Closing out the twenty-tens: Schell’s picks for 2019
Though our decade technically has another year to go, the marketing appeal of “Hits of the XXs” type formulations tends to overwhelm such semantic niceties. So as we leave the…
Woody Vasulka (1937–2019): a musician’s appreciation
It’s tough to say goodbye forever to Woody Vasulka, pioneer of experimental video and co-founder (with his widow Steina) of The Kitchen in New York. It was his 40-minute “video…
Isaura String Quartet at REDCAT
On Wednesday, December 11, 2019 REDCAT, in downtown Los Angeles, hosted the Isaura String Quartet in a concert of new music titled hum. Five works were presented by contemporary composers…
Best Recordings of 2019
Recording of the Year: Terry Riley, Sun Rings, Kronos Quartet, Volti (Nonesuch) Terry Riley’s 2002 work Sun Rings simultaneously celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Voyager exploration and soberly reflects…
Stile Antico – A Spanish Nativity (CD Review)
A Spanish Nativity Stile Antico Harmonia Mundi 902312 The “Golden Age” of Spanish polyphony (during the sixteenth century) yielded a number of pieces suitable for Christmastime by some of the…
Vienna Boys Choir at Carnegie Hall
Vienna Boys Choir Carnegie Hall December 8, 2019 By Christian Carey NEW YORK – On Sunday, the Vienna Boys Choir performed a Christmas program at Carnegie Hall. It included much…
Tallis Scholars: New CD, Concerts in Princeton and New York this Weekend
Now in their forty-sixth year of singing, the Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips, have long made an annual December concert at Church of St. Mary the Virgin in midtown…
BMOP Plays Perle (CD Review)
George Perle Serenades Boston Modern Orchestra Project Gil Rose, conductor BMOP Sound Composer George Perle passed away a decade ago, but his music has remained part of the repertory. This…
Become Desert
Become Desert John Luther Adams Seattle Symphony, Seattle Symphony Chorale, Ludovic Morlot, conductor Cantaloupe Music “Become Desert is both a celebration of the deserts we are given, and a lamentation…
Jan Garbarek and Hilliard Ensemble (CD Review)
Remember Me, My Dear Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble ECM New Series 2625 The Hilliard Ensemble disbanded five years ago. Happily, they made a few recordings for ECM that…