January 4, 2018
One of the highlights in our recent, four-day Festival of Carols, was this new recording by Norwegian-born composer, Ola Gjeilo (YAY-lo). Mr. Gjeilo’s inspiration is varied, going back to his youth: classical, jazz, film music, and also non-musical inspiration, such as architecture. “Winter Songs” is to some extent a “Christmas” album, but not exclusively. To …
December 8, 2017
Avi Avital is an Israeli mandolinist, and Deutsche Grammophon artist, who is most accustomed to playing classical works such as those of Vivaldi (in 2015, I interviewed Mr. Avital about his Vivaldi in Venice CD, which can still be heard on the Music Blog page). With this latest release, Mr. Avital branches out, but also …
November 16, 2017
American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers has long loved the works of Finnish composer, Einojuhani Rautavaara. For years, Meyers dreamed of commissioning a work from him for her instrument. In 2014, she reached out to the composer, who responded almost immediately and set to work. What Meyers soon received was a beautiful, haunting, and evocative work …
November 1, 2017
Violinist Tomás Cotik (toh-MAHSS ko-TEEK), Assistant Professor of Violin at Portland State University, was born in Argentina. But that doesn’t mean that he grew up loving the tango. It took living in another country – Germany, to be exact – to develop that love for his home country’s signature musical style. Mr. Cotik chats with …
October 19, 2017
Cellist Matt Haimovitz has never been content to just “be quiet and play the music”. That statement, often fired at musicians when they express their opinions, has been heard with greater frequency in recent years. One could argue that a musician is paid to play; but it can also be argued that music as an …
August 31, 2017
This is a special recording on a number of fronts. In the first place, it’s the premiere by these two artists, both of them winners of multiple Grammy awards, recording together after collaborating for several years in concert. Second, this is the first recording in about 40 years devoted exclusively to Spanish songs for voice …
August 30, 2017
To some, classical music may seem like something of the past, yet many artists have sampled classical music, bringing the music to the present. Yet, the issue remains of where one song ends and another begins. It is always smart to give credit to musicians for inspiring a song. Sampling is the process of taking …
August 21, 2017
In August 2017, Oregon experienced its first total solar eclipse since 1979, and with it was a first for the station! All Classical Portland commissioned a piece of music to accompany this magnificent moment of totality: The Body of the Moon by composer Desmond Earley. Aptly titled, The Body of the Moon, Earley’s new composition …
August 16, 2017
With the once in a lifetime event coming up on Monday, here is some background information on the composers featured in All Classical’s Eclipse soundtrack. Richard Strauss’ tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra is one of the most popular pieces of classical music, thanks in part to the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Yet, the …
August 8, 2017
Erick Valle is a local Portland musician specializing in vocal improvisation and music production, currently assisting for THE VOID Research and Development Center. Erick graduated from the University of Oregon in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. After college, he devoted himself entirely to the development of his sound, which found its origins …
