A Different Kind of Music Blog

I’ve loved music all my life, have listened (as my articles and reviews will show) to an extremely wide range of it since I was a child, and still have far-ranging tastes from klezmer, country blues, early jazz and old classical music going back to the Middle Ages up through the most advanced free jazz and modern classical pieces. And my interests have never stopped at just the music. When I’ve really liked a certain composer or performer, I try to find out as much as I can about them, their backgrounds, how they arrived at the music they created or played, and what made them tick as people as well as artists.

And in my musical journeys, I learned one important fact early on, that no two people hear music or musicians exactly the same way. The number of artists and composers one can agree on can probably be counted on the fingers of both hands, which really isn’t much when you consider the length and breadth of the musical spectrum, and the same goes for interpretive styles.

In addition to this, my opinions cannot be bought. Many have tried to buy me as a music reviewer over the past 47 years, including impresarios and at least three major magazines I’ve written for. None have succeeded, and that’s why I eventually went freelance. It wasn’t just that I resented them trying to buy favorable reviews from me, it’s that I resented the fact that all of them DO—and not just those three. Over the years I’ve discovered that ALL classical and jazz review publications try the same thing with their reviewers…which means that much of what you read as a positive excerpt from a review on artists’ websites is nothing more than paid advertising, and this practice went back to the time when I was a young woman just getting into jazz and classical music and was myself swayed by the purple prose that appeared for certain recordings and artists in High Fidelity and Stereo Review (and yes, even Gramophone).

I’ve also become more and more irritated with and bored by artists who refuse to play 20th and 21st century music, and in fact with earlier music in general. My CD collection spans four six-foot bookshelves, but remember that this includes jazz (which fills up most of the last bookshelf) along with classical music from all eras…and yes, some older music in alternative and multiple recordings. Frankly, there’s nothing that 95% of modern-day artists can say about the music of the past that hasn’t already been said by others before them, so why should I go out of my way to hear your version of a piece I have one to three outstanding recordings of? For a more thorough discussion of what I WON’T review, please read this statement.

So with all that in mind, I do hope that you enjoy what you read here. They express my opinions and mine only; I don’t pretend to speak for anyone else; but what you will discover here are frank, opinionated but balanced reviews of the recordings I review and the artist profiles I write.

Happy reading!

Check out my latest blog posts:
Scott Marshall’s Solitude Suite
Marina Tarasova Plays Weinberg
Charles Lloyd’s New Album
Dark Music for Basset Horn & Clarinets
Naxos’ New “La Favorite”
Saint-Saëns’ “Déjanire” Revived
O Sister!’s Brand New Day
Edward Cowie is in Two Minds
Preminger & Garcia’s “Hildegard Project”
Rare Art Tatum Performances Unearthed
The Best Russian Bass You Never Heard
Dave Bass’ Trio Nuevo
Colin Carr’s Excellent Recital
Jason Robinson’s “Ancestral Numbers 1”
Sorabji’s Lost Toccata Recorded
Per Nørgård’s “Gilgamesh”
Ivo Perelman Duets With Tom Rainey

For links to older blog posts (beginning March 2016) click HERE

Or read THE PENGUIN’S GIRLFRIEND’S GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC: It’s thorough, it’s free, and it’s interactive, with many links to the performances I recommend!

You’ll love it! Or you won’t!

My thanks to classical activist Garrett McQueen for mentioning me and my blog on his 10/27/2021 “Trilloquy” podcast!

Follow me on Facebook (as Monique Musique)!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Contact me at artmusiclady(at)outlook .com

*****OR READ ONE OF MY BOOKS FOR FREE!*****

FROM BAROQUE TO BOP AND BEYOND

Possibly the best book you’ll ever read on the history and interaction of classical music and jazz!

SPINNING THE RECORD

My 2006 book on the history of recording and its relationship to art music, jazz and classical.

JON VICKERS ON THE RECORD

A critical assessment of the man I consider the greatest tenor of the second half of the 20th century, along with a nearly complete survey of his work on studio recordings, live broadcasts and videos. If you’re a Vickers fan, I think you’ll enjoy it very much!

Toscanini In and Of His Time

An approach to Arturo Toscanini’s conducting style and musicianship in a different light. Feedback appreciated. Now complete through my final posting, “The Toscanini Recordings – 2,” including a facsimile of the 1950 NBC Symphony-Toscanini Tour Booklet.

My view of “vinyl” collectors (with a curtsy and tip of the hat to Marie Lamb):