“Tippett, openly gay at a time when homosexuality had not yet been decriminalized in England, understood what it was to stand apart from conventional society.” That’s a choice line from Steve Smith’s story for the Times, “Darkly Spiritual Challenge to Injustice,” about Tippett’s most famous work and it’s themes of justice and social change.  The piece will be performed in concert...

Close Encounters with Music, the chamber series in the Berkshires, is in the midst of its 20th anniversary season and has six more concerts between now and the early summer. The line-up of programs is typically thoughtful and varied with a healthy sampling of mainstream classics from the Romantic era performed by the ensemble members, plus a guest appearance by the fine young Dedaelus Quartet on May 19. There are also several...

Celebrations of the John Cage centennial begin in earnest at Juilliard with the annual Focus! festival dedicated to his music.  The six concerts, running January 27-February 3, are almost all-Cage.  The only exception is the January 30 event titled “Launching the Percussion Revolution” which includes Henry Cowell‘s Ostinato Pianissimo (1934) and Lou Harrison‘s Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra...

For the past two holiday seasons, fans of Broadway musicals have had special treats under the Christmas tree – the collected lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, issued in matching volumes during the past two autumns.  “Finishing A Hat” (volume 1) and “Look, I Made A Hat” (volume 2) are coffee table-size books that include not just the lyrics for legendary shows like “West Side Story,” “A Little Night Music” and...

Jeremy Denk, piano Union College Memorial Chapel, Schenectady December 2, 2011 Sometimes there’s just too darned much talking at classical concerts. Whether it’s welcoming the crowd, thanking the donors and pleading for more contributions, or explicating what’s about to happen in the music, all that verbiage gets tiresome. Yet along comes a musician like Jeremy Denk who’s almost as good with words as he is at playing...

“I don’t embarrass easily,” says author Wayne Koestenbaum. “That’s because I’m used to gay culture’s flamboyant embrace of embarrassing positions.” Perhaps it’s that bravery, that hold-your-chin-up attitude, which allows Koestenbaum the courage to delve so deeply into the shame, guilt and suffering of others. “Humiliation” is the latest book by Koestenbaum who will appear on Thursday at the University...

“Great Music, Right Here” is the apt motto of the Glens Falls Symphony.  Since the orchestra and its music director Charles Peltz regularly venture into contemporary music, “Right Now” might be an appropriate tag. Sunday afternoon’s program featured something far better than a risky premiere.  Instead, it was Jennifer Higdon’s Violin Concerto, which was written in 2009 and received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for...

A movement from David Del Tredici‘s four-movement piano work “Gotham Glory” (2004) performed by the composer. Today at South Mountain Concerts in Pittsfield, Mass. DDT’s String Quartet No. 2 has its debut with the Orion String Quartet. And here’s the composer’s notes on “Gotham Glory”: Having lived and loved in New York for more than 40 years, I thought it time to celebrate...

“We’ve only just begun” or some other ‘70s hit from The Carpenters was about as daring or off the beaten path as “Voigt Lessons” was expected to get.  After all, how much more could The Glimmerglass Festival and its new boss Francesca Zambello really expect from the great diva Deborah Voigt?  She was already starring in “Annie Get Your Gun” and doing it on the back roads of upstate New York for two long summer...

It was good to actually hear the Philadelphia Orchestra, rather than hear about the Philadelphia Orchestra. When it filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, the venerable institution became a sad symbol for the fragile state of the economy and the arts in general. Only the near demise of the New York City Opera — once an annual visitor to Saratoga — has been bigger news. Meanwhile the orchestra keeps playing and...