1 October 2018
RSF is cooperating with Bridge Records for the production of a CD of Poul Ruders’ opera, The 13th Child. The libretto for the opera was co-written by David and Becky Starobin, the founders of Bridge Records. David & Becky have been great …
16 June 2018
Christophe Huss’s review in Le Devoir leaves little to add, but I wish to provide a bit of context that Mr. Huss could not know.
How does Nero differ from Dawe’s other operas?
–Nero’s Baroque moments are far more subtle. In …
3 June 2018
Still jetlagged from time in Beijing, 12 time zones away from New York.
I wake up at 2am or 3am and start thinking about music. At the moment, it’s rap music.
Rap music/hiphop:
By eliminating or marginaizing pitch, the hiphop artists allow for …
29 May 2018
In Search of the Obvious Good
Robert Levin, master pianist and Mozart expert, was fond of telling his students that Beethoven’s music caused people to run out of the concert hall and vomit. He told us the story of Haydn telling Beethoven to tone …
28 May 2018
A Triumph for Chinese Music
LIU Li — LIANG Nan — Zhang CHUN — Tan Dun
Beijing Modern Music Festival Hosts ISCM World Music Days, 2018 in Beijing
This is a personal response to the 2018 Festival and does not reflect an official Roger Shapiro …
28 May 2018
I laughed I cried, it was better than Bolero!
The entire Beijing Modern Music Festival finished with a passacaglia by Tan Dun. A knockout.
Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds
An easy thing done exceptionally well. I capitulate to Tan Dun because …
28 May 2018
Alarm Will Sound performed at 4pm on May 26, the last day of the ISCM World Music Days, hosted by Beijing Modern Music Festival.
Alarm Has Sounded
Alarm Will Sound has an aesthetic, and it has a festival in the midwest. I get the impression that …
28 May 2018
Harue Kunieda’s Floral Tributes III opened the final concert of the 2018 World Music Days, hosted by Beijing Modern Music Festival. The China National Symphony Orchestra performed at 7:30 in the gorgeous, state-of-the-art opera house at the Beijing …