Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Reviews of an expanded edition of Frank Zappa's Over-nite Sensation, the Feelies' 'Some Kinda Love,' and more.
Read More »Music Reviews: Frank Zappa’s ‘Over-nite Sensation’ Box Set, the Feelies’ Velvet Underground Tribute, and More New Releases
Avant-garde
Concert Review: Cassatt String Quartet with Trombonist Haim Avitsur
The Cassatt Quartet played Beethoven, Victoria Bond, and works by Joan Tower and Adolphus Hailstork for the unconventional pairing of trombone and string quartet.
Read More »Concert Review: The Orchestra Now – ‘Exodus: Jewish Composers in Exile’
The Orchestra Now presented music from the 1940s by four composers who had fled their European homelands to escape the Nazis.
Read More »Music Review: The Crossing – ‘Sumptuous Planet,’ a Secular Mass by David Shapiro
The composer set out to "advance a scientific, atheistic vision of the world" using the musical structure of a Christian Mass and modern choral idioms.
Read More »Music Reviews: Julia Werntz Opens Up a Microtonal Universe; Tyler Duncan and Erika Switzer Hail British Columbia with Art Songs
Julia Werntz's microtonal music throws open a door to new possibilities; baritone Tyler Duncan and pianist Erika Switzer hail Canadian composers.
Read More »Concert Review: Parlando Chamber Orchestra – ‘Odysseys’
The Parlando chamber orchestra opened its season with Tchaikovsky and challenging, rewarding new music by Joey Roukens and Jimmy Lopez.
Read More »Concert Review: Joshua Bell and the New York Philharmonic – ‘The Elements’ (US Premiere) and Copland’s Third Symphony
The Elements, a new work by five composers for violin and orchestra, commissioned by Joshua Bell, succeeded on all levels at David Geffen Hall.
Read More »Exclusive Interview: Parlando Founder and Music Director Ian Niederhoffer Previews October 4 ‘Odysseys’ Concert, with Music of Tchaikovsky, Jimmy Lopez, Joey Roukens
Parlando's creative, themed concert programming includes audience engagement and even "chili pepper" ratings for listening difficulty.
Read More »Concert Review: Violinist Deborah Buck, pianist Orli Shaham at Bargemusic (May 26 2023)
A web of biographical and stylistic interconnections linked music by contemporary composers Jessie Montgomery and Avner Dorman with works by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.
Read More »Music Review: ‘Sirventès’ from the Iranian Female Composers Association
This collection of music by six contemporary female composers from Iran is an eloquent document of the driving creative spirit these composers in a time of reckoning and exile.
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