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CofC Concerts
CofC Opera Delivers Sweet and Saucy Mikado
ALL TOGETHER, NOW: “If you want to know who they were—they were gentlemen (and ladies) of Japan …”—at least the sorts of Japanese characters that W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan saw fit to project onstage during England’s Victorian era. And said characters came to wonderfully absurd and entertaining life in Saturday evening’s sparkling... Read »
Music at Your Finger Tips
EACH TIME I HEAR Jory Vinikour play the harpsichord, I marvel at his speed, precision, and complexity. As his body sits nearly motionless, his arms and especially his extremely busy fingers carry the musical load. To say that he demonstrates dexterity is an understatement. Jory’s recent concert at the Simons Center Recital Hall, as... Read »
Master Harpsichordist, Jory Vinikour
SPECTACULAR harpsichordist, Jory Vinikour—who you don”t want to miss—will perform a broad program Monday, March 28 at 8:00 P.M. in the Simons Center Recital Hall. The selections will include Baroque and twentieth-century works. Jory played works of J.S. Bach and Jean-Philippe Rameau last year at the College of Charleston Monday Night Series, before which... Read »
With Technique to Burn
A CHAMBER MUSIC STUNNER describes the second Charleston Music Fest concert at the Simons Center Friday night: Cellist Natalia Khoma, violinist Dmitri Berlinsky, and pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky programmed two heavy-going works by Dmitri Shostakovitch (1906-1975): his Cello and Piano Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40 (1934) and Second Piano Trio in E Minor, Op.67... Read »
An Electrifying Performance
NOT SO LONG AGO, Charleston music lovers were treated to concerts by gifted and not-so-gifted amateur musicians. There were also a few talented and not-so-talented professionals who performed. Occasionally during any given year, imports of globally respected musicians were offered, while Spoleto USA has thrilled audiences with top-drawer chamber musicians. Today, there are many... Read »
A Holy Night of Singing
IT BEGAN WITH haunting, fugue-like layers of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel pealing from the back of the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul as the chorus—each of them holding a candle—assembled in the outer aisles, surrounding the congregation. Then came a solemn processional up the center aisle as they sang Gustav Holst’s... Read »
Madrigal Magic in Randolph Hall
THIS IS HOW we should dine every evening (well, most evenings): among friends in a sumptuous candle-lit room, with delicious food and plenty of wine, surrounded by a chorus of singers and the tonic sway of their songs. With, of course, a small troupe of actors to entertain us while we indulge our bounty.... Read »
Seeing Where it Goes…
AS A RELATIVE newcomer to Jazz—and coming from the decidedly classical side of the fence—I am still struck by the informality. The entrance of the performers (with a wave of the hand holding a water bottle), the well-worn jeans, the casual management of the musical structure, and, of course, the multitude of improvisational techniques—no... Read »
Listening and Learning
CAN YOU NAME one of the shortest, if not the shortest, movement in musical history? Hint: it was written by a composer with a penchant for not letting movements end. Just when it seems like one of his pieces is winding down, J.S. Bach manages to wind it up again, often with more intensity... Read »
Learning With Our Young Artists
IT HAS BEEN around for a long time. But the Monday Night Concert Series at the Simons Center Recital Hall, produced by Steve Rosenberg and the College of Charleston School of the Arts, is still a hidden—and very affordable—jewel in Charleston’s music scene. No, these are not world-class musicians (yet). No, the one hour... Read »
