March 31st. Johann Sebastian Bach’s birthday. Last day of Women’s History Month. Holy Week for Christians. Today’s Beautiful Music offerings celebrate the convergence of these events, with excerpts of Bach’s Passion Music performed by some remarkable women. There’s multi-tasking contralto Nathalie Stutzmann, who sings the solo and conducts Orfeo 55 and violinist Satomi Watanabe in […]
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Morris “Mo” Pleasure is a global artist with a career spanning more than three decades. He moves effortlessly between a wide range of musical genres including rock, R&B, and jazz, and his early training was in classical piano and gospel music. The Connecticut native is now based in the UK, where even the pandemic has
La Donna Musicale is a Boston-based ensemble that specializes in performing music by baroque era women composers. Cheers to them for their recording, THE PLEASURES OF LOVE AND LIBATION, which features music by Julie Pinel, and other Parisian women, such as Mlle. Anne or Marguerite Bocquet, Mlle. Herville, Elisabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Mlle.
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Today’s Beautiful Music is provided by Emily Lau, an imaginative composer and singer, or as her bio states: “I am a maker of art and communities.” Emily Lau’s range of creative projects include, for example, employing historical instruments to play contemporary compositions, and reimagining Handel’s oratorio MESSIAH. Emily Lau is also founding artistic director of
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An extraordinary talent and an extraordinary woman, Marian Anderson’s voice was described by legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini as one that comes along once in a hundred years. Ms. Anderson was born in Philadelphia in 1897, and was still a little girl when her exceptional musical gifts became apparent. Not only was she a singer, she
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SIREN is a baroque group based in New York. The all-female group early music ensemble says its mission is, “… luring audiences to the irresistible music of the Baroque.” They’re performing Beautiful Music with a guest collaborator, lutenist Daniel Swenberg, from a concert called “The Life of Antonia Padoni Bembo.” The Italian singer and composer’s
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Mezzo Soprano Marietta Simpson is a beautiful singer and a marvelous dramatic storyteller — what a presence and what technical ease she conveys, even while singing devilishly difficult music. Today’s Beautiful Music highlights some of Marietta Simpson’s varied roles and impressive artistry spanning her career, including a 1987 performance of BUT WHO MAY ABIDE THE
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Dad gives son the car keys, he takes it for a spin, and loses control of the vehicle. Sound familiar? Well, THIS boy was the mythological Phaeton … and the family car was the chariot of the sun. Jean-Baptiste Lully wrote an opera about them, and you’ll hear some of it on Sunday Baroque this weekend.
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Although she was born in Antwerp in 1610, Leonara Duarte’s family heritage was Portuguese-Jewish. At that time and place, it was necessary for them to be “converso” – pretending to be Catholics while secretly observing their Jewish faith. Leonara Duarte grew up in a family that valued the arts and culture, hosting concerts and musicians.
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Canadian musician Brandyn Lewis is a professional double-bass player, currently an interim member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, which he has called a “dream come true.” He chatted with Suzanne about the trial and error process of finding the right instrument to play when he was still a child, the teachers, mentors and experiences he had along the way, and his growing career as a performer and teacher himself.
