Fred Hersch isn’t a meditation guru. He’s a composer and jazz pianist.  But he does know something about that elusive goal of living in the moment. “If you think too far ahead you drop the ball. This is why tennis and jazz are very similar,” he says, in the documentary “The Lives of Fred Hersch.”  He continues, “you have to play what is in front of you and what appears, and react to it.” On Friday night he’ll...

Playwright Tony Kushner is immersed in a dizzying amount of work, including crafting a new screenplay about Lincoln that’s still unfinished but is slated to begin filming in the fall with director Steven Speilberg. He’s also contributing new material to the season-long retrospective of his work at New York’s Signature Theatre. Kushner has a penchant for taking on big projects and important themes, starting...

To my surprise and pleasure, last year’s Music Quiz for World AIDS Day is one of the most visited posts on this site.  So here’s another round. Match the artist on the left with his (or her!) album/song/ensemble/venue on the right.  Answers follow. share: Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Buzz it up Tip on Hyves Share via MySpace Share on Orkut share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it...

In late June 2009, during the week of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, WNYC radio celebrated the legacy of gay and lesbian composers in classical and popular music with four evenings of programming.   The broadcasts were thoughtful and wide ranging: • Nico Muhly and host Nadi Sirota play and discuss music of John Corigliano, Benjamin Britten and Lou Harrison • Alex Ross (The New Yorker) and Ann Powers (Los...

“We’re a strange pair,” says pianist Garrick Ohlsson of his long association with Frederic Chopin.  “He was rather short, some what frail and very elegant.  I’m not a fashion plate and weigh 260 pounds and have enjoyed good health my whole life.” Music would seem to unite Ohlsson and Chopin across the centuries. But even there, Ohlsson points out a contrast: “I love playing concerts. He hated playing concerts.” Ohlsson...

Within moments after the curtain rises on Jorge Martin’s “Before Night Falls,” the hero collapses into his deathbed.  It’s an obvious allusion to all those consumptive operatic heroines of the romantic era and reinforces why the memoir of Cuban writer Renaldo Arenas was such a good choice for a staged adaptation. The Fort Worth Opera premiered the work in two performances at Bass Hall, as part of an early summer...

Fort Worth Texas might be the most conservative area of the country after Orange County California. Last June one of its few gay bars, the Rainbow Lounge, was raided by members of the Fort Worth Police Department and Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission. Seven people were arrested for drunkenness, though numerous reports say that the individuals were pulled from the crowd randomly and violently.  A 26-year old man was hospitalized...

Music of the late Yvar Mikhashoff is being remembered. Fitfully and occasionally. But those who knew Yvar are surely grateful. And based on the stunning performance by Winston Choi in this new CD on Albany Records there are also new generations finding beauty and power in the music. Let me admit that I enjoyed the notes by Nils Vigeland, Yvar’s former student, a pianist and a director of the Mikahshoff Trust, as much...

Macho star of the Bourne film franchise Matt Damon will play the gay lover of Liberace in a Steven Soderbergh film slated for 2012. As previously announced, Michael Douglas has been cast as the most flamboyant pianist in history. “God bless Matt. Hey, it’s easy for me – he’s in his prime,” says Douglas to Sun Media of Canada. “I said to him, ‘Matt, I love you, man. Boy, that Bourne must really...

One morning a month or two ago I was in the car and “The Writer’s Almanac” with Garrison Keillor came on the radio.  After the list of birthdays and such, the short segment ended, “And here’s a poem by Ricky Ian Gordon…” I wanted to shout out, “Wait! He’s a composer! He’s ours!” But the plain spoken sentiment, as well as the unique name, meant it had to be the same guy.  (“The Tulips,” the poem...