Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been called contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. Since the release of […]
Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop – Thomas Lauderdale founded Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks. Thirty years […]
The ever-fascinating and intimate triangle—Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms—will be brought to new light with seldom-heard works that highlight the musical cross-references and spiritual bond that united them. Predating accompaniment to silent film by decades, Robert’s melodrama Schön Hedwig is a forerunner to soap-opera sentimentality with a happy ending. His Piano Quartet in […]
The Wailin’ Jennys are Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody and Heather Masse — three distinct voices that together make an achingly perfect vocal sound. Starting as a happy accident of solo singer/songwriters getting together for a one-time-only performance at a tiny guitar shop in Winnipeg, Manitoba, The Wailin’ Jennys have grown over the years into one […]
Composed by Tchaikovsky to counter a bout of insomnia and melancholy, Serenade for Strings immediately cheered him up, and he reported “feeling well, invigorated and content”—as gratified listeners have over the years. Few composers have possessed the ability to reflect emotions within their music as well as Tchaikovsky, and the Serenade channels solemnity and joy […]
Mr. Pizzarelli salutes the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra, performing with an excellent 17-piece big band that kicks with a brawling, Count Basie-like exuberance. He will play songs written for Sinatra including Witchcraft, Wee Small Hours and Ring a Ding Ding, salute his collaboration with Antonio Carlos Jobim and will also play a number […]
The Berkshire Bach Society presents Bach at New Year’s: The Six ‘Brandenburg Concertos,’ an event that has been a holiday tradition since 1993. Nine-time Grammy Award winner and Artistic Director Eugene Drucker leads the Berkshire Bach Ensemble in the iconic works that started it all. Join Berkshire Bach for an evening of great music and […]
Two monumental works, two Russian ex-pats of the same aristocratic background—and two divergent extremes. One, a master of nostalgia and a formidable pianist, follows in the footsteps of Chopin. The other, a trailblazer, scandalizer and collaborator of Picasso delights in breaking old molds—though harking back to traditional Russian folk material—and ushers in a new age […]
Alongside Beethoven’s Quartet No. 1 Op. 18 and Mendelssohn’s Op. 80 Quartet, this program is infused with striking Latin repertoire: Sonia Morales-Matos’ Divertimento Caribeño No. 3 (dance suites of Caribbean merengue sandwiched around a Cuban bolero) and Astor Piazzolla’s Tango Ballet, a work that paints pictures through rhythms and melodies. The Dalí Quartet is Chamber […]
The daughter of sewing machine industrialist Isaac Merritt Singer, Winnaretta Singer-Polignac was a force of nature, hosting everyone from Leon Bakst to Jean Cocteau and Jean Giraudoux to Prokofiev, Madame Jean Lanvin, Siegfried Wagner, Arthur Rubinstein, Arnold Schoenberg, and Edith Wharton in her Paris salon. More importantly, she was responsible for developing a new genre: […]
It’s all about love: A new work for clarinet trio by composer Seth Grosshandler that celebrates young love, courtship and the serendipity of meeting one’s intended receives its inaugural performance. Signature love arias from favorite operas and Broadway sung by Metropolitan Opera soprano Danielle Talamantes and Kerry Wilkerson. Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock (“My sweetheart […]
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