Comments on: Washington Post review http://www.eighthblackbird.com/blog/2008/03/28/washington-post-review/ Adventures (in new music) with eighth blackbird Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:15:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Kathy http://www.eighthblackbird.com/blog/2008/03/28/washington-post-review/#comment-1537 Kathy Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:54:57 +0000 http://www.eighthblackbird.com/blog/2008/03/28/washington-post-review/#comment-1537 Actually I think Anne is spot on with her review of the concert. The Reich piece was remarkable and I was especially moved by the lushness of the middle section of the piece. This work is destined to become part of the canon of American music. "Singing in the dead of night" was interesting and had some remarkable moments but needs some serious editing of the extraordinary amount redundant material. As for the staging/choreography, I am not sure it added much. I have seen works where the birds did their own staging to much better effect. In this performance, I also would have liked to see the sound picture change along with the staging as I have seen many times in their all-acoustic performances. Regardless, a remarkable pair of pieces and performances, played masterfully by the birds. We're fortunate to have them in Richmond. They add so much to our community of artists. Actually I think Anne is spot on with her review of the concert. The Reich piece was remarkable and I was especially moved by the lushness of the middle section of the piece. This work is destined to become part of the canon of American music.

“Singing in the dead of night” was interesting and had some remarkable moments but needs some serious editing of the extraordinary amount redundant material. As for the staging/choreography, I am not sure it added much. I have seen works where the birds did their own staging to much better effect. In this performance, I also would have liked to see the sound picture change along with the staging as I have seen many times in their all-acoustic performances.

Regardless, a remarkable pair of pieces and performances, played masterfully by the birds. We’re fortunate to have them in Richmond. They add so much to our community of artists.

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