Okay, so nobody wants to discuss A3. How about C4, the terrific choral collective championed by S21 regular Ian Moss? The talented boys and girls are doing a concert about the always-popular subject of love tonight at 8 pm at the Norwegian Seamen’s Church, 317 East 52nd Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues). On the bill are new works by C4 members Jonathan David, David Rentz, Moss, Malina Rauschenfels and Karen Siegel, plus stuff by a bunch of other people. Lykke til! Further evidence of the deaggregation of classical music distribution; our friends at Naxos have launched an online boutique called NaxosDirect. Best film score ever. Discuss.
Read moreIt’s Daniel Gilliam’s turn to be S21er in the spotlight this weekend. If you happen to be near Louisville, Kentucky at 4 pm this Sunday, drop by Central Presbyterian Church for the world premiere of Daniel’s Song of the Universal, a cantata for soprano solo, choir and piano, based on the text by Walt Whitman. Lacey Hunter Gilliam, Daniel’s wife, will be the soloist. Also on the program will be the premiere of O for Such a Dream for choir, soloist and piano, by Daron Aric Hagen, as well as new music by Louisville composer Fred Speck, and anthems by John Leavitt and Paul Halley.
Read moreThe Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas concert at Rose Hall last night was one of those rare “what’s not to love” events that only occasionally grace New York stages. Take a program of thinking man’s bon bons (Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Silvestre Revueltas’ Sensemayá, Ginastera’s barnburning Estancia), add a star turn by Latin music legend Paquito D’Rivera, and throw in an energetic and talented young orchestra led by a drop dead gorgeous conductor and you have a surefire receipe for fun. Many of the audience members came dressed for a post-concert gala which gave the evening a particularly elegant flair and provided a refreshing contrast
Read moreFrom today’s NYT: Newspapers Trimming Classical Music Critics Doesn’t mean they’re giving them free haircuts either. If only Paris Hilton could play the cello. (No piccolo jokes, please.)
Read moreI meant to flag this earlier but Mark Stryker had a terrific profile of Leon Kirchner in the Freep a few days ago. Wonderful pictures, too. Great head of hair for an 88-year-old dude. Anybody study with Kirchner? A reminder to those of you who owe us CD reviews; I have a terrific new batch and I am keeping score. Cough up or bring an excuse from your mommy.
Read moreFirst Jeff Harrington, then David Salvage, and now our very own Lawrence Dillon is feeling some end-of-the-season love on the concert circuit. This very evening (Thursday), at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, violinist Piotr Szewczyk will perform Lawrence’s Mister Blister and a movement from Fifteen Minutes as part of his Music in Time – Violin Futura program. Szewczyk will also perform works by Mason Bates, Moritz Eggert, Daniel Kellogg, Jennifer Wang, and others as part of this program of new, short, innovative solo violin pieces. And, on June 15 at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Ithaca, New York, bassoonist Jeffrey Keesecker will
Read moreFor the past 27 years, the Mexican-born pianist and composer Max Lifchitz has been a tireless and resourceful promoter of new music (including his own) through live performances and recordings with the North/South Consonance Ensemble, the chamber group of the non-profit North/South Consonance organization. Many young composers, particularly those of the Neoclassic or New Romantic temperment (Larry Bell comes immediately to mind), have gotten a career boost from Lifchitz’s annual programs and recordings, which now number nearly 50. I mention all this because North/South Consonance’s final concert of the current season is coming up on Sunday afternoon June 17 at 3 PM and will
Read moreNot quite sure what to make of this, but the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London has bought Opus Arte, a leading for-profit maker and producer of performance DVDs. The economics of high music culture have changed and more and more music groups of all sizes are moving toward control of production and distribution of their artistic “products,” as traditional avenues like record labels go belly up. Where is our friend Pliable on this one? Here’s an update on David Salvage’s piece at the Harvard Club on June 11. Starting time is 7pm, not 7:30 as we reported here yesterday. The requirement to dress “spiffy”
Read moreAttention Boston (and NY) shoppers! The world-premiere run of David Salvage’s String Quartet No. 2 is at hand. The Arcturus Chamber Ensemble will do the honors, starting this Friday, June 1, at 8pm, at Adams House JCR, Harvard University. They’ll do it again on Saturday night at 7:30 at the First Religious Society, Carlisle and, just to be on the safe side, one more time on Monday, June 11 at 7:30pm, at the Harvard Club, here in the Center of the Universe. There will be other works on all the programs, probably by dead white guys. The concerts are free and open to the public although the Harvard Club
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