Music & Culture
Classical Music Posts
Cello Plus Piano Equals Jan Vogler, Alessio Bax And Beethoven For A Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
For this Tiny Desk (home) concert, we pay a visit to the doctor’s office. Actually, the venue is called Rare Violins of New York and it’s something of a second home to cellist Jan Vogler, who pops in frequently to have the experts give his 1708 Stradivarius cello a thorough checkup. Continue Reading Cello Plus Piano Equals Jan Vogler, Alessio Bax And Beethoven For A Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
‘Rompan Todo’ Explores A Turbulent History Of Latin America Through Rock Music
Break Everything — Rompan Todo in Spanish — begins in the early ’60s in Mexico, where bands like Los Teen Tops started covering American hits. Others, including Mexico’s Los Locos del Ritmo and Uruguay’s Los Shakers also inspired many young musicians across Latin America to play their own version of rock. Continue Reading ‘Rompan Todo’ Explores A Turbulent History Of Latin America Through Rock Music
StoryCorps Northwest: ‘Hardest Thing To Be Is A Black Person’ Says Jewish Woman Who Hid In Attic
When Spokane resident Evelyn Woods was a little girl in World War II Germany, she hid in an attic with her Jewish parents. In today’s StoryCorps Northwest, Evelyn’s step-daughter, Robin, asks her how that confinement compares to today’s COVID-19 restrictions. Evelyn, 82, discusses that and the Black Lives Matter movement in this segment of StoryCorps Northwest recorded virtually. Continue Reading StoryCorps Northwest: ‘Hardest Thing To Be Is A Black Person’ Says Jewish Woman Who Hid In Attic
Borromeo String Quartet Marks Beethoven’s 250th Year With A Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
The humorous side of Beethoven’s personality seeps into his music, such as the false stops and musical giggles that fuel his two-minute-long Presto from the Quartet Op. 130, which opens this performance. For contrast, the Borromeos follow with a serious movement from later on in the same piece, the prayerful Cavatina, which Beethoven said even got him choked up. Continue Reading Borromeo String Quartet Marks Beethoven’s 250th Year With A Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
On ‘McCartney III,’ Paul McCartney Is A One-Man Show Again
Back in 1970, as the book was closing on The Beatles’ time together, Paul McCartney came out with a release that established him as an artist in his own right — and a versatile one, who played every instrument on the album simply titled McCartney. In 1980, he followed it up with McCartney II — another kind of do-it-yourself solo album, released as another band of his, Wings, was breaking up. Now, after another 40 years, the artist has been quite busy in quarantine. Continue Reading On ‘McCartney III,’ Paul McCartney Is A One-Man Show Again
In His 250th Year, Beethoven’s Legacy Is One Of Life, Liberty And Pursuit Of Enlightenment
Ludwig van Beethoven charted a powerful new course in music. His ideas may have been rooted in the work of European predecessors Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Josef Haydn, but the iconic German composer became who he was with the help of some familiar American values: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That phrase, from the Declaration of Independence, is right out of the playbook of the Enlightenment, the philosophical movement that shook Europe in the 18th century. Continue Reading In His 250th Year, Beethoven’s Legacy Is One Of Life, Liberty And Pursuit Of Enlightenment
