EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part I of a retrospective on the 50th anniversary of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation. Part I highlights the origins and formative years while Part II (go to this link) summarizes The Bachauer’s multifaceted legacies on and off the concert stage. The Utah Review is grateful for the assistance of … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part II of a retrospective on the 50th anniversary of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation. Part I (go to this link) highlights the origins and formative years while Part II summarizes The Bachauer’s multifaceted legacies on and off the concert stage. The Utah Review is grateful for the assistance of … Read more
The history of musical marriages is rich in fascinating stories, and the husband-and-wife piano duo of Lukas Geniušas and Anna Geniushene certainly stands out among the most compelling examples. Both were born in Moscow separated by a year and the couple, now in their mid-thirties, have been together for more than half of their respective … Read more
Born in Massachusetts, the heart of New England where the American Revolution was born, pianist Mackenzie Melemed is 60% on his way to performing his recital tour Keys Across America in every state in the nation, which began last year and will continue through 2028. Expectedly, Melemed has selected an all-American repertoire for this tour. … Read more
Definitely a first for NOVA Chamber Music Series, Recuerdos Musicales (March 8, 3 p.m., Libby Gardner Hall) will feature Spanish, Cuban and Mexican music by composers from the diaspora, all of whom make for one of the richest chapters of music history to be represented this season at NOVA. Among them will be Manual Ponce … Read more
The third concert of this season in UtahPresents’ jazz series turns the spotlight on two Cuban-born musicians who came from the legendary musical pedagogy of their homeland: Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez. Discovered by his mentor Quincy Jones at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Rodriguez studied at the classical music conservatory in Havana, mastering keyboard works … Read more
Percussionist and composer Brian Blume said in a 2017 concert talk, “I think that, by nature, percussionists are tinkerers. We are explorers.” In the Cambridge Companion to Percussion, Adam Sliwinski wrote that percussionists are “curators of sound.” In the world of classical chamber music ensembles, string quartets have many encyclopedias of masterworks to consider. Meanwhile, … Read more
CHRISTMAS WITH THE TABERNACLE CHOIR CONCERT There were plenty of notable moments of impressive musicianship in the Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir concert at the conference center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The choir, with music director Mack Wilberg at the helm, did full justice to its eminent reputation. One example … Read more
The juxtapositions of music by Bach and Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo, in the upcoming concert Sacred Spaces, as part of NOVA Chamber Music Series current season, are wisely chosen. Distance for cello and marimba (2016) and Two Black Churches (2020 by Okpebholo will receive their Utah premieres, running parallel to two Bach cantatas, Liebster Jesu, … Read more
In the video for Noble Rise, the epitome of musical collaboration is dynamic. An exquisite conversation is captured in a montage with alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin on her solos and her core band Phoenix in the studio while fellow alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins plays his solos from his home. Joining in is guitarist Mark Whitfield. … Read more