Everybody knows that gay men do up the best holiday decorations. But what about music for the season? Well, “The Nutcracker” and “The Messiah” are bigger and older hits than even “Rudolph” or “White Christmas,” at least in my book. And both were written by gay men, Tchaikovsky and Handel, respectively. There’s nothing quiet as inspired as “The Messiah,” at least...

Chris DeBlasio (1959-1993) Twenty years ago in New York Mimi Stern-Wolfe, a pianist/conductor/impressario, started producing concerts of music by composers with AIDS, roughly timed to coincide with World AIDS Day.  Among those who attended performances of their music were Chris DeBlasio, Kevin Oldham and Lee Gannon (all now deceased), as well as the still very vital Fred Hersch.  A CD of highlights was released a few years...

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Last Tuesday night in New York I was the guest at a lovely little dinner party at the home of Denes Striny.  He’s a tenor and voice teacher and later that evening his most famous student, soprano Lauren Flanigan, would be starring in a revival of Hugo Weisgall’s “Esther” at the New York City Opera.  We’ve become friends because we are both former students of Michael Cordovana, a retired assistant conductor from...

One of Lee Hoiby’s most popular works in recent years is a setting of the final correspondence from US soldier Jesse Givens before his death in Iraq in 2003.  ”Last Letter Home” has already been performed as a work for male chorus or for solo baritone. On November 8 in La Jolla, California a new version with string orchestra debuted. Here’s a video of baritone Andrew Garland performing with Hoiby at...

Here’s a nicely done article from the New York Times style section on a classical pianist, formerly known as David Buechner, who rebuilt a career after transitioning male to female.  “Anything He Can Do, She Can Do.”

In the bio-pic “Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell,” Allen Ginsberg describes Russell as a poet who sings.  I like that because it puts a finger on why I’ve never connected well with Russell’s music. Lord knows I’ve tried many times, always hoping to sink into the numerous posthumous collections of his music that have come out in recent years.  His songs and instrumentals always feel like sketches to...

After being a fixture in lower Manhattan for several decades, lesbian composer Eve Beglarian has gone on a yearlong quest in search of America. For her exploration of the heartland she’s traversing our continent’s major artery, the Mississippi River. Her journey began in August at the river’s headwaters in Lake Itasca, Minnesota. With a car, a kayak, and a bike, plus the company of various fellow travelers (friends who...

Despite its name, “Lipsynch” is not a drag show.   It’s the latest large scale theater piece from the inventive Canadian writer and director Robert Lepage.  Best characterized as a play, the piece begins and ends with one character singing lengthy excerpts from Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” As much as I’ve loved that slow and lush music and its popular 1992 recording by Dawn Upshaw,...

Two upcoming events from gay composer extraordinaire David Del Tredici. His “Magyar Madness” – a klezmer inspired romp for clarinet and string quartet – will have its New York City debut with David Krakauer and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at 5 p.m. on Sunday 10/18 in the shining new Alice Tully Hall. Go to: http://www.chambermusicsociety.org for tickets and more information. Pianist Marc Peloquin...