The Stars Align in Houston
Harmonia Stellarum Houston, opening its fifth season next week, focuses on music from the Holy Roman Empire, often mixing Central European classics with recently unearthed treasures.
The Stars Align in Houston Read More »
Drama, Humor, Technicolor from the Butter Quartet
Based in the Netherlands, the remarkable Butter Quartet research and perform music from the late 18th and early 19th c., with rewarding adventures into modern works — all on period instruments. Their latest album includes string quartets by Haydn and Caroline Shaw.
Drama, Humor, Technicolor from the Butter Quartet Read More »
A Lautenwerk Revival Takes Shape
With two new recordings this year, the lautenwerk — an obscure, gut-stringed, mellow keyboard instrument sometimes called a “lute-harpsichord” — is having its moment. J.S. Bach owned two of them. Wolfgang Rübsam’s latest recording, of Bach’s didactic Inventions and Sinfonias, is a natural fit.
A Lautenwerk Revival Takes Shape Read More »
Changing Attitudes About Musical Counterfeits
A fascinating new book aims to understand the “inventive” musical forgery: not a counterfeit, per se, but a newly created composition that is falsely attributed to someone else. The author investigates not only why forgers may be attracted to such deceptions but, as authentication has shifted from stylistic concerns to source documentation, why we are repulsed when the truth is revealed.
Changing Attitudes About Musical Counterfeits Read More »
A Six-Pack of Bach from Lillian Gordis
Berkeley-born harpsichordist Lillian Gordis’ powerful new Bach recording dwells on sixes: the Partita No. 6 and English Suite No. 6, separated by six preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier. With a unique voice and confrontational attitude, Gordis is a master of this repertoire.
A Six-Pack of Bach from Lillian Gordis Read More »
