Boston musicians on the Black composers to hear now
By A.Z. Madonna Globe Staff,Updated February 11, 2021, 12:41 p.m.
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Clockwise from upper left: Composers Florence Price, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Ignatius Sancho, Scott Joplin, and Twinkie Clark.Boston Globe composite
Last summer, as Black Lives Matter protests heated up the streets, it seemed like every American orchestra sent out press releases condemning racism â even those who regularly go multiple seasons without programming work by a single Black composer. With bewigged maestros occupying so many plinths in the pantheon of the Western classical canon, Black composers have long been treated as an afterthought or novelty by much of the concert-music world. But recently, a new wave of ensembles (and listeners) has begun to explore this music in earnest, treating it with the gravitas it has always deserved. Four local Black musicians with roots in the classical tradition spoke with the Globe about composers
EnsembleNEWSRQ served as our guide once again in the adventures with new music in Monday’s program “Solitude and Suffrage,” performed live online from the First Congregational Church and available for an extended period on the group’s website ensrq.org.
While I miss the live performance and communal experience of concerts, there are some surprise benefits to video performances, chief among them the opportunity to listen a second time to catch what you might have missed. That is invaluable for the brash new music in enSRQ programs. Instead of hearing familiar favorites and cozy sounds, at times we are confronted by uncomfortable dissonances and strange noises.
Minnesota Orchestra concludes a tough year with a cathartic concert REVIEW: Minnesota Orchestra s virtual New Year s Eve concert released pent-up tension.
By ROB HUBBARD, Special to the Star Tribune January 1, 2021 5:51pm Text size Copy shortlink:
An eruption occurred about halfway through the Minnesota Orchestra s New Year s Eve concert at an Orchestra Hall devoid of audience members. When music director Osmo Vänskä took the podium for the first time since early October, a catharsis gushed forth.
The piece was Starburst by American composer Jessie Montgomery, whose music is deservedly getting a lot more attention from American orchestras. This wind-whipped work for strings became an onstage storm in the hands of Vänskä and the 24 masked and socially distanced string players gracing the stage.
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