German theremin virtuoso Carolina Eyck and pianist/composer Christopher Tarnow set their American debut today by way of Improvisations for Theremin and Piano on Buttersctoch Records. Produced by Allen Farmelo, Improvisations modernizes the theremin and piano in a sonically jangled delight for all five senses.
Tap dance aficionado Nicholas Young was recently honored with a Bessie for Outstanding Music Composition/Sound Design for his percussive tap platforms in Rhythm in Motion.
Danish singer/songwriter Agnes Obel is yet another of the fantastic trend of indie-classical crossovers. Her 2010 debut, Philharmonics garnered her platinum status in Belgium and France, received a Gold award in Holland and went quintuple Platinum in Denmark. Agnes cleaned up at the Danish Music Awards in 2011 for Philharmonics, taking home five awards. Her follow up release, Aventine, was written and recorded at home in Berlin by Agnes herself. To wit, her deluxe edition of Aventine features a remix of "Fuel To Fire" by cult classic director, producer, musician, clothing designer David Lynch. Sonically, Obel is unlike many singer songwriters in the sense that she has a nearly complete backing band of strings and a piano producing a celestial escape. Classicalite recently caught up with Obel over the phone before her debut Minneapolis show to gain insight on her technique, David Lynch and her diaphanous music videos.
Composer/singer Ted Hearne's latest work, the multimedia oratorio The Source, premiered last week at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The piece is based on Chelsea Manning's release of government documents to WikiLeaks and features some of Hearne's most accessible compositions yet. Commissioned and produced by Beth Morrison Projects (she of the Protoype Festival), the work features a libretto by Mark Doten with direction by Daniel Fish, production design by Jim Findlay and video work by Fish and Findlay together.
We caught up with celebrated organ virtuoso Cameron Carpenter last week in Berlin, where he is touring in support of his Sony Classical disc If You Could Read My Mind (a record that quickly became the top-selling classical album in the United States). Having completed his custom-built, $1,000,000 International Touring Organ (ITO), Carpenter finally has the mobility he needs.
With his Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority mulligan miles behind him, Joshua Bell is Skyping with me from his suite at the Ritz-Carlton, Dubai. As per usual when talking to the press, the world's greatest living violinist is in between rehearsals. Yes, Bell has traveled to the United Arab Emirates to perform Felix Mendelssohn's 'Violin Concerto' in E minor, Op. 64 at the Royal Opera House Muscat with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields--the storied British band, founded by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958, that Bell remains the only American to have led as both music director and conductor.
The Broadway star talks to us about her upcoming role in the country-music drama, and how she's preparing to sing in a style we haven't heard from her before.
Be it the Bang on a Can All-Stars or Pink Floyd or even Howlin' Wolf, multi-talented cellist Maya Beiser is not only transforming the way classical music is heard, she's also changing how it's being interpreted. Curious about Beiser's latest cello experiences, we chatted with her via email. Here, just a few days before her gig at (Le) Poisson Rouge, are Beiser's explanations on making a love child with classic rock and classical cello. She calls it 'Uncovered' (Innova Records).
What is a classically trained cellist doing at an electronic dance music show? Moreover, what is a cello doing onstage at an EDM show? We’re not entirely sure so we got on the horn with Saum Ghosh to talk about what it means to be an Indian cellist in the dance music scene, his forthcoming album and his latest philanthropic adventure.
Clite A.V. Club: Time for Three Q&A Logan K. Young, editor; Ryan Book, producer
In advance of the movement, Classicalite spoke with Gureckis--the composer behind it all. And as you can read below, he had a lot to say about collaboration, costumes and the role of any composer at large.
The actor talks to us about his jock/bully role, the show, his background, and his non-profits.
The actress gives us the naked truth about the one-woman play inspired by her experiences as a nude artists' model.
With a title borrowed from the song by Jimmy McHugh and Frank Loesser in the 1943 film Happy Go Lucky (which Baker recorded for Pacific Records), Weber's doc remains the best, most revered look at the singing trumpeter's late era.
Singer David Shaw took some time off from welcoming his sister's newborn to speak with Classicalite about the reissue campaign and what an indie jazz band from New Orleans really means in a larger sense.