By Dale King The musical, A Chorus Line, doesn’t have dazzling sets, pricey costumes or high-tech special effects. The production that turns 40 this year -- conceived and originally directed and choreographed by esteemed New York show creator Michael Bennett -- depends on the strength of its story, music and movement to deliver the goods. The version now playing at the Stage … [Read more...]
Wind quartets stand out at second PB Chamber Music Fest fall program
The composers of the so-called Boston School, with the exception of Leonard Bernstein, are not well-known today, which is unfortunately par for the course for American classical composition in general. But one good reason to know the music of at least one other of the Boston composers, Arthur Berger (1912-2003), could have been heard Saturday night at the Lighthouse ArtCenter … [Read more...]
Well-played Russian warmth from Kremlin strings at Kravis
Billed as Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, the tiny band of Russian musicians that played the Kravis Center on March 13 is really a string orchestra of 14 players: Seven violins, three violas, three cellos and one double bass. Founded in 1991 by Misha Rachlevsky, their conductor, they have toured the world extensively, and their concert in West Palm Beach was given a very warm … [Read more...]
The View From Home 12: New releases on DVD
Appointment With Danger, Dark City and Union Station (Olive Films) Standard list price: $19.99 Release date: July 27 Apparently, DVD labels distributed the memo well: 2010 is the year for classic film noir. Last month Columbia released its Film Noir Classics Vol. 2 collection (SLP $44.99), an essential five-disc set that included Fritz Lang’s Human Desire, Phil Karlson’s The … [Read more...]
Musical piety, vocal purity make for absorbing concert of French Baroque
In the days when Louis XIV was an actual presence and not merely the name of a favorite rococo interior design fashion, the faithful gathered in churches for communion with the Almighty but also for music, for the sound of a pure, unclouded voice ascending into the severe angles of a sacred space. That very same experience, without the king, was that of an audience Saturday … [Read more...]
Claremont Trio offers high spirits, taste in Four Arts concert
The Claremont Trio began in modest fashion 11 years ago at the Juilliard School, and since then the threesome has made well-received recordings and built up a strong following. And the three players -- violinist Emily Bruskin and her twin sister, cellist Julia Bruskin, and the Canadian-born pianist Donna Kwong -- have shown some adventurousness in regard to repertory. They've … [Read more...]