archive
Monday, March 15, 2010
Music Reviews
Hilary Hahn: Violin And Voices Entwined In Bach
March 15, 2010 Bach's cantatas contain some of his greatest music, but their individual sections are seldom performed out of context, least of all by celebrities. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says Hilary Hahn's new CD, Bach: Violin & Voice, provides a welcome exception to this rule.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Theater
Composer Robert Schumann And Sting: 'Twin Spirits'
February 17, 2010 2010 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of composer Robert Schumann. One of the most interesting Schumann commemorative items is the DVD Twin Spirits, a British music-theater piece about the intense relationship between Schumann and his wife Clara, performed by Trudie Styler and Sting.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Fine Art
From Bauhaus, A Visionary Mix Of Art And Industry
December 14, 2009 The Bauhaus was one of the most important and exciting social and artistic movements of post-World-War-I Germany. Founded by architect Walter Gropius, the movement lasted 14 years until the Nazis finally forced it to shut down. An astonishing exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art gives a thorough view of the precise but imaginative products of Bauhaus.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Music Reviews
'Hitler's Favorite Tenor' Hits A High Note
December 11, 2009 German tenor Max Lorenz had a voice that could move millions — though Lorenz will be most remembered as Hitler's (and Wagner's) favorite. A new documentary about The Life and Times of Max Lorenz, chronicles the conflict and triumph of his unlikely voice and paints an intimate portrait, according to critic Lloyd Schwartz.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Arts & Life
In Boston, Rival Painters On Dazzling Display
July 8, 2009 An exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts is both an art history lesson and a celebration of the most sumptuous works of Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese.
Monday, July 06, 2009
DVD Reviews
'Playing Shakespeare' The Way The Pros Do It
July 6, 2009 Playing Shakespeare, a 1984 series in which actors dissect some of the Bard's most famous works, shows how crucial an understanding of Shakespeare's language and versification are to conveying the meaning — and power — of his scenes.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Music Reviews
City By City, A Night At The Symphony
June 11, 2009 The San Francisco, Chicago and Boston symphony orchestras have all released new live albums recently; classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz had a listen, and he has a review.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Music Reviews
Let This Entertain You: 'Gypsy,' 50 Years Later
June 10, 2009 For the golden anniversary of the original cast album of Gypsy, Sony is reissuing the classic recording, which features Ethel Merman. Music critic Lloyd Schwartz sees how well it holds up.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Music Reviews
'Furore': Handel, Causing Quite A Fuss
June 4, 2009 American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato released a dazzling CD of Handel arias — Furore, a collection of set-pieces from operas and oratorios in which Handel's characters experience flights of passion.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Performing Arts
'Allegro': Revisiting An Experimental Score
February 17, 2009 Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the first full recording of Allegro, the 1947 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Music Reviews
Screening The 'Homefront': War Musicals On DVD
January 7, 2009 The Homefront Collection, a new DVD set from Warner Home Video, showcases three World War II-era Hollywood musicals: This Is the Army, Thank Your Lucky Stars and Hollywood Canteen.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Music Reviews
Elliott Carter at 100: A Trio of Tributes
December 22, 2008 American composer Elliott Carter celebrates his 100th birthday this month, and three new CDs have been released in honor of the occasion. Fresh Air's classical music critic has a review.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Music Reviews
'The Construction of Boston,' Caught On Disc
December 11, 2008 Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new CD of Scott Wheeler's opera, based on a hymn to Boston by the New York poet Kenneth Koch. The disc captures a live performance by the Boston Cecilia choral society.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Arts & Life
Sinatra, The Singing Veteran Of 'Brooklyn'
September 25, 2008 In the 1947 film, It Happened In Brooklyn, Frank Sinatra plays a soldier who returns after four years at war and decides to pursue a singing career. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the recently-released DVD version of the film.
Monday, May 26, 2008
