Story Archives of 'Classical Music'

Schumann's Lost Sonata

By Rick Ganley on Thursday, September 24, 2009.

New Hampshire resident and concert pianist Frederick Moyer has discovered and recorded an unfinished piano sonata from Robert Schumann.

listen: Windows Media | MP3

From St. Vincent to Stravinsky

By Avishay Artsy on Monday, September 14, 2009.

College students are notorious file-sharers, gladly swapping music and movies online.

Tiny Pianos, Huge Appeal

By Todd Bookman on Wednesday, August 5, 2009.

Avant-garde pianist Margaret Leng Tan has played Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. On August 9th, she will bring her toy pianos to Wolfeboro, NH.

Tan is taking the stage as part of the Arts on the Edge festival, which runs through the 13th.

Salle Des Departs

By Jocelyn Gonzalez on Wednesday, June 10, 2009.

Music follows us everywhere we go. We hear music when we walk into a store, wait in a doctor's office, when we’re put on hold, and even pumping gas. We’re greeted by music, sometimes popular, sometimes classical, frequently, pretty bad. In many cases, composers create those tunes for a unique purpose or to create a specific mood for offices, grocery stores, or restaurants.

Bridge Music

By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, June 9, 2009.

As anyone who lives near a bridge will tell you, they make noise. But listen to the sound of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge, often called the Mid-Hudson River Bridge in Poughkeepsie, New York. Composer and musician Joseph Bertolozzi embarked on an audacious plan to turn the monumental bridge into the world’s largest percussive instrument.

With the help of the New York State Bridge Authority, sound engineers, mallets, steel shot, and a herd of true believers, he recorded hundreds of sounds on the bridge’s surface to make "bridge music."

The ten-movement suite is available on CD, and a sound installation launched over the weekend to mark the 400th anniversary of Hendryk Hudson’s voyage up the river that is now his namesake. There are listening stations surrounding the bridge and a dedicated radio frequency for the public to hear tracks like "Bridge Funk." And Joseph Bertolozzi is on the line to tell us about what we’re hearing.

(Photo by Spencer Ainsley for The Poughkeepsie Journal)

listen: Windows Media | MP3

Tiempo Libre: Classical to Cuban

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, May 7, 2009.

Take the D Major Prelude to Bach’s "Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One," add to that a few hundred years, multiply that by hours of lessons at one of Cuba’s finest conservatories, divide that by the number of singers and drums at a typical rumba, then add the square root of the number of Beatles songs smuggled into Cuba in 1960s, and you might get something like Cuban band Tiempo Libre’s CD “Bach in Havana,” out this week.

It’s a collection of songs inspired by Bach and taken in new directions with Cuban rythms, vocals, and enduring spirit. Jorge Gomez, pianist, bandleader and arranger for the Grammy-nominated band, took a break in the studio with us as Tiempo Libre prepares for its show at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord tonight.

(Photo by Crackerfarm)

listen: Windows Media | MP3

eighth blackbird

By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

In 1996, six young musicians at Oberlin College came together to play chamber music. Rather than calling themselves The Oberlin Sextet, they wanted to come up with a more creative name. Red Wheelbarrow and Tastes Like Chicken were contenders. Fortunately, they kept looking. Violinist Matt Albert suggested eighth blackbird, inspired by a Wallace Stevens’ poem, and it fit. The group has since won a Grammy Award and comissioned a piece from composer Steve Reich that went on to win a Pulitzer Prize this year.

Unlike many chamber groups who sit politely behind their music stands, eighth blackbird memorizes its music and moves around the stage. They've even worked with choreographers like Susan Marshall.

eighth blackbird will bring their vibrant and evocative chamber music to the Hopkins Center this Friday as part of a week-long residency at Dartmouth College. Today we’re joined by pianist Lisa Kaplan and flutist Tim Munro.

(Photo by Luke Ratray)

listen: Windows Media | MP3

Taking On "Different Trains"

By Abby Goldstein on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.

Steve Reich is perhaps the preeminent composer living today, and one of his most heart-wrenching and affecting works is called "Different Trains for String Quartet and Tape". It tells the story of Steve Reich's early childhood - his train trips between the East and West coasts to visit his separated parents - and also of the train trips Jews were forced to take during the Holocaust.

The piece, commissioned by the Kronos Quartet in 1988, is notoriously difficult to play. But the Borromeo String Quartet recently took up the challenge. Jenny Attiyeh, producer of the podcast and public radio interview program Thoughtcast, attended a rehearsal at the New England Conservatory, where the Borromeo is currently in residence.

(Photo by Liz Linder)

Cellist Matt Haimovitz

By Liz Bulkley on Wednesday, September 26, 2007.

Cellist Matt Haimovitz wants to bring a new audience to classical music. As a child prodigy, he played next to some of the world's finest musicians in Carnegie Hall. As an accomplished adult, he's just as likely to be found performing in a rock club or a coffee shop. Tonight, he'll join us on the Front Porch to talk about his incredible career so far and to perform some songs from his vast repertoire, which ranges from Bach to Hendrix.

Apple Hill Chamber Players

By Liz Bulkley on Sunday, May 20, 2007.

The Apple Hill Chamber Players have earned a reputation for their top notch performances and musical ability . But sounding good isn't their main objective. Instead, their mission is to bring peace on Earth through music. That's a pretty straightforward goal, but it's also pretty daunting. We'll find out how the members of Apple Hill have been using their instruments and musical know-how to try and overcome age-old conflicts around the world. They'll join us in the studio for a performance and conversation.