Music

Plenty of exceptionally moving masterpiece moments in Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s season closing Re-Act

by

At 2024 Sundance, two documentaries about artificial intelligence premiered that raised tantalizing questions about whether in some way or another, could we really live forever. In Love Machina, director Peter Sillen highlighted a head-and-shoulders robotic bust which unquestionably does not resemble the flesh-and-blood version of the individual upon which it was modeled but it also … Read more

Escapist entertainment of the first order: Salt Lake Acting Company’s Bat Boy: The Musical is fiercely satisfying

by

Remember when fake news was simply freakish entertainment? When the Weekly World News had run dry on its long streak of ‘Elvis Is Alive’ stories, editorial staff member Dick Kulpa came up with ‘Bat Child Found in West Virginia Cave.’ When the story ran in June, 1992, Weekly World News sold 975,000 copies.  Other ‘Bat … Read more

Westminster Theatre’s exuberant production of Ride the Cyclone proves why this musical has become a Gen-Z darling

by

Normally this critic does not review student productions but in the curious case of a 2008 musical that has enjoyed an incredible rejuvenation post-pandemic in colleges and universities across the country, thanks to a TikTok video that went viral in 2022, it seemed appropriate to make an exception. Judging by the reactions of the packed … Read more

Westminster Concert Series closes season with fabulous A’lante Flamenco performance

by

A novel but apt choice to close out a memorable season for Westminster Performing Arts’ Concert Series, the Austin-based A’lante Flamenco Ensemble gave the audience an enthralling tour of the world of flamenco music and dance. With the broad theme of love as its anchor, the concert made the case for how the seven ensemble members … Read more

Samba Fogo’s Dancestral sets new heights in group’s trend of cultural, artistic excellence

by

Every spring, Samba Fogo’s show is galvanizing in entertainment excellence and respectful cultural education but its most recent Dancestral production is certainly the best of the series to date. It was a tight and exhilarating show that highlighted many roots of Brazil’s uniquely multifarious language of music and dance. This show stood out in representing … Read more

Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation to close out 2024-25 season with Pasquale Iannone in Moments Musicaux program

by

The Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation will close its 2024-25 concert season with Pasquale Iannone, from Italy and who is well known as a Bachauer laureate and juror along with being the teacher of the student who won the 2012 young artists’ competition here. The April 11 program (7:30 p.m., Jeanné Wagner Theatre, Rose Wagner … Read more

Ballet West finds total congruence in sisterhood of dance and music in Stravinsky triple bill, including The Rite of Spring

by

If there was an overarching theme to the astonishing triple bill in Ballet West’s production that culminated in the riveting performance of The Rite of Spring, it would be contemplation, continuity and connection for humans living in a largely symbolic world. The opening night performance of works by three choreographers featuring the music of Stravinsky … Read more

A must-see Stravinsky triple bill: Ballet West set for The Rite of Spring production opening April 4

by

The facts about the revolutionary character of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring are well known. Capitalizing upon the triumphs of The Firebird (1910) and Petrushka (1911), Sergei Diaghilev commissioned The Rite for The Ballets Russes. A dream team had been assembled for its premiere and rehearsals had proceeded without incident: Vaslav Nijinsky developed the … Read more

A successful prototype: NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Jessie Montgomery Plays Jessie Montgomery concert thrills large audience

by

NOVA Chamber Music Series has been excellent in featuring a good representation of contemporary composers in recent seasons but the recent Jessie Montgomery Plays Jessie Montgomery concert was a wonderful prototype for future periodic programming where the works of a single contemporary figure are showcased. The concert at the Libby Gardner Hall at the University … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series’ biggest concert of the year: Grammy-Award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery set to perform, with music by her, Bartók and Okpebholo

by

NOVA Chamber Music Series has scored a major coup in securing Grammy-Award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery, not only for her music but also her performance as a violinist on the March 9 concert (3 p.m.) in Libby Gardner Hall.  In 2024.she won the Grammy for best contemporary classical composition, with Rounds, a 15-minute work for piano … Read more