Reviews music

Iconic Ellington reinvigorated live in Germany.

A timely look back at one of Van Morrison's best albums.

The Cypress finishes recording all Beethoven's string quartets with this further testament to the composer's overall genius and the forward-pressing aspects of these relatively early but towering works. The Op. 18 quartets on this two-CD set are full of harmonic riches, rhythmic intricacy, and emotional complexity, all fully evident under the Cypress musicians' expert fingers.

The celebrated young guitarist brought humor and drama as well as exquisite musicality and dazzling technique to a trendy new venue in Williamsburg.

VÉRITÉ performed many of her synthpop hits at San Francisco's Rickshaw Stop on the second-to-last stop of her 2016 Underdressed Tour.

Mika's songs lend themselves naturally to orchestral treatment. His voice is an instrument of precision and sparkle as well as range, dancing between a supple tenor and a relaxed falsetto; with masterful vocal control, he sings with subtle power and finely tuned sensitivity against the orchestra and background singers.

Tod Hughes’ ‘Time Slow Down’ offers a very welcome dose of realistic optimism.

There are probably many interpretations to the crazy sounds and fluctuations in ‘The Opposites of Unity.’

'Upward Spiral' was not intended to be just another vocalist fronting just another quartet.

'The Lexicon of Love II' bridges two audiences: those with a flash frozen sound of ABC stuck in their ears and stalwarts who’ve journeyed with ABC along their evolutionary track. The real coup of 'The Lexicon of Love II' is that it wins new listeners due to its self-awareness and ability to avoid stagnation―like previous ABC recordings before it.