Music

Around The Blogs: Julian Casablancas, Peter Gabriel and Syracuse shows.
By Nathan Mattise
November 3, 2009 - 5:27pm
This week spans everything from actual news about The Strokes to a plethora of options in Syracuse on Nov. 17.

This month's SPIN Magazine is must have just for the Julian Casablancas interview they managed to nail down. Sure, the former Strokes' lead singer probably just granted it to promote his new solo album (because, everyone knows, it'll be forever until the band agrees to be out an album together), but he says some provocative things.

CNY Jazz Orchestra Finds the Happy Medium
By Jessica Novak
November 1, 2009 - 8:33pm
The CNY Jazz Orchestra with special guests Joe Riposo and Steve Brown delivered a Friday night performance that lived up to its title: "Legends of Upstate New York, Part I."

 

Jazz can be a tricky genre to understand and appreciate. However, the Friday, October 30 performance of the CNY Jazz...

Syracuse Symphony Orchestra with the souls of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff
By Rebecca Schmid
October 31, 2009 - 2:41pm
The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra was joined by guest artist Jon Kimura Parker for an evening that rejoiced in the spirit of Romanticism.

Many composers have had to write against the odds.

Beethoven fought a long battle with poor mental health which was further undermined by the French invasion of Vienna at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Rachmaninoff suffered from a serious bout of depression after the failure of his first symphony in 1897. It wasn’t until several years later that he moved to Dresden, Germany in order make a second attempt, the result which was an hour long.

Otto-Tune Podcast: The Top Females in Indie Rock
By Nathan Mattise
October 27, 2009 - 10:34pm
Fresh off a trip from seeing St. Vincent in action, two Otto-Tune bloggers debate the best leading ladies in indie rock.

Bloggers Jett Wells and Nathan Mattise were working on coverage of the recent St. Vincent show in Ithaca, N.Y. when they decided it was time for the second Otto-Tune Podcast. In the spirit of the trip, the debate at hand (carried on during the roadtrip even!) became who is the current queen of indie rock.

Life and Laughter at the Opera
By Carren Jao
October 24, 2009 - 8:55am
The Syracuse Opera gave patrons something to smile about tonight with its first show of the season, La Boheme.

For non-opera lovers, La Boheme rings no bells until you say the magic words, “It’s Rent set in the late 1800s.”  The Broadway version stays faithful to its inspiration, making La Boheme infinitely more accessible to younger audiences even with Italian operatic singing and English subtitles flashing above the stage.

La Boheme is one of Giacomo Puccini’s most popular operas alongside Madame Butterfly.  With a libretto by Guiseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, it was first performed in Turin, Italy on February 1896.  

La Boheme in its final stages
By Rebecca Schmid
October 22, 2009 - 2:24pm
Syracuse Opera held a dress rehearsal last night of Puccini's "La Boheme" which demonstrated the clear, romantic vision of director Joseph Bascetta and a solid cast.

Puccini's most beloved characters came to life last night as Syracuse Opera unveiled a traditional, but vibrant, vision of 19th-century Paris.

 "The show is fresh, youthful, and realistic,"  said director Joseph Bascetta before the performance. "It is relevant to everyone because it gets down to the basics of life: love, relationships, separations, and death."

Otto-Tune Podcast: Most underrated acts of 2009
By Nathan Mattise
October 19, 2009 - 1:13pm
Two Otto-Tune writers debate what acts you should be paying more attention to in 2009.

After blogger Jett Wells offerred his most overrated acts for 2009, it was time to switch focus to bands everyone should be paying more attention to. Wells and fellow blogger Nathan Mattise debated the most underrated acts of 2009 on the first Otto-Tune Podcast.

Beyond the Score goes a little too far
By Rebecca Schmid
October 17, 2009 - 3:46pm
Last night, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra performed Gerard McBurney's multi-media concert of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," which has lofty aspirations but falls short of the composer's intentions.

How did I miss this?
By Nathan Mattise
October 14, 2009 - 3:44pm
Kanye told her Beyonce had the best video, but clearly he didn't see this.

I was flipping through some of my HD music channels this afternoon and thought I missed the most unique mainstream collaboration in quite some time. Turns out T-Pain and "T-Swizzle" recorded this track ("Thug Story") back in the early summer for the CMT Music Awards. It still merits a viewing even today however...

Syracuse Symphony Orchestra sweeps through Setnor Auditorium
By Rebecca Schmid
October 13, 2009 - 1:32pm
An SSO concert with guest artist Tanya Bannister was a tumultuous evening of passion and triumph.

An evening with Beethoven and Shostakovich provides for a great deal of continuity. Tormented passages give way to moments of reconciliation. Nostalgia is mixed with violent outbursts of proto-modern material, indelibly writing both composers into the hearts of progressive Classical music lovers today.