James Bennett II appears in the following:
Dark Reflections on 5
Friday, October 30, 2020
A menacing west-coast ode to "just hangin' out" is already one heck of a phrase, but what if you somehow make that even scarier?
Beyond Bach and Vivaldi: Augusta McKay Lodge Serves Up A Little Something Different
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Augusta McKay Lodge's 2018 album dishes up some non-usual baroque fare. We're better for it.
To Celebrate 40 Years at WQXR, A Fast Five Questions with Nimet Habachy
Monday, October 19, 2020
Soaking up wisdom for an overnight sage.
About Janai Brugger and that Song from ‘Lovecraft Country’
Friday, October 16, 2020
The penultimate episode of the 2020 HBO series features a piece from Laura Karpman, sung by soprano Janai Brugger, memorializing the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
With Pandemic Programming, Wandering Variety is What We Need
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
You could say Carnegie Hall’s 130th Season opener was all over the place. In a COVID world, that might be exactly what we need to remember the good times.
Perfect Flaws and Engineered Reality: On the Live Versus Studio Recording Question
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Considering the live versus studio debate might change how you listen to your favorite artists and albums.
The Currentzis Take on Beethoven's Fifth is a Good Take on Beethoven's Fifth
Friday, September 18, 2020
You heard this?
NY Phil Is Bringing Concerts To The People
Friday, September 11, 2020
Thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the musical landscape of the city has been largely quiet. But the New York Philharmonic is testing out a new way to bring the concert hall to the people.
The Party Trick
Friday, September 04, 2020
In which Bud Powell takes a CPE favorite, blows it out of the water, deconstructs it, and makes it his own. You wish you were that cool.
Creator Of An Opera on Police Violence Is Named Head Of Opera Studies At The Manhattan School of Music
Friday, August 14, 2020
Tazewell Thompson is the director and librettist of Blue, an opera that tells the story of a Black family in Harlem dealing with the death of their teenage son.
IN CONVERSATION – With Davóne Tines
Friday, August 14, 2020
Davóne Tines talks about his chamber Opera "The Black Clown", the relationship between Bach's music and R&B, and how sometimes just being in the room is already a form of protest.
The Black Clown
Thursday, August 13, 2020
The Black Clown – “A dramatic monologue to be spoken by a pure-blooded Negro in the white suit and hat of a clown, to the music of a piano, or an orchestra.”
Hear Me Out: Blue
Thursday, August 13, 2020
James Bennett watched the Glimmerglass staging of Blue. Here are his thoughts.
Chevalier Blanc
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Because it was Joseph Boulogne who had Wolfgang's number.
IN CONVERSATION – With Lauren Michelle
Friday, July 31, 2020
James Bennett links up with Soprano Lauren Michelle to discuss racism in the opera house, the cost of speaking up, and how she tumbled headfirst into the dazzling world of opera.
EDUCATE YOURSELF: Classical x Race Reading List
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Conversations about race, and, more crucially, change, can be difficult. But here’s one neat trick to have those conversations run more smoothly: listen to black voices.
Hear Me Out: "Largo" from Violin Concerto No. 9, Op. VIII (Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges)
Friday, July 24, 2020
The word "largo" just sounds sad.
