Night After Night

Writing, a blog, and a newsletter. By Steve Smith.

Brentano String Quartet

  • Brentano String Quartet at Zankel Hall, February 12, 2013

    Brentano String Quartet, by Karsten Moran/The New York Times Brentano String Quartet at Zankel Hall, February 12, 2013The New York Times, Feb. 15, 2013 The world premiere of Steven Mackey's thoughtful, engaging One Red Rose, a fascinating reflection on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, shared a program with cheery Haydn and grandiloquently

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  • Full immersion.

    Frédéric Chaslin accompanies Kirstin Chávez.Photograph: Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times Tobias Picker Composer Portrait at Miller TheatreThe New York Times, October 10, 2011 The title of this post refers to the notion of a concert that touches on multiple facets of a single composer's work over the course of an evening: the useful

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  • Scotch snap.

    The Philadelphia Orchestra with Vadim Repin at Carnegie Hall, and Making Music: James MacMillan at Zankel HallThe New York Times, March 4, 2011 Cristina Zavalloni…words fail. So here’s some video from a 2008 Budapest performance with Louis Andriessen.

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  • Star chamber.

    The Movado Hour at the Baryshnikov Arts CenterThe New York Times, September 11, 2010 Attending Movado Hour performances at the Baryshnikov Arts Center on West 37th Street is always a special treat, with distinguished performers, intriguing programs and a delicious feeling of being part of an in-crowd without a hint of stuffiness. Given that the

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  • Moonlight becomes you.

    Mannes Beethoven Institute at Mannes College the New School for MusicThe New York Times, June 4, 2010 The short week evidently did a number on my memory: I wrote that this concert took place on Tuesday night, but it was actually on Wednesday. I am duly chastened, and a correction should be appended shortly has

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