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Ge Gan-ru: "Lost Style"Kathryn Woodard, pianist; Margaret Leng Tan, vocalist; Frank Su Huang, cellist; Shanghai QuartetNew Albion NA 134; CDThe New York Times, September 16, 2007(ArkivMusic)
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At its core, black metal is protest music. Put aside for a moment the infamous associations with intolerance, the unfortunately all too true connections to genuinely heinous crimes such as church burning and even murder: what remains is the same sense of societal disaffection that sparked "Masters of War" and "Gimme Shelter." It’s even closer…
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For all that the members of Led Zeppelin said they’d never reunite, the Cream reunions of 2005 demonstrated conclusively that "never" doesn’t mean what it used to. So, exactly as the rumor mill had suggested, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones will be joined by Jason Bonham, son of late Zep drummer John…
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Keyboardist and composer Joe Zawinul, a founder of Weather Report and one of the most important architects of modern jazz, succumbed to cancer this morning in an Austrian hospital, aged 75. Here is the obituary from Reuters — which unfortunately dwells on Zawinul’s electric work with Miles Davis and thereafter, but omits altogether his important…
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Fall and all attendant memoriesCrowd the day with unrelated historiesEach year leaves its unresolving fantasiesTo hang around each cornerHang around each street. Thick with ghosts, the wind whips round in circuitriesCarrying words as strangers exchange pleasantriesDo they intrude upon your private reveriesAs they meet you on each cornerMeet you on each street. Watch for daily…
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As JSU intuited yesterday, Luciano Pavarotti, one of the all-time operatic greats, has passed from our presence. I am forced to confess that I was not a passionate fan in the end, being far more a partisan of the singer generally positioned as his arch-rival. Even so, when all is said and done, Luciano Pavarotti’s…
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The Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir at Avery Fisher HallThe New York Times, September 6, 2007
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David Del Tredici’s Final Alice (arr. Alexander Platt) at Maverick ConcertsThe New York Times, September 3, 2007
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"Concert Itinerary That Includes Dreamland"The New York Times, September 2, 2007 An article about the International Contemporary Ensemble, an ambitious, adventurous new-music group that has set up shop in Chicago and New York during the past few years. Each season, ICE has presented an increasing number of exceptional concerts here, culminating in the first local…
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Most of the time, I’m happy to stay far, far away from the spotlight — probably a lesson learned from my sole experience fronting a rock band in high school. I’m far better off behind a drumset, better still seated in the audience. Needless to say, when I tagged along with a group of Time…
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Two former Frank Zappa drummers go at it. The amount of time it must have taken just to assemble these two kits… well, kingdoms have surely risen and fallen in less of an expanse. My temptation to poke a bit of fun at Terry Bozzio and Chad Wackerman (heroes of my college years, mind you)…
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Schola Cantorum de Venezuela at the Mostly Mozart FestivalThe New York Times, August 27, 2007
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"A Composer Who Forged a Different, More Defiant Path"The New York Times, August 26, 2007 Rued Langaard – Symphonies 2 and 3; Symphonies 12 to 14Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Thomas DausgaardDaCapo 6.220516 and 6.220517.(ArkivMusic 1, 2; Barnes & Noble 1, 2) A review of two recent CDs featuring the music of…
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I’m fried, and completely stressed out over the number of tasks I’m currently trying to juggle — and the good Dr. LP has departed for distant shores, not to return until December. (I’ll be joining her in late September, but that’s a story for another post.) All things considered, what better time to give in…
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The debate over minimalist music that’s been going on here (and here, and here) and on Kyle Gann’s PostClassic may have slowed to a trickle, but new opinions continue to surface. Bruce Hodges added his perspective — accompanied by a stellar visual, as usual — at Monotonous Forest a few days ago. Earlier today, Tim…
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For those of you near a computer and a high-speed Internet connection, the world premiere of the Doctor Atomic Symphony by John Adams, with the conductor leading the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Proms, will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in approximately 20 minutes (as I type this at 3:27pm EST)… we’re about three-quarters…
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Bard Music Festival, weekend twoThe New York Times, August 21, 2007 See also Tony Tommasini’s fine review of the first weekend. And here, as cited by Tony and by scholar Byron Adams during the festival, is a film of Elgar recording the "Land of Hope and Glory" section of his ubiquitous Pomp and Circumstance March…
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Off to lovely Annandale-on-Hudson for an immersion in the world of Edward Elgar during the second weekend of the Bard Music Festival. I’ll be offline and incommunicado until Sunday night. Be good. Playlist: Edward Elgar – String Quartet in E minor – Maggini Quartet (Naxos); The Dream of Gerontius – Helen Watts, Nicolai Gedda, Robert…
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"When listening, keep in mind artists such as Frederic Chopin, Cat Power, Keith Jarrett, Talk Talk, and Chris Whitley — unless you don’t know any [of] them or are not a fan, in which case you should keep in mind Nick Drake, The National, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and other, trendier bands whose music…
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A legendary musician, composer, bandleader and activist has passed today. More to say later; meanwhile, head over to WCKR-FM, where an extensive tribute will begin at noon EST. Hank Shteamer has posted an appreciation on the TONY Blog, with links to relevant articles and videos. Update 1:51pm: The New York Times has just posted a…
Night After Night 