Art, Music, and Dance in the Lone Star state
When I lived in Boston, I met and worked with many press agents. I remember one of them saying once, “you know, there’s good news and there’s bad news. And then, there is some f*cking serious news.” I know she would agree when I say the past few weeks have been filled with way too much of that serious news. As an arts writer, I froze in the midst of it. Somewhere in between the Boston marathon bombings, the fertilizer plant … [Read more...]
Editor's note: My partner Joseph Campana and I discovered Marina Zukow's work when it was presented in Houston by Diverseworks (see below). One of the most important American artists of her generation, Zurkow will be coming to Houston later this year as part of Joe and his colleague Tim Morton's unique seminar on energy and the arts. Joe sends this communication from Boston, where an unusual performance premiered last weekend. At a CVS on … [Read more...]
Liminal Space Contemporary Music Ensemble is a recently-formed, Houston-based new music group I’ve decided to follow. Regrettably, I missed their first concert last year, devoted to John Cage’s work. Liminal’s second performance in December at the Station Museum was a stunning event focused on Frederick Rzewski (covered elsewhere on this blog). The ensemble's founders and main performers Luke Hubley and George Heathco seem to share … [Read more...]
It was, without doubt, the frightening photo of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Evelyn Lear on the Deutsche Grammophon boxed vinyl recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck that first attracted me to this modern masterpiece. The cover promised whatever was contained inside was bound to be completely different. I was still an undergraduate music student at the time, and I’d had the pleasure of meeting Karl Böhm, conductor on the recording, when The … [Read more...]
The weeks preceding Christmas might seem like a strange time for musical performances with a political and/or military flavor. Maybe not. In 1969, of course, John Lennon and Yoko Ono chose December to disseminate their billboard message, "WAR IS OVER! If You Want It - Happy Christmas From John and Yoko," around the world. We should be even more mindful of contemplating peace on earth right now, no? Two recent important concerts in Houston, … [Read more...]
The last time I spoke with Houston artist and lighting designer Jeremy Choate, he was planning an installation for the exterior building of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, a project about which he was very excited. This morning, I learned that Jeremy died suddenly Saturday night in Houston. Stopped at a red light on his motorcycle, a car running the light struck him. Jeremy was 33-years-old. Deeply creative and exceedingly polite, … [Read more...]
Just before I moved to Texas, people warned me Houston was a kind of dance wasteland. Even a local critic told me there was “nothing here” in terms of dance, saying in a scolding tone, “you know, you’re not in New York!” While my experience has been variable (check out my latest review of Houston Ballet in the sidebar, after a depressing night of Ben Stevenson's Romeo and Juliet), the situation is hardly what I’d been told to expect. … [Read more...]
The “iPhone Marimba Man” accused of ruining the New York Philharmonic’s recent Mahler 9th was stoned to death this past weekend in a secluded alley of the city’s meat-packing district. “It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it,” said one conductor wearing a woolen ski mask to conceal his identity. Photographers from New York Post and The National Enquirer were given exclusive access to the scene and are expected to distribute … [Read more...]
Many years ago in Cambridge, I had the pleasure of meeting the esteemed former New York Times dance critic Anna Kisselgoff. The lecture she’d delivered that night at Harvard was so inspiring that I decided I was going to become a critic as well. In a hopelessly naïve gesture, I went up to her after the talk and asked if she could explain my next move. “Well,” she said with a sigh, “the first thing to remember is that you’re going to … [Read more...]
Here in Houston, it isn’t just the bronze commemorative star in front of Jones Hall that honors the legendary German conductor Christoph Eschenbach. Loyal fans in the city honor him with their presence and rapt attention. The orchestra members honor him with their finest performances. For music-loving Texans, he is a hero in the truest sense, and we live in a time where authentic heroes are far and few … [Read more...]
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