Category Archives: Reviews
Chamber VII: Rare Birds
The seventh program of the Bank of America Chamber Music Series blew into town early this afternoon, providing a choice selection of delights. Dr. Wadsworth slated some rare birds in with more familiar material, opening a lot of eyes (and hopefully ears as well!). A hot day did nothing to dampen the audience’s spirits, and [...]
Swimming in Water Music: Soundscapes from Music In Time
I use the word “soundscapes” – well, mostly because series host John Kennedy used it while introducing program IV of the ever-adventurous Music in Time series yesterday; but also because some of this material struck me as being more soundscapes than music. The term applied in particular to the opening work, Six Japanese Gardens, by [...]
He Who Laughs Last…
After the searing and emotionally draining Piano Quintet by Alfred Schnittke on Thursday, it was with a decidedly dubious sense of anticipation that I approached this afternoon’s concert by the St. Petersburg String Quartet. I “enjoy” Schnittke (quite a lot, actually…), but actively listening to his biter sarcasm can easily become an emotional marathon; barefoot [...]
Choicest Chamber Yet
My ‘puter woes continue in the wake of my recent laptop loss (by theft): I’m reduced to commandeering my roommate’s old dinosaur of a PC to work on from home — and all it’s got is wordpad. Forgive me if I omit some of those fancy accent marks and assorted squiggles that go with exotic [...]
Another Classy Intermezzo
Here’s guest blogger Sam Sfirri’s first post this year — you may recall his contributions to Eargasms last festival. He’s a gifted jazz pianist and composition major at the college.
Just walking into St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church stirred up many wonderful memories of last Spoleto season. With the familiar excitement and beautiful ghost-sounds still resonating [...]
Modernist Fare In Our Post-Post-Post World
This evening’s Piccolo Spoleto Spotlight Concert, Music in the Time of Charles Ives, brought the Piccolo Spoleto Festival Orchestra (listed in the program as the PS Conservatory Orchestra) to the welcoming acoustic of New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church under the able baton of Maestro Donald Portnoy. After the deluge of intimate trios and other chamber [...]
The Imani Winds – By Themselves
Lucky Lindsay: I got to hear the terrific Imani Winds – not just once, but twice. Thursday’s third Music in Time program was devoted entirely to them – and I was part of their absolutely enchanted Simmons Recital Hall audience. It was quite a different experience, compared to their big gig at the Gaillard [...]
Chamber Champs Do it Again
Forgive me if I don’t include as many of my usual artist links for awhile. I’m in the throes of a temporary crisis: my laptop was stolen Thursday, and my only backup for now is an old dinosaur of a PC at home that runs with all the speed of an arthritic turtle – and [...]
Torturous Beauty
Prelude
The muted steel-gray of an overcast day greeted my rising with serious intent. The rising and falling of several intense emotional states in friends and co-workers throughout the day kept my mind on practicing equanimity. As I strolled to this evenings concert, a one-armed flower seller cursed at me for smiling and nodding in silent [...]
SFO Stars get their Chance to Shine (plus More from Ingram Marshall)
John Kennedy — acclaimed conductor, composer and host of Music in Time — took the podium at Saturday’s Intermezzo III, offering two choice plums by 20th-Century English master Ralph Vaughan Williams and a neat number from contemporary wizard Ingram Marshall: a composer I’d heard from just the day before in MIT (just below).
I can’t [...]