Words and Music

THE WORLD THAT JAMES JOYCE presents in his writing is unique. It’s Dublin, of course, portrayed in prose and verse by a master of language. ...

Guest Blogger Dept .: We haven’t heard from Robert Benchley since January, at which time he was addressing a very seasonal topic - a mid-win...

DURING A Q&A SESSION at the Bard Music Festival, the question was posed: “Do you ever fall asleep when you’re conducting?” The question ...

CLASSICAL MUSIC, as far as mainstream listeners are concerned, has become remote and intimidating. Probably because it has faded from pop-cu...

ON THE FIRST TRACK of his first album as a leader, Bobby Hutcherson doesn’t solo until four minutes into the song. It’s “If Ever I Would Lea...

Glimmerglass Festival 2024 Dept.: The fourth and final opera of my Glimmerglass season was that perennial, “Pagliacci.” Often paired with “...

Glimmerglass Festival 2024 Dept .: Our third opera this summer was a recent work, “Elizabeth Cree,” commissioned by Opera Philadelphia in 20...

Glimmerglass Festival 2024 Dept. : Here’s my review of the second of the four productions I’m seeing at the Glimmerglass Festival this summ...

Glimmerglass Festival 2024 Dept. : We have four productions to consider in the coming days as the Glimmerglass Festival presents its 2024 se...

TUESDAY AFTERNOON the sky darkened and the wind picked up, falling right in line with the tornado warning that caused my cellphone to buzz i...

SOPRANO MARCELLA SEMBRICH, born in Poland in 1858, made her debut in Athens at 19, singing in five demanding operas; the following year she ...

From the Food Vault Dept. : By the time I wrote the review of Luna 61 you see below, that restaurant had only another two years left. Chef-o...

THE MORE IN TOUCH YOU ARE with your inner monologues, the easier it is to read James Joyce’s “Ulysses.” Easier, but still not easy. An auton...

I DON’T REMEMBER when I discovered MAD, but I know which piece of theirs first shook me out of my suburban complacency. Titled “The National...

DRUM CRASHES OPEN THE PIECE, giving way to the low brass and a rising figure then picked up by the strings. It seems to dissipate in some fi...

AN APPOINTMENT BOOK sits open on my desk, its two overview pages for the month of June staring back at me with pencilled appointments fillin...

From the Classical Vault Dept. : Martha Argerich turns 83 on June 5, so let’s salute her with a look back at performance she gave in Saratog...

IT’S EASY TO OVERLOOK the outings that take you not very far. What counts as close? Living as we do in the rural wilds of New York’s farming...

The Bard on the Boards Dept .: Here’s a pair of book reviews that turned up in a recently discovered pile of clippings, and it’s one of the ...

From the Vines Dept .: Sometimes your past lurks in old bankers boxes. I opened one recently expecting to see only books and found in additi...