Redpath's wonderful control of shifts in mood and register charmed and impressed in French chansons by Poulenc, Debussy, Fauré and Messaien.
Read More »Jon Sobel
Theater Review (NYC): Xhloe and Natasha in ‘And Then the Rodeo Burned Down’
Xhloe and Natasha's shows almost represent a genre all their own. There's comedy and clowning, eros and acrobatics. There's zany dialogue that touches on deep human subjects. The pair are masters of both physical comedy and conceptual juggling.
Read More »Music Review: Pianist Ann DuHamel – ‘Prayers for a Feverish Planet: New Music about Climate Change, Vol. 1’
Works that incorporate organic sounds from outside the piano make some of the deepest impressions.
Read More »Music Review: Eric Chasalow – ‘…arching, reaching, breathless’ – Music for Strings
The man-machine duality of a soloist performing alongside a recording has what in the pre-robotic, pre-AI age we might have called a futuristic quality. Today it touches on the "uncanny valley" effect.
Read More »Concert Review: ‘From Formosa’ – Taiwan Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble
The Taiwan Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble and Taiwu Ballads Troupe vocal ensemble unveiled a panoply of fascinating, mostly Taiwan-rooted music that incorporated Western classical, contemporary avant-garde, and Indigenous music.
Read More »Concert Review: Curtis Chamber Orchestra
The breakdown was once again romantic, sweet, but this time also tense and subdued, giving a sense that a lot of potential energy lurked within.
Read More »Theater Review (NYC): ‘Julius Caesar’ from Smith Street Stage
With Bryce Foley sparking a solid cast as a dangerous Marc Antony, Smith Street Stage's production makes great use of its outdoor space and excels at rendering Shakespearean language understandable and the story hit home.
Read More »Music Reviews: Gwendoline Blondeel and Quito Gato with ‘Amor Eterno’; ORA Singers, ‘Songs of Angels’
French soprano Gwendoline Blondeel's incandescent voice embodies warmth as well as reserve, excitement but also resignation – emotions across the gamut.
Read More »Music Review: SydeBoob Duo – ‘Au Naturel,’ New Music for Voice and Flutes
Sometimes musicians create an atypical instrument combination simply because they have similar tastes or just like working together. Not so here – there's no sense of anything forced, or absent.
Read More »Theater Review (NYC): ‘Body Unredacted’ from Blessed Unrest
The talented cast of six gives (and shows) their all in this dreamlike collage of narrative. It shows a lot of heart – and a lot of skin. But its organs are in disarray.
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