Cathedral of St. John the Divine to host Arvo Pärt’s ‘Passio,’ Orthodox...
Arvo Pärt’s Passion setting Passio has been fairly described as “monumental.” What better setting for it than the world’s largest Gothic cathedral? The Experiential Orchestra (EXO) with solo singers...
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Concert Review: Experiential Orchestra, Artefact Ensemble – Arvo Pärt...
A sound both ghostly and towering emerged from the rear of the tremendous house: The a cappella choir Artefact Ensemble had begun to sing. Led by Benedict Sheehan, the group performed a series of...
View ArticleMusic Review: Ekmeles – A Choir Pushes Boundaries with ‘We Live the Opposite...
The avant-garde chamber choir Ekmeles has just six members, but can attack the sound front like an army. They kick off their second release with a sonic ambush, showing off their skill with microtones...
View ArticleConcert Review (NYC): The Gesualdo Six Turn Grief Inside Out with ‘Lux Aeterna’
Last year the Gesualdo Six commemorated the 400th anniversary of the death of composer William Byrd with a concert program of English motets. On Feb. 17 the British a cappella choir returned to the...
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Concert Review: American Symphony Orchestra – Arnold Schoenberg,...
Arnold Schoenberg’s influence is felt in concert halls today more often than his music is heard. The music of the composer’s early, tonal period, before he progressed to atonality and 12-tone...
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Concert Review: Riverside Choral Society – New York Premiere of Scott...
With climate change burned into today’s zeitgeist, more and more composers are deriving inspiration from the natural world and the threats it faces. Riverside Choral Society presented the New York...
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Concert Review: Oratorio Society of New York – Handel’s ‘Samson’
Samson was a hit for George Frideric Handel in 1743. Monday’s rousing performance by the Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY) showed that this behemoth of an oratorio can be so again. Yet the region’s...
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Concert Review: Clarion Choir and Orchestra – Music of Johannes Ockeghem (c....
The Clarion Choir has become my favorite NYC-area vocal ensemble not only because of their great skill but because of the vast range of repertoire they plumb and make their own. Under the leadership...
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Music Review: Ensemble Gilles Binchois – ‘Timor Mortis’
Excavating and performing early music often involves a kind of detective work we might call cultural archeology. Ensemble Gilles Binchois, an eight-member choir from France led by tenor Dominique...
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Mexico’s Juan Trigos Wins First Azrieli Commission for International Music;...
Sweeping Canadian vistas. 15th-century Aztec poetry. The Book of Psalms. The philosophy of Maimonides. The inspirations for the 2024 winners of the Azrieli Music Prizes range from vast exterior...
View ArticleConcert Review: Fourth Wall Ensemble Sings Caroline Shaw’s Pulitzer-Winning...
At not even a year old, New York City vocal group Fourth Wall Ensemble is making a big noise. That was literally so this past weekend, as eight a cappella singers conducted by Christopher Allen...
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Interview: Composer Yair Klartag on His Azrieli Prize Commission ‘The Parable...
Yair Klartag For many years Israeli composer Yair Klartag wanted his music to be “completely universal.” But in recent years, he discovered something unexpected: that the type of universality he was...
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Interview: Composer Jordan Nobles, Winner of 2024 Azrieli Commission for...
I write songs. Not for a living, but because my brain works that way. Sometimes the germ of a new song comes to me when I’m out in the wide world – especially when I’m hiking. And I’m in good company:...
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Interview: Composer Josef Bardanashvili, Winner of 2024 Azrieli Prize for...
Sometimes new music develops from a flash of inspiration, or a prompting from current events in politics or culture. Other new pieces arise from decades of thought and study. Such is the case with...
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Exclusive Interview: Jessica Gould on New, ‘Seminal’ Recording of Alessandro...
Prolific and popular during his short and violently-cut-short life, Italian composer Alessandro Stradella (1643–1682) may not be as familiar to lovers of Baroque music today as some of his...
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