Category: music

‘Sweet Kitty Wells’: Soulful Country Ballads and Downhome, Southern Cooking

One of country music’s brightest stars, Kitty Wells amassed 64 top 40 hits during her tenure performing from 1936 to 2000. Getting her start by recording gospel music with her husband Johnnie Wright throughout the ’30s and ’40s, her 1952 breakout hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” ushered her forward to become…


End of an Era: Phantom of the Opera Leaves Broadway

The departure of Phantom of the Opera from Broadway marks the end of a historical era. Phantom was the longest-running show in Broadway history, generating $6 billion worldwide and holding the title of the most successful entertainment event until The Lion King. The complex plot, depth of characters, and remarkably talented actors have set a…


‘Ode of Lotus’: A Crisp and Refined Flute Sound Touches the Soul | Chinese Music | Musical Moments

Title: Ode of Lotus Composer: Jingshui Dizi Solo: Guohua Chen Lyrics: Qingxin Mixing: Joseph Ma Wandering in the fog of the mortal world, I have been puzzled for a long time and do not know why I was born. The mud covers my body, my eyes are dazed, and the turbid water is full of…


It’s Time to Revive Local Arts

Commentary For the first time in my life, I attended a symphonic concert that dispensed with the new composition right before the intermission. It is usually placed there to trap the audience that would otherwise come late or leave early to miss it. Nothing against new music, but let’s just say that it has not…


Te Deum | Motets for the King

This film is only available in the United States because of territorial licensing. The magnificent Cathedral of Saint John of Valletta, commissioned in 1572 by the Grand Master of Malta, Jean de la Cassière, is a jewel of Baroque architecture. The “joyous and martial tone” of the Te Deum, as Charpentier called it, goes wonderfully…


Melodies From a River of Harmonies: The Music of Frederick Loewe

In “Marry Me,” a 2022 romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson, a mega- pop star has a relationship with a random fan who holds up a “Marry Me” sign at one of her concerts. The movie was promoted as a vehicle for Lopez’s songs and those of Maluma, a Colombian pop star who…


Truth Tellers: Bach’s Music ‘Mandated by God’s Spirit’

We live in secular times. One of our former presidents, Calvin Coolidge, said that “the business of America is business.” Certainly, making and taking money seems to be heavy on the minds of many people. Even in music, a prominent contemporary composer remarked, “I began working in a record store when I was a kid. The…


Apple Music Trademark Application Blocked by US Appeals Court

Apple Inc. lost a bid to register part of a federal trademark for “Apple Music” on Tuesday after a U.S. appeals court ruled for a jazz musician who challenged the tech giant’s application. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected Apple’s argument that it had priority over trumpeter Charlie Bertini’s “Apple Jazz”…


Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: The Master of Lied

One of the greatest singers of the 20th century, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau had it all: great technique, an instantly recognizable sound, and peerless intelligence. Nicknamed the “Miracle Fischer-Dieskau” by the French press, the German baritone recorded more than three dozen opera roles, performed hundreds of oratorios, and sang everything from Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, and Bach….


Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’: Country Music’s Original Honky Tonk Girl

PG | 2 h 4 min | Drama, Musical, Biopic | 1980 If you look at today’s pop, rock, or R&B charts, you may imagine that country music, America’s staple music diet for over a century, is dying. Only, you’d be wrong. The Country Music Association reports a 9 percent growth in listenership annually, more…