Category Archives: All Classical Radio
Joshua Bell plays “For the Love of Brahms”
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 …
Chiara Quartet play Bartok “By Heart”
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 …
Piano. Push. Play. transforms Portland with music, art, and a bit of magic
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 …
A Darwinian Take on Musicology
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 …
Pinchas Zukerman: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon and Philips
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 …
Rachel Barton Pine: Testament (Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin)
Any serious violinist is going to be well-acquainted with the unaccompanied works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Several violinists have taken on these seminal, almost mystical works, in recordings. Rachel Barton Pine brings not only the artistic sensitivity and talent to these six pieces, but also great credentials: She’s the only American Gold Medalist of the …
Hélène Grimaud’s new CD, Water. An elemental expression.
Pianist Hélène Grimaud, known almost equally for her environmental concerns as her tremendous musical talent, brings both areas of interest together in her new CD, Water (Deutsche Grammophon), the result of a collaboration with composer and producer, Nitin Sawney. Ms. Grimaud, who founded the Wolf Conservation Center in New York in 1996, hopes that people …
Anne Akiko Meyers “Serenades” with passion
American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers recently visited us at All Classical Portland, as part of her performance with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (After Plato’s “Symposium”). Just before her arrival, Anne and I spoke by phone about “Serenade: The Love Album” (Released on the Entertainment One label), which features that very work by …
Stephen Hough: Pianist and Composer
In May, when British pianist Stephen Hough was in town to perform with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind stopping by All Classical to tell me about three fantastic new CDs that the Hyperion label released this summer. Stephen was more than happy to do so, despite …
A Parade of Music and Support Mark My First Week at All Classical
During my first week at All Classical Portland, I was able to experience multiple aspects of how the station functions, especially during one of its major fundraisers. Putting faces to the voices I heard during many late nights of studying was a great way to start off my summer at the station. Sitting in while …
