The Arts Blog

The Bach Cello Suites: A 300 Year History, A 300 Year Mystery

October 13, 2016

The Bach Cello Suites are some of the most recognizable and well-loved pieces of music in both classical and popular circles. They have been featured in concerts and commercials alike, transcribed for a diverse array of instruments, and interpreted by every style of music imaginable, from swing to electronic. However, little is known about the history …

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Matt Haimovitz plays “Overtures to Bach”

October 5, 2016

Cellist Matt Haimovitz, who started his career nearly 30 years ago on the DG label, recording the standard cello repertoire, soon broke out of that corner of classical music to seek a more personal journey. I recall, in the 1990s, interviewing Matt as he was about to head out across the country, with CDs in …

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Joshua Bell plays “For the Love of Brahms”

September 26, 2016

Joshua Bell’s newest CD is about friendship.  Friendship between Mr. Bell and his fellow musicians, who include British cellist Steven Isserlis, and American pianist Jeremy Denk, with whom Bell has performed and recorded many times; and friendship between the composers featured on the disc, Johannes Brahms and Joseph Joachim.  Completing the circle of friends are …

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Chiara Quartet play Bartok “By Heart”

September 12, 2016

Chiara in Italian means “clear”, “pure” or “light”.  These are apt words to describe the group’s sound, as well as their approach to string quartet repertoire.  The four have been together since their Juilliard days (more likely longer than that), and have several recordings under their belts already.  By now, you’ve probably wondered what “by …

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Jennifer Koh: Tchaikovsky’s complete works for violin and orchestra

August 31, 2016

Jennifer Koh is a name – and face, and sound – that should be familiar to many Oregon Symphony fans. One of her earliest appearances was in 2008, playing the Brahms concerto with the orchestra, and she’s since returned to perform the Dvorak and Bartok concertos. I had the pleasure of hearing her perform more …

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Piano. Push. Play. transforms Portland with music, art, and a bit of magic

August 23, 2016

The piano on the sidewalk doesn’t make any attempt to blend in with the bustling city surroundings. Its bright pink exterior bristles with wild fur that surpasses many of the hip and trending hairstyles in both eccentricity and brilliance of color. Above its dense mane bobbles a cluster of orbs resembling eyeballs and from underneath …

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Eugene Drucker and Emerson Quartet’s 40th anniversary Limited Edition Set

August 4, 2016

One of the greatest quartets in the world today, Emerson String Quartet has been making great music together for 40 years. They’ve been celebrating this year with concerts around Europe and the United States, and were here in Portland with the summertime Chamber Music Northwest Festival, and their old friend, artistic director and clarinetist, David …

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A Darwinian Take on Musicology

August 1, 2016

Evolution. It’s not just about Darwin’s finches and paleontology. Music history can be considered an evolutionary study of sorts: a tracing of where, when, why, and how music was played, written, discussed, or heard, and who was involved in the process. We can study these changes of musical sound over time by examining one branch of …

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Pinchas Zukerman: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon and Philips

July 21, 2016

Violinist, violist, and conductor Pinchas Zukerman is close to 70 years old, but shows no signs of slowing down. Or wanting to do so. When I chatted with him for this feature, he was set to perform with his longtime musical partner, Itzhak Perlman, and head to the Berkshire Hills and Tanglewood to speak to …

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