Simone Dinnerstein at SOPAC
November 1st, 2008 | 0 Comments | Music |
Simone Dinnerstein brings two things to the table: One, a deeply felt interpretive style; and two, finely detailed and transparent playing. Oh, and three, good programming sense.
Mahler’s Eighth, Played By … Kids
June 13th, 2008 | 0 Comments | Music |
I saw this and figured I’d watch a minute or two. But it’s really good. I’m blown away that kids this young can play music like this. Simon Rattle leads the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
A Child Of Our Time
May 17th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Music |
I just got done with a performance of this in Brooklyn Heights this evening. This is a seldom-performed piece, but one worth knowing about. The only reason I’m familiar with it is because Phil Finn, back in Kohler Hall in the late ’70s, turned us all on to it. And when The Cleveland Orchestra did [...]
Mahler 4
February 14th, 2008 | 14 Comments | Music |
Updated with another excerpt plus copious commentary on the music.
Mahler 4th This Sunday
January 30th, 2008 | 5 Comments | Music |
If you’re wandering around the upper west side of Manhattan this Sunday, stop on by and hear The Broadway Bach Ensemble’s free concert. We’re doing the Bach “Wedding Cantata,” and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. The soprano soloist is Silvie Jensen who, from what I heard at rehearsal the other night, is the bomb.
I’m especially psyched [...]
Hymnen
December 13th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Music |
Thanks to the Analog Arts Ensemble for pointing to this outstanding example of the sheer wiggyness that was the ’60s avant garde. Stockhausen’s two-hour “mixtape” of national anthems, shortwave radio noise, morse code, electronic modulations and more is available in the form of a Stockhausen jukebox (one of the most ambitious Flash movies I’ve ever [...]
Stockhausen Is Dead
December 8th, 2007 | 0 Comments | Music |
The Times had a respectful if distant obituary this morning. They wrote about how he’d become distant and isolated in his later years, narrowing down his circle to his chosen set of musicians — who were by and large also family members. He’d been out there for a while though. Back in the ’70s I [...]
Mahler Second at NJPAC
December 2nd, 2007 | 3 Comments | Music |
This afternoon I took The Daughter out to see the New Jersey Symphony and Westminster Symphonic Choir perform the tremendous “Resurrection” Symphony. I’ll tell you what, there are very few better ways to spend an hour and half than listening to this piece live. Number three on my “top 10 loudest symphonic works” countdown, no [...]
A Little Sunday Music
November 11th, 2007 | 0 Comments | Music |
From the last Broadway Bach Ensemble concert, here’s the Mozart “Linz” Symphony. Put it on your iPod, or click on the gizmos after the jump to listen.
I. Adagio - Allegro Spiritoso
II. Andante
III. Menuetto
IV. Presto
Brahms’ Fifth?
October 17th, 2007 | 0 Comments | Music |
Shameless concert plug: This Sunday, October 21 at 3 pm, at St. Anne’s Church on Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights, the Brooklyn Symphony performs its first concert of the year.
This orchestra’s programs are almost always interesting, featuring a lot of the kind of works that we “volunteer” musicians don’t get to do very often, and this one’s no exception.
Sibelius
July 10th, 2007 | 0 Comments | Music |
If you haven’t caught up with the current issue of The New Yorker, I recommend the article by Alex Ross, Apparition In The Woods, a review of the life and work of the composer Jean Sibelius.
Some Live Music MP3s
June 14th, 2007 | 0 Comments | Music |
Put ‘em on your iPod! Here are two tracks from The Broadway Bach Ensemble’s May concert: La Cenerentola Overture by Rossini, and Mozart’s The Impresario Overture. Happy listening.
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