For the adventurous soul interested in where classical music is going: Eighth Blackbird, "Fred: the Music of Frederic Rzewski" (Cedille).

By Peter Burwasser

Several years ago, I attended a live performance of Steve Reich’s Different Trains played by the dedicatees, the Kronos String Quartet. I had the same reaction as I did the first time I heard the Kronos play it; the piece moved me deeply, haunted me, actually, and in doing so succeeded as a unique and accessible work of music. I continue to consider it a masterpiece. After the performance, I ran into the producer of the concert, whom I know, and expressed my admiration for the music. His response floored me. “I hated it. It doesn’t work at all as a piece of music.”

By Ann Hicks

Fun night out with eighth blackbird

The extraordinary young sextet “eighth blackbird” made its first appearance in Greenville on Wednesday night, and proved just how much fun modern music-making can be.

By Allan Kozinn
The New York Times

COMPOSERS, no matter how evident their stylistic allegiances may be, almost invariably prefer to regard themselves as unclassifiable. Frederic Rzewski is harder to classify than most. His overtly political pieces receive a lot of attention, but he writes plenty of works free of extramusical agendas, and they are no less striking. Stylistically, he is everywhere, from Minimalism to 12-tone and densely pounded clusters that sidestep debates about tonality entirely.

By Wilma Salisbury

Soprano leads program with heart and soul 

Soprano Dawn Upshaw took listeners on a mesmerizing musical journey Sunday night at Severance Hall. "Ayre," the stunning song cycle written for her by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov (who was in the audience) revisits 15th-century Spain and its vivid mix of Christian, Jewish and Arab cultures.

By Evan Gillespie

Opera's Upshaw, eighth blackbird soar with 'Ayre'

If the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts offers just one concert a year at the level of Saturday's performance by Dawn Upshaw and eighth blackbird, the venue will fulfill its promise of significantly enhancing South Bend's cultural opportunities. Upshaw's presentation of Osvaldo Golijov's "Ayre" song cycle was world-class entertainment the likes of which is not often available in this part of the country.