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It took humanity a while to figure out war. Archeologists dig up pits full of slaughtered families. Geneticists find some tribes flourished while others vanished. But this might be mere jostling. War didn’t hit the Big Time until it found its historian. Around the 6th Century B.C., somebody wrote down the ancient oral tales, polished by centuries of rich and subtle variation, about a war five centuries earlier before the gates of Troy, Mediterranean city of legend. The byline was “Homer” and, whether the writer really was a blind poet or a group of scribes or even another word…
While still a conservatory student, the young American composer Samuel Barber wrote “Dover Beach,” a substantial piece for string quartet and baritone soloist, which became a calling card for a musical career that soared quickly. Friday’s La Jolla SummerFest 2012 concert of commissions and premières opened with Gabriel Kahane’s “Come On All You Ghosts,” another solo vocal work with string quartet accompaniment, which the 31-year-old composer completed last year. Given their first-glance similarities, these two pieces chart the great distance between today’s classical music ethos and that of 80 years ago. Barber chose the poetry of Matthew Arnold, the respected…
The first thing you should know about Altar Boyz is that it’s fun. The second thing you should know is that it’s fun. The third thing you should know is that not much else matters. Noah Longton’s production at the Diversionary Cabaret (which means that the show is not an official Diversionary production and the bar that’s usually downstairs is in the theatre – consuming adult beverages during the show is encouraged) brings this gentle parody of a concert by a Christian boy band back to town for at least its third visit. The local cast of this version demonstrates…
If you were searching for a convincing demonstration of that overused adage “less is more,” I would suggest a jazz performance by the exquisite duo of Branford Marsalis and Eric Revis. SummerFest 2012 presented the renowned saxophonist and bassist Wednesday (Aug. 8) on the second half of a program that opened with three pleasant but inconsequential chamber music pieces that featured saxophone. Of course, Marsalis’ classical technique is so refined and fluent that any serious listener is charmed, perhaps even mesmerized, by his sinuous melodic turns. Indeed, he graced the tunes of four short pieces by Samuel Barber arranged…
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