classical music
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Isabel Mundry and Raphaël Cendo ECCE Ensemble at Goethe-Institut Boston, December 6, 2014Boston GlobeDecember 8, 2014 ECCE Ensemble's next public concert program will be a portrait of Mark Andre, a French composer based in Germany and a student of Gérard Grisey and Helmut Lachenmann, among others (and not to be mistaken for Marc-André Dalbavie). Bostonians…
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Boston Landmarks Orchestra at Church of the Covenant, August 13, 2014Boston GlobeAugust 16, 2014 Most orchestras don't need any particular excuse to drop a piece as popular as Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World") into a concert program. Still, it's eminently possible to present the piece in an original and edifying context –…
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iPhone photo, June 7, 2014 The fifth installment in the three-part [sic] series "Days between," compiling my unblogged recent work for The New York Times, and – for reasons I expect to be fairly obvious – the final installment for the foreseeable future. The end of a run that meant the world to me. As…
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James Maddalena, Michael Chioldi and David Kravitz, by Kathy Wittman Odyssey Opera June Festival at Boston University Theatre, June 11 & 12, 2014The Boston Globe, June 19, 2014 My first review for the Boston Globe covers the first two nights of a four-night festival by Odyssey Opera, a new company arisen from the demise of…
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[I intended to post this here on Monday, but the DDoS hacker attack on Typepad put paid to that notion, so I posted this on Facebook. Here it is, in case you missed it before now.—Steve] A new baby…a new work status…and now, a new job. What started with a simple email I received a…
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Truth be told, there wasn't a lot happening on Monday or Tuesday night, thanks to the convergence of Holy Week and Tax Day. Still, late is late, and late is frustrating – I'm still trying to get the hang of a schedule in serious flux, and there are new developments afoot as well. So much…
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Monday night was a wash in more ways than one, given nasty weather outside and more than a few loose ends to tie up during my final week at Time Out New York. Still, there's lots to look forward to during the next six days, most of all the world premiere of Robert Ashley's final…
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Reinier van Houdt, by Michelle V. Agins for The New York Times Jacob Greenberg and Reinier van Houdt at Spectrum, March 25, 2014The New York Times, March 27, 2014 Two separate recitals by brilliant pianists heard most frequently in group settings: Jacob Greenberg with the International Contemporary Ensemble, and Reinier van Houdt in the Ives…
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Emerson String Quartet at Alice Tully Hall, March 23, 2014The New York Times, March 26, 2014 My first time to see and hear the Emersons with their new cellist, Paul Watkins. Nice to know that it all still works, and that youngblood has lit a new fire in his crew.
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Colin Stetson and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, by Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times Colin Stetson with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Merkin Concert Hall, March 22, 2014The New York Times, March 25, 2014 This one came out really, really quickly, despite some hair-splitting fact-checking that ran up to deadline hour. Once I had…
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This week's agenda – delayed due to circumstances beyond my control, and reined-in because of my family's arrival in NYC to meet the newest member of the clan – includes just two events, both tomorrow night. That said, they're unquestionably meaty items. Tuesday, March 25: Jacob GreenbergSpectrum; 7:30pm; $15 Tuesday, March 25: Reinier van HoudtSpectrum;…
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John Zorn: Masada Book 3 at the Town Hall, March 19, 2014The New York Times, March 21, 2014 The biggest surprise about this particular concert was the fact that I was there; I'd originally been scheduled to cover a different event, but a sick colleague prompted a last-minute shuffle, and here we are. Because of…
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Third Coast Percussion, by Saverio Truglia Classical Playlist: George Antheil, Haydn, Sibelius and MoreThe New York Times ArtsBeat, March 19, 2014 My contribution: DAVID T. LITTLE: ‘Haunt of Last Nightfall’ Third Coast Percussion (New Amsterdam) Coming soon: Elliott Carter; Gil Shaham; Jeffrey Mumford; David Bowlin; Henri Dutilleux; Catherine Christer Hennix
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I find the implication that there are “ears” everywhere, at every point in a world, a fascinating concept, even if it is rather hard to imagine. It implies that position might be more important than time in hearing; and that the sounding configuration of a world can be understood (differently) from an infinite number of…
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Zubin Mehta, Diana Damrau and the Vienna Philharmonic, by Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, March 15 & 16, 2014The New York Times, March 17, 2014 The whole time Diana Damrau was cavorting on the Carnegie Hall podium – during a long evening's third and final encore, understand –…
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Alan Gilbert, by Karsten Moran for The New York Times New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, March 12, 2014The New York Times, March 14, 2014 In which I describe Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 4, "The Inextinguishable," like so: "A seamless sequence of vivid episodes, the piece is a craggy MacGuffin that shouldn’t work but…
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BBC Singers, by John Wood Classical Playlist: John Adams, Prokofiev, Harrison Birtwistle and MoreThe New York Times ArtsBeat, March 12, 2014 My contributions: MORTON FELDMAN: ‘For Philip Guston’ John Tilbury, pianist; Carla Rees, flutist; Simon Allen, percussionist (Atopos) HARRISON BIRTWISTLE: ‘The Moth Requiem’ Roderick Williams, baritone; BBC Singers, Nash Ensemble, conducted by Nicholas Kok (Signum)
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Frustrating to be posting an ostensibly timely feature a day late, but life and work sometimes collude to prevent free time. On the other hand, curiously enough, I hadn't made note of any particular events for Monday or Tuesday — go figure. My agenda for The New York Times this week is lively and diverse,…
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The New Silence aims to further specify and articulate the site of an event by manually adjusting the background noise during a performance situation, redefining the threshold of silence, thus revealing the new silence. Sounds from everyday life in the urban surroundings as well as from the building itself are examined and re-contextualized; one hears…
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Trinity Choir, by Tina Fineberg for The New York Times Trinity Choir at Trinity Wall Street, March 9, 2014The New York Times, Mar. 12, 2014 A very impressive new concert series is underway at historic Trinity Church: six concerts (not five, as I erroneously reported at first) running each Sunday afternoon through April 13. You…
Night After Night 