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...

More than two dozen GLTB singer/songwriters and bands will be performing during “Out In The Woods,” a marathon of music on two stages this weekend at Easton Mountain, the gay retreat center north of Albany. The event was conceived and organized by Steve Sims, who’s become well known in the Out Music worlds as co-host of The Quest of Life, a radio show from WRPI-FM in Troy.  Launched in 2004, the broadcast...

Jacob’s Pillow, the dance colony in Becket, Mass., is hosting a gay-themed weekend of performances, exhibitions and free events.  The second annual “Weekend Out” is a nice follow up to “The Untold Story of Jacob’s Pillow,” an article for the Gay & Lesbian Review by the Pillow’s archivist Norton Owen. JACOB’S PILLOW ANNOUNCES
SECOND ANNUAL LGBT “WEEKEND OUT”
AUGUST 5–7 FULL...

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...

In a departure from recent tradition, the French piano virtuoso Jean-Yves Thibaudet won’t be making an appearance this summer at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. But his local fans will have ample opportunity to catch him at Tanglewood. He’ll be appearing three times in the coming week performing the music of his countryman, Maurice Ravel. Thibaudet will perform all of Ravel’s solo piano works over...

Choral conductor and organist Kent Trittle, New York’s most prominent church musician, will be leaving his long-time post at St. Ignatius Loyola on Park Avenue to become music director of St. John the Divine Cathedral effective September 1. In a conversation with Daniel Watkin for the Times, he lists as among the reasons that he’s gay. “It’s tangential, but to be in a place where all people — I was...

Most pianists who perform with singers don’t like to be thought of as playing second fiddle, so to speak.  That’s why there’s a growing trend to do away with the term “accompanist,” with its tag-along connotations, and instead call the folks at the keyboard “collaborators.” “That just drives me crazy,” says Craig Rutenberg. “It sounds like something you did when you were French and you worked with the...

Think countertenors aren’t manly? Then meet Jacques Snyman. He’s played rugby and in 2009 was finalist in the Mr. Gay South Africa contest. Most of his time lately, it seems, has been pumping iron and practicing high notes. He’s apparently looking for American gigs to promote and raise funds for the “It Gets Better” campaign against bullying. Could there possibly be anyone in the States willing...

“If you’re doing a program about sex, you can hardly avoid a piece by me,” says David Del Tredici.  The American Modern Ensemble certainly didn’t take a pass in putting together their “XXX” concert on Sunday (5/1) at the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn.  Along with Del Tredici, the program also features music of Jacob Druckman, Robert Paterson, John Cage and Glenn Crytzer. Del Tredici will be represented...