Music and The Planets
When Gustav Holst composed The Planets in 1916, the Great War was raging, which surely induced him to open his symphonic suite with Mars, The Bringer of War. The Red…
Texas Tenors
The Texas Tenors have been entertaining audiences for 10 years, and did so again at the Tucson Music Hall in a concert largely devoted to Christmas music. A better choice…
CATS
The allure of Andrew Lloyd Webber’ s Cats is elusive. Like a Civil War, it tends to divide families. I talked with one middle-age couple at the Bass Concert Hall…
La bohème
I have always thought of La bohème as two operas. The first two acts are full of joie de vivre and exhibit a carefree attitude to love and life that…
Schumann concerto “tough as nails”
During her lifetime Clara Schumann outshone her husband Robert, who was most often known as “Clara’s husband.” The tide of fashion turned, making Robert, who died in 1856, a household…
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…