Music
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Gotham Chamber Opera Floats Martinu
Double Bill Absurd and Delicious
By: - Oct 17th, 2014Some say that Martinu is an acquired taste. Gotham Chamber Opera made the case for acquiring. A spirited, songful pair of one act operas graced the Gerald Lynch stage and young singers full of talent and lyricism filled the hall.
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Monteverdi Madrigals Examine Pains and Joys of Love
Boston Early Music Festival Gets in Gear for Monteverdi Festval
By: - Oct 15th, 2014Young Chamber Vocal Ensemble finds the contrasts in madrigals written 350 years ago that are still relevant today in a thrilling concert at Jordan Hall
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La Traviatia at Boston Lyric Opera
Effective but Uaffecting Production
By: - Oct 13th, 2014Both Anya Matanovic and Michael Wade Lee, who make their debuts as Violetta and Alfredo, keep it cool, unable to express the passion in their roles. Boston Lyric Opera presents La Traviata
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Simon Rattle at Carnegie Hall
Conducts Berlin Philharmonic
By: - Oct 03rd, 2014The texture and tones of the orchestra have been honed over decades and by various music directors. Rattle respects composers and his instrumentalists who interpret them. He works in broad strokes and lets performers do their detail work. An harmonious approach.
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Fresh Grass Festival 2015
Mark Your Calendar for September 18th-20th,
By: - Oct 02nd, 2014Only 350 days until Fresh Grass 2015. For this year's festival every nook and cranny at the museum was filled with true to the bone bluegrass musicians playing what they are best at, their unique, yet, traditional version of bluegrass music mixed with Celtic, Cajun and whatever style of music that achieved their goal.
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Andris Nelsons at the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Inaugural Concert as Music Director
By: - Sep 30th, 2014What made the inaugural concert f Andris Nelson's as the BSO's music director especially celebratory for some – that would include me – were the vocal soloists. The German Jonas Kaufmann, young and handsome in a dark, slightly exotic manner, is the hottest tenor in the world at the moment, and he was making his Boston premiere in this concert. (For those who care about such matters, he has cut off his tousled, romantic locks.)
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Pittsfield CityJazz Festival
Lineup for Events Oct. 10-19
By: - Sep 29th, 2014The festival kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 9, with Jazz About Town, with sponsored and affiliated events that span the long Columbus Day weekend and including a "jazz craw,†when venues present Berkshires’ established performers in casual settings.
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BSO Welcomes Andris Nelsons
Kristine Opolais ad Jonas Kaufman Join the Maestro
By: - Sep 28th, 2014The BSO deserves the very best, and they have certainly scored with their new Latvian Maestro Andris Nelsons. A gala evening welcomed him to Boston
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Rene Pape in Concert at the Met
His Appetite for Life Colors the Singing
By: - Sep 28th, 2014Pape is a natural. With a large voice that flows easily and a perfect instinct for the phrase, for dynamics and for drama he is one of the most gifted singers performing today. He is completing 2014 in performances in Macbeth and the Magic Flute and also Tristan and Iseult. Noone will ever forget his Gurnemanz in Parsifal.
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Berkshire Composer Stephen Dankner
Premieres String Quartets at Williams October 12
By: - Sep 27th, 2014On October 12 at 3 PM there will be a performance by the Dover String Quartet of new works by Berkshire based composer Stephen Dankner. It was originally scheduled for the Clark but because of construction issues has been moved to Williams College and the Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall, 54 Chapin Hall Drive, Williamstown. We met for lunch to dicuss this and other premieres scheduled through March.
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Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Cheek to Cheek
New CD Bridges Generations with Duets
By: - Sep 25th, 2014Talk about an odd couple. At 88 and 28 there's a sixty year spread between jazz singer Tony Bennett and his neophyte partner the totally gonzo Lady Gaga. There are winners and loosers on this much anticipated CD. For both artists this was an interesting and risky artistic and career move.
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The Marriage of Figaro Opens Met Season
Noteworthy Ensembles are Pinnacles of Richard Eyre's New Production
By: - Sep 23rd, 2014For the past few months, the Metropolitan Opera's struggle for survival has made the news. Marriage of Figaro, arguably the world's greatest opera, opens the new season. Even the most tame of productions is a treat. While Richard Eyre's take on the opera is bland, Peter Mattei, Ildar Abdrazakov, Marlis Petersen and Amanda Majeski gave noteworthy performances.
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Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City)
Boston Premiere for Korngold Rarity
By: - Sep 16th, 2014Best known for his film scores, Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a child prodigy in Vienna. "Die tote Stadt" is his operatic masterpiece. Long ignored, it is increasingly being performed internationally.
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Joseph Rosen Starts Fall NY Music Season
James Cohn, Beethoven and Brahms
By: - Sep 09th, 2014Musicians like Joe Rosen will keep all forms of music alive. Monthly or bi-monthly, in a lovely, open salon that seems to hover over the Hudson and the setting sun, Rosen gathers together special young musicians as they begin their careers in music, or continue them even if they have to have a day job elsewhere.
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Fresh Grass Returns September 19th to 21st
Bluegrass Festival at Mass MoCa
By: - Sep 07th, 2014See Bela Fleck and Emmylou Harris at the Fresh Grass Festival on September 19-21st at Mass MoCA. The line-up for the festival features The Duhks on opening night at 10:30pm. Gates open at 5:30pm with Michael Daves & Tony Trischka opening the show at 7pm, followed by Aoife O’Donovan at 8pm. Featured guests, the Carolina Chocolate Drops follow at 9:05pm, followed by The Duhks, a Canadian band whose music ranges from their northern roots to southern gospel and cajun zydeco.
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Josh Groban At Tanglewood
Falling in Love Again
By: - Sep 01st, 2014Humor, wit, charm and good looks equal Josh Groban. Like local favorite, Arlo Guthrie, Groban is a master storyteller.
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Tony Bennett Returns to Tanglewood
American Jazz Master Flat Out at 88
By: - Sep 01st, 2014The Tanglewood season closed with a near to capacity audience for national treasure Tony Bennett. Closing in on 90 yet again he uniquely rattled the renowned rusty pipes. He proved why Frank Sintra hailed him as the greatest jazz singer of his generation. Keeping forever young he is about to release an album of duets with Lady Gaga.
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Premiere of Works by Stephen Dankner
Clark Features Berkshire Composer October 12
By: - Sep 01st, 2014During a recent meeting in Williamstown the Berkshire Composer and Berkshire Fine Arts contributor, Stephen Denkner, discussed several world premieres over the next couple of months. His Quartets Nos. 14, 16 and 17 will be performed by the Dover String Quartet at the Clark Art Institute on October 12 at 3 PM.
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TRAIN Keeps Chugging at Tanglewood
Wallflowers Shared the Stage
By: - Aug 30th, 2014TRAIN brought down the house at Tanglewood. In a return to the Berkshires classic TRAIN songs were mixed with songs from the upcoming new album, titled ‘Bulletproof Picasso.’ Yet again the middle aged rockers thrilled an audience of teenieboppers.
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Javier Perianes Debuts at Ravinia
An Enchanter Beguiles at the Keyboard
By: - Aug 23rd, 2014Javier Perianes has been nurtured by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Charles Dutoit. Already he has appeared at Carnegie Hall and in San Francisco. He performs Grieg with the Atlanta Symphony in November and is scheduled for both the Boston and Chicago Symphonies in 2015-16. At Ravinia you could hear why much is expected of this charming, impish and technically fabulous artist.
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Mozart and Puccini Come to Life at HHOT
Grand Opera in Cambridge, New York
By: - Aug 17th, 2014Le Nozze di Figaro and Gianni Schicchi play through August 24.“Gianni Schicchi†is a little known gem that you absolutely must go to see. As to "Nozze di Figaro", it is a long evening, but well worth it.
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James Conlon Conducts Marriage of Figaro at Ravinia
John Relyea and Lisette Oropesa Sublime with the Chicago Symphony
By: - Aug 16th, 2014The Chicago Symphony was red hot when it embarked on the overture to Figaro. They relished the challenge and it paid off for listeners. One of the reasons that you can’t put a B cast to perform familiar music is that the audience knows the music so well. The performance has to be perfect. With Assistant concert master Stephanie Jeong leading, this Mozart was sublime.
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Beach Boys Surf Tanglewood
Fun Fun Fun on Monday, August 18th
By: - Aug 15th, 2014The Beach Boys will take over Tanglewood on Monday, August 18th. There will be a dance area on the lawn outside of the shed, volleyball nets near the rear of the lawn, beach balls will be dispersed for play throughout the concert and sand and beach motif will dress up Tanglewood.
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James Conlon's Don Giovanni with Chicago Symphony
Singing Along with David Bizic, Tamara Wilson, and Saimir Pirgu
By: - Aug 15th, 2014At first you wonder what the terms of Ravinia’s contracts are. Performance after performance in the opera concerts and semi stagings we get luxury casting, first rate, world class singers across the board. This is the magic of a conductor and music director who singers love. And why not? Up close in an 850 seat theatre, you could see Conlon sing the entire opera, helping the singers as a live prompter and nearby encourager. Too bad the Metropolitan Opera did not catch him when they could. It is hard to imagine the mess the Met is in now if he had been at the helm.
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18th Jazz Festival 2014, Garana, Romania
Part Three: Director Marius Giura
By: - Aug 11th, 2014Jazz lover and writer Ioana Taut has attended the Garana Jazz Festival for many years. This year she interviewed musicians Joey DeFrancesco, USA, and Kimmo Pohjonen, Finland - an indication, how international the festival has become. Founder and director of Garana Jazz, Marius Giura speaks about the festival's development over many years and the gargantuan task to make it happen in Romania!
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