p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} Rocketman is a 2019 biographical musical film based on the life of musician Elton John. Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, it stars Taron Egerton as John, with Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, and Bryce Dallas Howard. The film follows John's early days as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music up to his eventual musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. The film is titled after John's 1972 song "Rocket Man". The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 16 May, released in the United Kingdom on 22 May and is set to open in the United States on 31 May 2019, by Paramount Pictures.  But, Sir Elton John is not the only musician to feature in the film. The Crouch End Festival Chorus have a part to play too. Their backing vocals are fuelling the the soundtrack. Coincidentally, director Dexter Fletcher went to Fortismere School where they rehearse. SEE THE itv PAGE & WATCH THE VIDEO

Terry Riley, Laurie Anderson, and John Zorn - three towering figures in U.S. experimentalism - don't immediately spark an association among them. Before their latest two-night, four-shows residency of a sort at the Chapel on Valencia Street. they had collaborated exactly once, coming together on the occasion of Zorn's 65th-birthday celebrations at the same venue in September 2018. The trio hit it off, and if the opening set from their current revival is any indication, we may not have heard the last from them. The atmosphere at the Chapel - a hip venue, both intimate and airy with its vaulted ceilings - was one of vibrant expectancy as the sold-out audience assembled, a terse spring evening light lingering outside.  And then it was music. The trio took the small stage, Zorn's horn in the middle, flanked by electronic setups for Riley and Anderson on either side. Riley set things off on synth, carving out an idiomatically ambiguous space somewhere between a bolero and a prelude, highlighting his exploratory runs with sly smiles aimed at his conspirators. He was soon joined by Zorn's plaintive saxophone lines, with Anderson providing textural support on electric violin. The smiling persisted, and as the group warmed up they began traversing a vast musical landscape, skirting around the edges rather than fully embracing any particular style or tradition. Commenting on their return to the stage as a trio, Zorn mentioned their enjoyment of the Chapel as a setting, and their desire to blow the roof off the place. As the three locked into the occasional groove, relentlessly attacking it with ever-increasing intensity, the swelling sound mass threatened to make good on the promise. I looked around to a crowd of ecstatic stares and swaying abandon. I wasn't sure when we were or where, anymore, but one thing I can say: it was good.  PHOTO: Geoffrey Smith II READ THE FULL San Francisco Classical Voice REVIEW

Today Max Richter gives us another way to hear Summer from Vivaldi's Four Seasons with his "recomposed" version, featuring violinist Daniel Hope.  Composer, musician, producer, remixer and collaborator extraordinaire, Max Richter has struck a different sort of chord on his highly acclaimed Vivaldi Recomposed. A unique reworking of The Four Seasons for violin, chamber orchestra and moog synthesizer, these remixes include Spring 1 – Max Richter Remix, Summer 3 – Robot Koch Remix, Autumn 3 – Fear of Tigers Remix and Winter 3 – NYPC Remix, along with five newly-composed electronic soundscapes, dubbed "shadows," by Richter, which were constructed for a live performance of the work.  SEE WSHU: CT - E. Long Island NY PAGE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

Any time that a pianist undertakes to record a complete set of anything in classical music, it's bound to be an endeavor taking considerable time and effort.  Take on the 32 piano sonatas of Beethoven, plus all the other solo piano pieces by one of music's giants, and I imagine that it must be daunting.  Enter Llŷr Williams, who has been lauded for his interpretations of the great man's music, who took a different approach than the many who have come before:  rather than arrange them in published order, the Welsh-born pianist paired pieces together by their relative character, and how well they sound together.  As a programmer of a radio station, this is something I can relate to (although for me, the work of performing has already been done!). Williams shares his experiences recording late into the night with a live audience in London's Wigmore Hall, and insight into the composer, who as his deafness increased, retreated into his own world.  As a result, we received the gift of some of the most sublime music for piano ever written. LISTEN TO All Classical Portland SEGMENT

Two eminent avant-garde elders, a chameleonic vocal improviser, and a pioneering community organizer and presenter will make up the 2020 class of NEA Jazz Masters, according to an announcement this morning by the National Endowment for the Arts. The four incoming inductees - saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, bassist Reggie Workman, vocalist Bobby McFerrin, and jazz advocate Dorthaan Kirk - will officially be recognized next April 2, during a tribute concert and ceremony at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco. Since 1982, the NEA Jazz Masters award has been an annual tradition, often described as the highest honor this country bestows on living jazz artists. The award, which comes with $25,000, is determined through a public nomination process, followed by an expert panel review.  Photo: Carol Friedman / Ken Weiss / Richard Kohler / David Tallacksen/Courtesy of the NEA SEE NPR PAGE    SEE WBGO: Newark NJ PAGE

Artists share their wisdom on battling the fear monster, as featured over the last five years of The Strad. Here are 5 tips 1. Concentrate on intention - A great artist by the name of Leon Fleisher once shared a secret with me when I was 18. My bow was shaking while I was playing in a masterclass for him and  he said something that in the moment did not seem very sympathetic: that if I had enough ideas in my mind of what I needed to communicate, then I wouldn't have room to be nervous. I have lived with that piece of advice for forty years. Kim Kashkashian, November 2018 2. Perform for friends - When getting ready to play in public I find it's so helpful to play for my friends and for people who know me really well, because it's actually more difficult to play for them than it is to play for an audience full of strangers. Alisa Weilerstein, December 2016 3. Think positive - To turn around the negativity, I visualise positive scenarios. Sometimes visualising a passage going correctly before it happens can really help – just like a basketball player, as he takes the shot, imagining the ball going through the net. There have been psychological studies, which have found that going through the physical process of making yourself smile actually tricks your body into feeling happiness. It seems like the cart before the horse, but I have read that it works. So by the same token, if you can project an image of confidence on stage, you will start feeling more confident within yourself. Joshua Bell, November 2015 4. Don't pretend - The more sincere we are in our performance, the more we convince our audience, and it's conviction that creates stage presence. Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, March 2015 5. Breathe deeply on stage - I absolutely love being on stage. Having said that, I don't know any colleague (myself included) who has not had some issue with nerves at some point in their lives. The most important thing is to make sure that stage fright never overcomes you. And you have to know how and when to react if something happens during a performance which you are not expecting. One thing I notice listening to certain students is that they stop breathing freely when they get nervous. I do believe this can make things worse. The more nervous you become, the deeper you should try and breathe, especially while playing. It sends different signals to your brain and your muscles and can help you enormously if the going gets tough. Although stage fright – in my opinion – is mostly psychological, I also believe that the routine on a concert day is worth looking at closely: when you sleep, when you eat, when you practise. All of it can make a difference. - Daniel Hope, April 2014 SEE theStrad PAGE

Veteran director Ron Howard, who also made the documentary The Beatles: Eight Days A Week, takes an intimate approach in telling Pavarotti's story, going beyond the public figure to reveal the man himself. With unique access to the Pavarotti family archives, home videos, behind the scenes and extensive live music footage, audiences will be able to see Pavarotti's personal story emerge, right through from his early days growing up in Italy to the moment he became a global star. Watch the trailer  p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}