A Blessing for the Living
Last weekend in Pensacola, just a day after I had heard the Austin Symphony Orchestra play the St. Anthony Variations by Brahms, I was having a discussion with TV director…
Storm Large coming to Texas
There is a storm brewing in central Texas: on March 21 Storm Large will be making an appearance in New Braunfels near San Antonio. The whirlwind singer is on tour,…
Peter Noone
For a rollicking good time, there is nothing better than a Herman’s Hermits concert. The carefree persona of lead singer Peter Noone, an original member of the band from 1964,…
Fleisher plays Mozart
Sharing the stage with a titan of music, the Austin Symphony this weekend welcomed pianist Leon Fleisher into its midst to play Mozart’s piano concerto no. 12. Now 90 years…
A Brian Wilson Christmas
Imagine listening to one of your favourite albums from long ago. Then imagine attending a live concert by the group that created that album. Finally, imagine hearing them play the…
Brahms’ Mountainous Concerto
“It is a long and massive piano concerto. Just making it to the end of the first movement is like making it to base camp.” Pianist Orli Shaham was likening…
Otello: Lessons for Our Time
The lasting legacy of Shakespeare resides in part on his relevance to more modern times. Even though his plays deal with events hundreds of years ago, each succeeding generation finds…
Bernstein at 100
Leonard Bernstein would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. Alas he only made it to 72, dying in 1990, the year after I saw him at Carnegie Hall. Throughout…
KANSAS: 40th Anniv. Tour
Sun News Austin was on the scene for the 40th anniversary concert of Kansas in Pittsburgh, where they first made it big onto the music scene in 1975. After more…
Rachmaninoff Without Drama
When one thinks of Rachmaninoff, ‘drama’ is a typical word association. In his very first symphony, however, we see a mellower side of the great Russian composer. Interpreting Piano Concerto…