarily reunited Microscopic Septet on Saturday night. "’The Micros aren’t as good as they used to be,’" he deadpanned. He added, "I’m here to say, we never…
-
"Happy Jazzy, Operatic, Symphonic Birthday, Dear Teacher"The New York Times, December 3, 2006 An article about Martin Bresnick, who celebrated his 60th birthday in November. Sure, Mozart, Shostakovich and Reich deserved all the attention paid to them this year, but Bresnick should not be overlooked. In addition to being a versatile, imaginative composer who studied…
-
The first half of the concert I attended on Friday night included traditional music from Scotland, an arrangement of Burmese pat waing drum tunes, a mash-up of Highland hornpipe and Balinese kotekan gestures, and compositions by Anthony Braxton. A massive global music summit? Not exactly. This was a solo bagpipes set by Matthew Welch, presented…
-
According to a report by Daniel Wakin in The New York Times on Wednesday, Lorin Maazel raised eyebrows at a Tuesday afternoon press luncheon for the new Symphonica Toscanini when, apparently unprompted, he announced that he had informed the New York Philharmonic board that Daniel Barenboim is the right man to succeed him when he…
-
Sooner or later, they’re going to have to put Hedda Gabler on ice, to judge by the implication of a TONY colleague who says he’s seen four productions in the last two or three seasons. It’s probably true: I’m by no means a regular theatergoer, much to my regret, but the Hedda I saw on…
-
One of last season’s breakaway Broadway hits was John Doyle’s innovative production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, in which Michael Ceveris, Patti LuPone and the rest of the cast doubled as the orchestra, playing all of the musical parts onstage. As I noted here, I thought that production was a stroke of genius; admittedly, it…
-
"Where Collectors Can Get Lost Classical Recordings"The New York Times, Saturday, November 25, 2006
-
The Lark Quartet at Merkin Concert HallThe New York Times, November 21, 2006
-
The American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall The New York Times, November 20, 2006
-
Jonathan Biss and Benjamin Hochman at the 92nd Street YThe New York Times, November 18, 2006
-
"Committed to the New, Now in Smaller Forms"The New York Times, November 16, 2006 An article about a surprising, smart new direction currently being pursued by the American Composers Orchestra, in which Corey Dargel, Susie Ibarra and Derek Bermel feature prominently. Tonight through Saturday night, the orchestra will be collaborating with Wynton Marsalis’s Lincoln Center…
Night After Night 