Music & Ballet Criticism

2019

• August 26, 2019 – From slavery to rhapsody: Urban Bush Women walk with Coltrane at Jacob’s Pillow
• August 14, 2019 – A Native American consecration at Jacob’s Pillow: Into the stars with Red Sky Performance
• August 5, 2019 – DANCE REVIEW: ‘THE DAY’: A requiem for 9/11
• August 1, 2019 – A sublimely orchestral ‘Walküre’: Andris Nelsons and the Tanglewood Music Center Fellows in an instrumental story
• July 22, 2019 – ‘It isn’t a word thing, it’s a dance thing’: Mark Morris delights at Jacob’s Pillow
• June 13, 2019 – A revelatory encounter with family, folk and fantasy: Hanani’s merry band brings Suk and Dvorak to the Mahaiwe

2018

• August 30, 2018 – REVIEW: Sexy, philosophical ‘Candide’ by the Knights at Tanglewood
• August 25, 2018 – DANCE REVIEW: End of Season Fireworks at Jacob’s Pillow with New York City Ballet
• July 27, 2018 – DANCE REVIEW: Ronald K. Brown Rocks The Pillow with Story and Swing
• July 19, 2018 – The Arc of Life as Told in Tap: Dorrance Dance at Jacob’s Pillow
• July 10, 2018 – A Tale of Two Pianos: Lang Lang and Rudolf Buchbinder in the Tanglewood Shed
• June 28, 2018 – DANCE REVIEW: Ephrat Asherie’s ‘Odeon’ at Jacob’s Pillow Reinvents Dance
• June 28, 2018 – Harry Connick Jr. Lets the Good Times Roll at Tanglewood
• June 2, 2018 – ‘Tubby the Tuba’ sings in the Berkshire Hills
• May 13, 2018 – A profound choral, cinematic and orchestral ‘Passion of Joan of Arc’: Andrea Goodman’s Tour de Force at Trinity Church in Lenox
• February 13, 2018 – Toppings off and new beginnings at Tanglewood music center

2017

• August 22, 2017 – REVIEW: Rompañía Irene Rodriquez steams at Jacob’s Pillow
• August 12, 2017 – Reflections on Camille A. Brown and ‘BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play’ at Jacob’s Pillow
• July 28, 2017 – REVIEW: Ballet Hispánico at Jacob’s Pillow: Illuminating and thrilling
• July 8, 2017 – MUSIC: Audacious, contemplative Mozart by Aston Magna
• July 1, 2017 – Sex, dance and Repression Delicto opens Aston Magna Festival
• June 30, 2017 – DANCE REVIEW: Transcendent and tireless tap at Jacob’s Pillow
• June 24, 2017 – MUSIC REVIEW: In search of classic jazz at Ozawa Hall
• March 30, 2017 – MUSIC: A close encounter with the arc of Beethoven

2016

• October 31, 2016 – MUSIC: Tango fantasies and inspirations in West Stockbridge
• September 26, 2016 – MUSIC REVIEW: Simone Dinnerstein conjures Glass and Schubert
• September 12, 2016 – DANCE: Souleymane Badolo and the spirit of our ancestors
• August 15, 2016 – REVIEW: Tap Dance heaven at Jacob’s Pillow with Dorrance Dance
• August 12, 2016 – TANGLEWOOD: Sweet serenades, lavish Liszt
• August 5, 2016 – TANGLEWOOD: Singing, swinging with Corea, McBride and Blade
• July 31, 2016 – TANGLEWOOD: Moonlight shines on Chanticleer at Ozawa Hall
• July 30, 2016 – TANGLEWOOD: Pianist Yuja Wang ‘elevates’ the audience
• July 19, 2016 – Bastille Day at Ozawa Hall: The Knights celebrate Egalité, Fraternité, as tragedy strikes France — again
• July 15, 2016 – DANCE REVIEW: ‘And Still You Must Swing’ rocks the Pillow
• July 11, 2016 – TANGLEWOOD: Jordi Savall’s ancient acoustic tour de force
• July 8, 2016 – TANGLEWOOD: Timely, feminine convergence at Ozawa Hall
• July 5, 2016 – DANCE REVIEW: Kinesthetic transformations of Bereishit Dance Company
• June 28, 2016 – DANCE: Stretching Flamenco and finding Duende

2015

• October 3, 2015 – At TANGLEWOOD: Tanglewood Fellow’s resplendent 75th anniversary festival
• August 10, 2015 – At TANGLEWOOD: Tragedy in Matthais Goerne’s ‘Winter Journey’
• August 8, 2015 – At TANGLEWOOD: Knights errant ride again at Ozawa Hall
• August 6, 2015 – JACOB’S PILLOW: Daniel Urbricht’s brilliant ballet stars overcome instrumentmental defect
• July 28, 2015 – At TANGLEWOOD: Paul Lewis, Emerson String Quartet extol Beethoven’s final works: ‘It must be’
• July 23, 2015 – DANCE: Alonzo King’s ‘LINES,’ sinuous exploration of existence
• July 21, 2015 – TANGLEWOOD: Terfel rampant, Radvanovsky resplendent in Verdi, Puccini
• July 16, 2015 – Review: Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in glorious recital at Ozawa Hall
• July 7, 2015 – Seeking American Spirits at Tanglewood – BSO pays tribute to liberty, and swing
• July 3, 2015 – Titillation to transcendence at Tanglewood: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett
• June 3, 2015 – Our bodies, our science, ourselves in ‘The How and The Why’

2014

• November 2, 2014 – A Brief Encounter with sublime Mozart
• August 25, 2014 – Tanglewood: The Gospel According to Jeremy Denk
• August 18, 2014 – Magic and Whimsy at Jacob’s Pillow: ‘Chalk and Soot’
• August 1, 2014 – Tip-Top Tapping at Jacob’s Pillow: Dorrance Dance’s World Premier of ETM: The Initial Approach
• July 23, 2014 – Baritone Thomas Hampson reveals the glories of 19th century lieder
• July 19, 2014 – Fireworks from the Emerson Quartet: Shostakovitch lasts quartets
• July 14, 2014 – Love and Loss in astounding a cappella; Chanticleer in ‘SheSaid/He Said’ at Ozawa Hall
• July 8, 2014 – An American welcome to the Tanglewood season: Opening night starring Renee Fleming

2010

• August 27, 2010 – Mälkki, with Bell, and Denk, Raises Questions of Tempo and Gender
• August 24, 2010 – Upshaw, Morlot Weave Affecting Textures with BSO
• August 20, 2010 – The Joint wuz Jumpin’ with Thibaudet, Spano, Martin
• August 18, 2010 – Latin Lilt to Rowe’s Flights of Flute, Weilerstein’s Stellar Cello
• August 7, 2010 – Ariadne auf Bali Ha’i in Tanglewood Fellows’ Marvelous Strauss Pacific
• August 5, 2010 – Sexy Berg, Affecting Strauss, and Resplendent Mahler by BSO
• August 1, 2010 – Goerne and Haefliger Unapologetically Probe Human Experience in Schumann, Brahms
• July 26, 2010 – Stand-up Send-up of Mozart Comedy in the Shed
• July 25, 2010 – Wispelwey Gives New Meaning to Playing Ozawa Hall
• July 22, 2010 – Mendelssohn, Shostakovich with Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, then Mahler with Tanglewood Orchestra
• July 22, 2010 – Journeys from Judaism and Persecution in Mendelssohn and Mahler
• July 15, 2010 – Mahler and the Transition to 20th Century Music at Tanglewood
• June 30, 2010 – Rite, Ritual, and Romantic Struggle: Music and Dance Open Jacob’s Pillow, Tanglewood Festivals