Music
1916 results
Page 141
Opera Company's "Otello' (1st review)
Otello's unsung heroine
If you see this very capable production of one of the greatest works in the operatic repertoire, I hope you will reflect, as I found myself doing at Sunday's matinee of Otello, on the unsung heroine of this particular tragedy.
Articles
5 minute read
A composer's intentions (Krantz's "Trio')
What did the composer mean to say? And does it matter?
How much do we need to know when we listen to music that presents a portrait of a family? I posed that nagging question to Lynn Henson, who commissioned Allen Krantz's Trio after a Harrowing ordeal.
Articles
5 minute read
Marina Sirtis with Orchestra 2001
She doesn't sing, but what an actress!
For its season opener, Orchestra 2001 delivered the kind of near miss that an innovative organization has to produce now and then. The main event of the evening was a performance by a guest star who didn't sing a note.
Articles
3 minute read
Why piano students cry
The agony and ecstasy of the amateur pianist
Somewhere in the world, a student cries at a piano lesson every 21 seconds. Why all this anguish? I believe that the emotional power of the classical piano literature itself is a powerful contributing factor. I speak from agonizing personal experience.
My evening with Miles Davis (memoir)
‘Guess who I'm snorting coke with?' Miles Davis, up (too) close
When Miles Davis walked into our San Francisco jazz club, I was operating the food concession. Unfortunately for me, food was the last thing the great jazz trumpeter wanted that night.
Articles
6 minute read
Natalie Merchant on tour at the Merriam
Professor Merchant lets her hair down
In her latest song cycle, singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant interprets the words of others through a dizzyingly diverse collection of musical influences, ranging from traditional folk and bluegrass to klezmer, Celtic, classical, jazz and, even a little rock 'n roll.
Articles
3 minute read
Varèse festival in New York
A sudden thirst for Varèse (but only in New York)
Edgard Varèse's music has no melodies and virtually no tonal implications; it's all wild, intense blocks of sound filling up musical and physical space. New York audiences went wild over it, and so did I.
Chris Isaak at the Keswick
A troubadour's lighter side
Chris Isaak has made his reputation as a tormented rockabilly troubadour, but his live performances reveal another side: A singer who refuses to take himself as seriously as he takes his music.
Articles
3 minute read
Orchestra's Chamber series: Maurice Wright
Maurice Wright's trifecta
The once-underappreciated composer Maurice Wright rounds out a winning season with a romp from his past.
Articles
3 minute read
Laurie Anderson at World Café Live
A legend with a laptop
Laurie Anderson brings her quirky take on life in America to Philly, raising a question: How should an audience respond to an artist who has made a career of defying any categorization?
Articles
3 minute read