David Noel Edwards is a writer, composer, and recording artist from Canaan, New York. He has been writing for the Berkshire Edge since 2015, mainly about music, but also about books, birds, and reptiles.
However, what no one could possibly have anticipated — neither the Mahaiwe audience nor anyone living in the 18th-century — was the unprecedented genius of the great patriarch, Johann Sebastian Bach.
Soyeon Kate Lee’s delivery of Scriabin’s Op. 28 is so manifestly heartfelt that it would be difficult to say whether she owns the piece or is possessed by it.
“The true story of the war on cancer is not just a war against nature but a war of us against ourselves . . . We have the tools to eradicate cancer.”
-- Dr. Vincent T. DeVita Jr.
Shouldn’t we all just accept the gender we were born with? “Sexual orientation is who you go to bed with. Gender identity is who you go to bed as.”
-- Client at gender clinic at Children’s Hospital in Boston
When you witness a performance by musicians of this caliber, you are seeing the result not only of innate musical talent but also about ten thousand hours of practice that each musician must invest before reaching this level of virtuosity.
“Everybody on the spectrum has a vast beautiful world inside them — whether or not society gives them the chance to express that is the question.”
-- Steve Silberman, from his book, “Neurotribes”
If any conductor “owns” Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, it’s Michael Tilson Thomas. He certainly lived up to his Mahlerian reputation. When it comes to Mahler, Michael Tilson Thomas and the BSO are peerless.
My music appeals to amateurs and specialists. The amateurs because they just love it without knowing why; the professionals because they can hear everything I am doing.
--Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Robert Zuidam’s “Tanglewood Concerto” (classification: Fun) was the perfect vehicle for Emanuel Ax to show everyone how much fun he has performing new music with players of the Tanglewood Music Center. But it certainly doesn’t look easy, even for Manny.
If you ever want to witness a miracle, just watch Christian Zacharias perform a Mozart piano concerto in the dual role of conductor-pianist. You really must see this to believe it.
