classical Archive
24 Dec 2014
Best of 2014: Concerts
One of the many pleasures associated with living in the small mountain city of Asheville NC is access to great live music. I grew up in the 70s and 80s in Atlanta, where going to a concert often meant traveling to a sports arena, and watching the tiny performers from the nosebleed seats (where you’d
03 Jun 2014
Album Review: Clearlight — Impressionist Symphony
With precious few exceptions, attempting a classical-rock hybrid is at worst a fool’s errand, at best a thankless task. All too often, this most ambitious of goals – bringing together fans of intricate, densely layered orchestral work and searing, heavy rock – ends up pleasing no one. At its most insipid, the result is something
02 Apr 2014
Festival Review: Big Ears 2014, Day 2 (Part 2)
After getting (respectively) a headache and a power nap, my sweetheart and I headed back to the Tennessee Theatre, remarking all the while how well-thought-out Big Ears 2014 is as a whole. The four primary venues all lay in a straight line in downtown, the farthest apart being no more than about six blocks. And
05 Nov 2012
Album Review: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays the Music of Rush
Normally, I don’t write negative reviews. Yes, I will point out those qualities that make a work less than it could be, but if a release is mostly or wholly without merit (in my estimation) I don’t bother to cover it. This is especially true if it’s by an artist who is not well-known. But
30 Jan 2008
Peter Millis: Mountain Music Meets the Bard
Peter Millis believes that there’s a strong musical connection between pre-Elizabethan England and WNC. His work with the Montford Park Players serves to illustrate that relationship. Actor/musician Peter Millis got involved in drama as an adult playing and singing in an Appalachian drama called Way Back When. And although he’s played for friends, family and