Anthony De Mare has been on a journey of discovery and affirmation. For the past several years, the pianist has been celebrating the extraordinary music of what he calls “one of our greatest American composers”, Stephen Sondheim. And... More
10/21/2015 by John Pitman
American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers recently visited us at All Classical Portland, as part of her performance with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (After Plato’s “Symposium”). Just before her arrival, Anne and I spoke by phone... More
10/8/2015 by John Pitman
Yundi, who at 18 was the youngest winner of the Chopin International Competition, is renowned for his interpretation of the great, Polish-born Romantic composer. Chopin’s music has continued to figure in Yundi’s recitals in recent years, but after... More
10/2/2015 by John Pitman
The Catalyst Quartet makes its debut with the Goldberg Variations of Bach. The variations, which began as a harpsichord piece, have been transcribed for innumerable instruments in recent years (accordion, anyone?), as well as two fine versions for... More
9/17/2015 by John Pitman
In May, when British pianist Stephen Hough was in town to perform with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind stopping by All Classical to tell me about three fantastic new... More
9/1/2015 by John Pitman
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is one of the world’s most acclaimed and actively recording chamber orchestras. It is also one of the most played ensembles heard on All Classical Portland. Based in London, England,... More
8/12/2015 by Jonathan Williams
Pianist Lara Downes, a Steinway & Sons artist, has made a number of recordings for the piano company’s label in recent years with some intriguing concepts behind them. “Exiles’ Cafe”, for example, highlighted European composers who had to... More
7/30/2015 by John Pitman
As the summer begins to heat up, so does the music festival scene in Oregon. The Oregon Bach Festival and Chamber Music Northwest are each in the midst of their summer concert series with fresh sounds, artists, and... More
7/8/2015 by Jonathan Williams
The American composer James Horner, who composed more than 100 film scores, including “Titanic,” “Apollo 13,” “Braveheart” and “Avatar” passed away June 22 at the age of 61. Horner was a classically trained musician and scholar, who began... More
6/30/2015 by Jonathan Williams
Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with the renowned violinist – and Artistic Director of Portland Baroque Orchestra – Monica Huggett. Since there was so much to talk about, this CD review is presented as a... More
6/23/2015 by John Pitman
