The Boston Musical Intelligencer
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Many of us today rue the general decline in musical culture and literacy. In a small way we believe we are reversing that trend with this online virtual journal and blog. If you have looked in the Boston Globe or the late Boston Phoenix calendars for guidance on what concert to attend, or looked in those papers for a review of a concert you have attended, you will no doubt share our frustration. Although what coverage there is in these papers is estimable, there is not enough of it. Due to limitations of staff and ink, probably fewer than 10 percent of the area’s concerts are reviewed and probably fewer than one half are listed.
Our aim with The Boston Musical Intelligencer is to list every classical music concert in greater Boston (within Route 128) for the regular season, and in summer to expand coverage to include venues throughout New England. We also review as many concerts as possible, especially those our editors deem most unjustly neglected by the print media. Our reviewers are drawn from Boston’s most distinguished musicians, composers, music academics and musically literate listeners. Reviews and articles are professionally edited before publication. We invite participation from readers in our moderated but un-edited comment area. Source
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| Scope | Local |
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| Language | English |
| Country | United States of America |
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Charles Richard Hamelin (Elizabeth Delage photo) Demonstrating World Cup enthusiasm, the audience roared, clapped and stamped its approval after each composition during yesterday’s sold-out two-piano concert at Rockport Music in which Marc-André Hamelin and Charles Richard Hamelin, unrelated except for their pianistic skills and talent, performed works from the two-piano literature.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
The wife-and-husband duo of Xia Jing and Hu Bin marry the guzheng and guitar. Together, an East-West string ensemble is born. From a decade of growth has come a repertoire nurtured with transcriptions and commissions. A union of two of the most popular instruments of all time, the Chinese “ancient zither” evolving around 200 BCE, and the Spanish “classical guitar” some 500 years ago invites. Together, Jing and Bin raise a once-improbable pairing to a pleasurable 21st-century musical chinoiserie.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
Pianist James D’Leon tells BMInt readers: When pianists prepare a recital, they usually begin by selecting repertoire. This summer, Duo Fuerza—James D’Leon and Alwen Yeung—began with an instrument. Our invitation to open the Fredericks Historical Collection concert season on August 30th [details for entire Ashburnham series HERE], asked us to reverse the usual artistic process.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
John Adam’s Hallelujah Junction feels like a speedy drive down a deserted highway. The music is at once meticulous and daring: it hurtles forward, unabated by bumpy rhythms. The two pianists do all they can to keep their vehicle from veering off a roadside cliff. But heard alongside arrangements of Bach and an inventive reimagining of Holst’s The Planets, Adam’s score also served as an intermediary between the inner and outer worlds.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
Yutong Sun at reception. (Xiaopei Xu photo) Yutong Sun’s delivered a Herculean program in the Chinese Performing Arts concert series on Monday: Beethoven’s Hammerklavier and Opus 109, 110 and 111. Williams Hall was packed, including the balcony, in tribute to the internationally acclaimed artist. Described by Gramophone as delivering “’world-class work,”’ at age 31 Sun has already appeared with countless orchestras on several continents.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
Following Thursday’s program by the BSO cellists celebrating the close comradeship of a larger union through linkage of Gratitude and Friendship. The next essay presents groupings large and small, maintaining everything from groupings of two people to those of substantial ensembles large or small, in either case producing a sharing of artistry and sonority.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
On Wednesday at 7:00 we partner with the Esplanade Association in a concert marking the 25th anniversary of both organizations. Together with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, they steward this remarkable stretch of public parkland. Since the beginning, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra has presented nature-inspired programs that our founder, Charles Ansbacher, called Green Concerts. Beautiful places and great music enrich one another, and Boston is blessed with both.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Robert Torres photo) The French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is passionate about Debussy and has been performing the Preludes for Piano all over the world for the last few years. He brought his artistry to Rockport Music yesterday afternoon before a full house of admirers. Resplendent in all black, studded with sparkling red sequins, including on his shoes, he bounded onto the stage for a program featuring all 24 in one concert.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
Yo Yo Ma age seven It seems pretty unlikely, but Thursday night’s special in Ozawa Hall, labeled “Tanglewood Recital Series,” featuring all the cellists of the BSO in mixed reunion, plus (as a special finale) all the cellists of the Tanglewood Music Center, and, as a guiding light, Yo-Yo Ma, in a free-hearted hosting position.
a virtual journal and essential blog of the classical music scene in greater Boston
The young but already distinguished Taiwanese-American Han Chen traced a programmatic arc rising from intimate farewells through well-chosen and well-connected examples of Classicism, Sonicism, Romanticism, and Neoclassicism, to a gun-blazing summa of the Soul of Russian for the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts at NEC’s Williams Hall on Friday night.