It begins with the crackling sound of vinyl. The violin strums its highest strings, then tunes to the piano. An audience member coughs. These are the opening sounds of a […]
Music
OPERA
Met’s Falstaff Is a Feast for Eyes and Ears
Verdi’s complex score is perhaps his greatest
Giuseppe Verdi was 77 when he began work on Falstaff, his last and arguably his greatest musical achievement, and his only successful comedy. More than 50 years earlier, he had lost […]
BACH TO BASICS
Get Ready to Baroque and Roll
Music of the 18th century thrives in Provincetown
PROVINCETOWN — Boston may be a mecca for it, but there is authentic Baroque music happening right here on the Outer Cape. Great Music on Sundays @5 is presenting two […]
ARTS DURING COVID
Chamber Music Ensembles Attune to the Pandemic
Breathing together, with and without a mask
Could this be a new age for chamber music? With small ensembles and limited audiences, chamber music certainly seems more Covid-friendly than, say, Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand.” But what […]
MUSICIANS
Eleanor Dubinsky’s Songs Speak Volumes, in Several Languages
Streaming from the Cape, she aims her art for the social good
Eleanor Dubinsky is a polyglot in every sense of the word. She sings in four languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English. She plays the cello and the guitar. She’s lived […]
PHASED AND CONFUSED
Local Performers Are in the Dark on Reopening Rules
Towns diverge on indoor and outdoor guidelines
Currently in Massachusetts, you can dine indoors at a restaurant, you can attend church and even sing there, but you’re still not officially permitted to attend an outdoor performance of […]
RECORDINGS
Alex Brewer Explores the Poetry of Cape Musicians
His new album features his songs performed by others
Wellfleet singer-songwriter Alex Brewer’s new album, Unquoted, is a tribute to his community. Brewer is fascinated by artistic scenes — Paris in the ’20s, Laurel Canyon in the ’60s — […]
MUSIC
Friends Virtually Celebrate a Joe Cocker Classic
The Star Island Shoal Survivors perform together alone
Every September since 2014, a group of friends — Malcolm Pollack, Kemp Harris, Carl Sturken, Ray Castoldi, Gary Lue, and others — journey to Star Island, one of the Isles […]
MUSIC
Something New From the B.J.Q.
Bert Jackson and his jazz quartet release a soulful new album
One day a few years back, during a particularly snowy winter, jazz musician Bert Jackson sat on the couch in his Brewster home, picked up his guitar, and composed a […]
HEAVENLY CUTS
Local Musicians Mourn the Passing of John Prine
His sharp lyrics were buoyed by a smoke-and-whiskey twang
On April 7, America lost singer-songwriter John Prine to Covid-19. He was a giant in the world of country and folk music — genres that, it may surprise some to […]
MUSICAL VIRTUALITY
Creating a Work of Multi-Chamber Music
Elena Ruehr’s new string quartet maintains its social distance
“Begin staggered, play as written, see what happens.” These are the instructions at the beginning of Elena Ruehr’s most recent composition for string quartet. Titled Zoom, it’s intended to be […]
PANDEMIC
WOMR’s John Perrone, 70, Dies of Covid-19
The popular host of the radio show 'Night Shift'
PROVINCETOWN — John Perrone, 70, whose passion for and knowledge of Motown attracted fans from all over world, died of the novel coronavirus on April 5, 2020, the same day […]
MUSIC
Virtual Concerts: The Next Best Thing to Being There
They’re a musical balm for social isolation
Ladies and gentlemen, the show is about to begin. Please leave your cell phones on full volume and unwrap the noisiest candies you have. Throw on some pajamas and pour […]
MUSIC
Tianna Esperanza Defies Defining Herself
The singer-songwriter is ‘Comin’ Up’ to Provincetown
With a new single on the market and an album on the way, Tianna Esperanza is moving forward along the path that she started on two years ago. Born and […]
MUSIC
Tim Eriksen Performs a Wide World of Music Traditions
But the eclectic artist feels right at home in New England
Where others only hear sounds, Tim Eriksen hears music. “I’ve always been interested in the most elemental sounds,” he says. “It could be train sounds, as well as crickets and […]
