Category Archives: Pitman Reviews
Hopes and Dreams (The Lullaby Project)
In April, the Oregon Symphony presented a remarkable and powerful concert as part of its “Sounds of Home” series, where young mothers experiencing housing insecurity, had the opportunity to write lullabies for their children. These were performed by OSO musicians. Their concert was inspired by Carnegie Hall’s “Lullaby Project”, which recently released a CD under… More
Dinnerstein encircles Bach, Glass
American pianist Simone Dinnerstein’s newest CD pairs Bach’s Concerto in G minor with a newly-commissioned one by Philip Glass. Ms. Dinnerstein shares the story of how she asked Mr. Glass for a new concerto, Bach’s influence on both pianist and composer, and the process of bringing the concerto to life. Hear more in the pianist’s… More
Ravel’s “Choreographic Symphony”
Kazem Abdullah is an American conductor (he hails from Indiana, studied at Tanglewood and Peabody), and was General-Musikdirektor of the Symphony Orchestra in Aachen, Germany from 2012 to 2017. Maestro Abdullah has also been to Oregon: About ten years ago he subbed for one of Carlos Kalmar’s concerts. Based on the new recording (a live… More
Tomas Cotik explores Mozart
Violinist Tomas Cotik, Assistant Violin Professor at Portland State University, is also an internationally-renowned concert and recording artist. He has done extensive study of fellow Argentine Astor Piazzolla, in several acclaimed recordings (Naxos); a complete series of Schubert’s violin works (Centaur); and now the violin sonatas of Mozart. Mr. Cotik has been a guest in… More
Rachel Barton Pine: Elgar and Bruch Violin Concertos
American violinist Rachel Barton Pine practically grew up with the Bruch Violin Concerto No.1; in her conversation with me about her new CD, Pine says that the Bruch was her first “grown up” concerto, after having learned Bach and Mozart. Though Pine has explored the full landscape of classical repertoire for her instrument, this is… More
All In: Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra in the 21st Century
Conductor Teddy Abrams has a longstanding connection to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, as the music director of the Britt Festival. He also the heads the Louisville Orchestra, which has a history that is near-legendary in the realm of recorded music. In the 1950s, the mayor of Louisville, along with like-minded civic leaders, felt that… More
Amit Peled’s Peabody Cello Gang
Here’s one for listeners who love the sound of the cello. A whole gang of them. Amit Peled is an Israeli-born cellist who, at 6’ 5” could have pursued a professional basketball career (he considered it), is now a professor of music at the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University. He’s taking… More
Winter Songs by Ola Gjeilo
One of the highlights in our recent, four-day Festival of Carols, was this new recording by Norwegian-born composer, Ola Gjeilo (YAY-lo). Mr. Gjeilo’s inspiration is varied, going back to his youth: classical, jazz, film music, and also non-musical inspiration, such as architecture. “Winter Songs” is to some extent a “Christmas” album, but not exclusively. To… More
Avital Meets Avital
Avi Avital is an Israeli mandolinist, and Deutsche Grammophon artist, who is most accustomed to playing classical works such as those of Vivaldi (in 2015, I interviewed Mr. Avital about his Vivaldi in Venice CD, which can still be heard on the Music Blog page). With this latest release, Mr. Avital branches out, but also… More
Fantasia (violinist Anne Akiko Meyers)
American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers has long loved the works of Finnish composer, Einojuhani Rautavaara. For years, Meyers dreamed of commissioning a work from him for her instrument. In 2014, she reached out to the composer, who responded almost immediately and set to work. What Meyers soon received was a beautiful, haunting, and evocative work… More
