Music
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First Night Saratoga 2015
A Family Friendly, Alcohol-free Event
By: - Dec 05th, 2014See over 70 performing acts in 30 different venues and celebrate a New Year full of arts in Saratoga Springs, NY! First Night is an American cultural event that has a tradition dating back to 1975 in Boston. Today there are about 45 cities around the country who participate in this type of celebration, including in this area, Burlington, VT; Portsmouth, NH; North Hampton, MA; Hartford, CT; Saranac Lake, NY and St. Johnsbury, VT.
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James Conlon Conducts a Brilliant Shostakovich
Lady Macbeth Morphs with Chatterley at the Met
By: - Nov 27th, 2014The production date is 1994. Graham Vick gets the credit. James Conlon conducted then, as he does this fall. The excellence from stem to stern is cause for celebration.
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Frank Martin's Love Potion at Boston Lyric Opera
Rarity Was Intended
By: - Nov 22nd, 2014The BLO's off-site Annex series has proven over the past six years to be its most successful effort. Martin's work tackles a big subject - the fatal love of Tristan and Isolde - but with small forces. The BLO demonstrated that it can be a compelling evening in the theater.
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San Francisco Symphony's Michael Tilson Thomas
Adams, Prokofiev, Ravel Swoop and Soar
By: - Nov 21st, 2014This program had wonderful sound links one piece to the other. Texture, color and sounds were similar although their composers were separated by centuries.
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Tom Reney's 30 Years as WFCR Jazz DJ
NEPR Endowment for Continued Jazz Programming
By: - Nov 20th, 2014Jazz à la Mode has been a staple of WFCR-FM’s offerings –and Tom Reney its only host-- since the station’s inception of jazz programming in 1984. The NPR affiliate, which operates under the aegis of New England Public Radio, recently relocated from the environs of Reney’s alma mater, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, to become part of the downtown Springfield scene.
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Tanglewood 2015
Let the Games Begin
By: - Nov 13th, 2014Here is the run down on the 2015 Tanglewood Season. Clip and save.
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Joyce DiDonato at Carnegie Hall
Venice is Evoked
By: - Nov 05th, 2014Venice was evoked at Carnegie Hall, by the light, shimmering touch of pianist David Zobel accompanying the great American soprano Joyce Di Donato. Channeling Vivaldi, Rossini, Faure, Head and Hahn, this dynamic duo created an unforgettable evening.
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Peter Sellars Artist of the Year
Musical America Names a Genius
By: - Nov 04th, 2014The idea for "The Death of Kllinghoffer: came from Sellars. He directed the St. Matthew Passion" with the Berlin Philharmonic. At Santa Fe where he has directed he roams the grounds hugging everyone. A warm, brilliant man. He deserves all of his awards.
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Revisiting San Francisco Opera
Tosca and Partenope Evoke Vivid Memories
By: - Nov 01st, 2014The two operas I saw on consecutive nights at the San Francisco Opera, Puccini's "Tosca" - one of the genre's true hits - and Handel's "Partenope," a rarity - show that the company has the ambition to represent the full range of the operatic repertory, often featuring major vocal and directorial stars.
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The Death of Klinghoffer Arrives at the Met
John Adams' Controversial Opera is Smashing
By: - Oct 25th, 2014Months of protesting, picketing and angry letters in the opinion pages of newspapers heralded the first Metropolitan Opera production of John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer. The production is first rate. The drama compelling. Sets, lighting, singing, the chorus, all top fight. Since the first production of the opera in 1991 there have been no protests, until some citizens of New York rose up this year.
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Abdullah Ibrahim/Dollar Brand at Carnegie
Soulful Marabi of South Africa Lofts in New York
By: - Oct 19th, 2014Ibrahim has lived through it all. Apartheid and the liberation. He has always performed music of his beloved country, with Miriam Makeba and others. At Carnegie, in repose, he came to terms with the violent, disruptive past of South Africa in peaaceful contemplation.
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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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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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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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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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