Guitarist Mak Grgic and the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph Campestrini will perform on Friday, May 25th, at the Guitar concerto by Delo Jusic Concert. The event will take place at the terrace of MOMA Dubrovnik at 9 pm. Mak Grgic was named "fanciful, gifted and expressive" guitarist by the New York Times as well as the "guitarist to pay attention to" by the Washington Post. This talented guitarist will perform on the concert, conducted by Austrian conductor Christoph Campestrini, music director of the International Music Festival – Dubrovnik in late summer, who is having concerts all over the world and currently is on the function of the chief conductor of the Vienna Chamber Choir. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL Dubrovnik Times ARTICLE

 

Internationally known cellist Yo-Yo Ma will visit Braddock next month as part of a Kennedy Center for the Arts program highlighting artistic communities across the country. The "Arts Across America" program highlights everyday cities and towns that use the arts to promote connections and their creative economies, said Kennedy Center spokeswoman Brittany Laeger. It will come to Braddock June 8. "The events are tailored to each community, and local leaders partner with Kennedy Center staff to design a day of activities aligned to the community's cultural landscape and goals," she said. A schedule has not yet been set for the Braddock visit, but will include visits to local arts programs, performances, a community conversation and community-based art activities, she said. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} SEE THE TribLive PAGE

 

The Grammy-nominated string orchestra A Far Cry and pianist Simone Dinnerstein have teamed up on a new recording of keyboard concertos by Philip Glass and J.S. Bach. Entitled Circles, and released on Glass' Orange Mountain Music, the album features the Bach Keyboard Concerto No. 7 in G Minor, BWV 1058, along with the world premiere recording of Glass's Piano Concerto No. 3, a new concerto for piano and strings co-commissioned by A Far Cry and composed by Glass specifically for Dinnerstein. Recorded in the stellar acoustics of Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA, the The Wall Street Journal called the disc; "an inspired pairing," adding "Mr. Glass could not have hoped for a more graceful, fluid reading." The album has also just gone to #1 on the billboard 'Classical Albums' Chart

 

Bill Frisell Trio featuring Thomas Morgan & Rudy Royston June 14 will kick off the 91.3KUAF - jazz summer concert series. This concert is presented by the Northwest Arkansas Jazz Society and Walton Arts Center as part of the 20th season of Summer Jazz Concerts and the Artosphere Festival. On Frisell, The New York Times wrote; "It's hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell. Mixing rock and country with jazz and blues, he's found what connects them: improvisation and a sense of play. Unlike other pastichists, who tend to duck passion, Mr. Frisell plays up the pleasure in the music and also takes on another often-avoided subject, tenderness."      p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}

Bill Frisell Trio - Frisell,Morgan,Royston

 

Robin McKelle debuted as a big band jazz singer twelve years ago and has since tried blues, pop rock and smatterings of soul and gospel. Melodic Canvas marks her return to jazz, this time in a small ensemble. This is McKelle's album – she wrote six of the ten tunes, did most of the arrangements, and produced the project. Apart from the rich, textured music, McKelle takes on some social commentary, writes intimate lyrics, and without being too overt, spurs us to a considerate call to action. This is not the straight ahead jazz that you'll hear from Diana Krall, Lyn Stanley or other great American Songbook singers.  It's a bit off center as her term "jazz soul" (not to be confused with soul jazz) indicates. No matter what, she has some strong songs here and the musicianship is superb. READ THE FULL MAKING A SCENE

 

Decca Records has released the official recording of the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle. Having recorded the entire service live at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, every piece of music, the readings, blessings and the vows are included. The musical highlight of the moving and joyous ceremony was British cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, one of the most exciting musicians of his generation, who was personally asked by the bride and groom to perform at their wedding. The Royal Wedding: The Official Album is WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release' for Tuesday May 22, 2018.

 

Jóhann Jóhannsson left this world too soon. He was born in Reykjavik in 1969 and died earlier this year in Berlin. His legacy includes a short, but impressive list of film scores such as the Golden Globe-winning Theory Of Everything, Sicario, Arrival and Prisoners. He was initially set to score Blade Runner 2049 for frequent collaborator Denis Villeneuve, but they amicably departed as Jóhannsson's score allegedly didn't fit the film. The composer also worked on Mother, but it seems that the composer himself thought the film would work much better without music. Prior to his death, Jóhannsson worked on several films whose scores, unintentionally, now serve as a coda to Jóhannsson's life. The Mercy is a 2017 British biographical drama film, directed by James Marsh and written by Scott Z. Burns. It is based on the true story of the disastrous attempt by the amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst to complete the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968 and his subsequent attempts to cover up his failure. The Mercy is a dramatic score in Jóhannsson's typical minimalist style. Relying mostly on piano, glockenspiel, some strings and synth atmospheres, the music aches. Some of the piano-and-glockenspiel is rather upbeat; and when combined with a subtle string ostinato it fills your heart with joy.  Back in 2002 Englabörn was Jóhannsson's first album. It was re-released in 2008 without any alterations; but a celebratory edition was scheduled (and has been released) in 2018. It's been remastered and it includes a second disc with remixes by various artists. I have to be honest and say that I'm not familiar with the original release of Englabörn and thus can't offer an opinion as to how this new release compares. This new release does sound crystal clear. The recording and mixing are of such quality that they allow you to hear every tiny little detail in the composer's music. Whilst adding the finishing touches to this article, I'm listening to his album Orphée. It dates back to 2016 though it feels like it came out just yesterday. It's such a beautiful album; I'm fighting back tears. As quoted earlier, much of Jóhannsson's music sounds like an ending, a prelude to an end or an aftermath. It often inhibits a sense of loss, to convey the deepest and darkest of emotions where words and conventional music fail. His compositions are often minimal, his arrangements sparse, but there is nothing simplistic about his music. He had a unique ear for harmonies, melodies, for juxtaposing instruments and for combining the acoustic with the electronic. His music doesn't really sound like others' (though others sound like him), and it doesn't always evolve or resolve in traditional ways. There's a serenity about his music, something timeless and inevitable – like gazing at the stars at night.  His voice is missed. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL Synchrotones ARTICLE