Risë Stevens News
American opera singer, vocalist and actress (1913-2013)
- mezzo-soprano
- United States of America
- actor, opera singer, television actor, film actor
Last update
2024-03-19
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2024-03-08 15:52:00
Lumen Christi: I chat to Master of Music, Simon Johnson about his first disc with the choir of Westminster Cathedral
[…] recordings.Generally, congregational numbers are returning to pre-COVID levels. But for his first Sunday at the cathedral, with the choir rehearsing in the cathedral (so they could be spaced out), he was struck by the size of the congregation, the nave was full fifteen minutes before the service began. The commitment of the congregation struck him, thus bucking trends.Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast AbbeyThe organist on the disc is Peter Stevens, the assistant master of music, Simon describes him as first-rate so Simon never feels the need to go to the organ console during regular services. The rebuilding of the choir at Westminster was more than a full-time job, a role that he was completely immersed in and in fact, a role that he always wanted to do. Simon's organ playing tends to be for half-term and holiday breaks when he gives recitals, and he […]
2024-03-07 09:16:00
The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards 2024, at the Royal Northern College of Music
L-R from top: Nicky Spence; Jasdeep Singh Degun; Roman Grigoriv, Olga Diatel and Illia Razumeiko; and Jack Capstaff at the RPS AwardsThe Royal Philharmonic Society held its awards ceremony at the Royal Northern College of Music on Tuesday night (5 March) – the first time they’ve ever done them out of London. And here are my awards for the highlights of the show: l The ceremony began with Conversation in the Forest by Keiko Abe, performed by “The Sound of Manchester” – Delia Stevens and Le Yu (aka Aurora Percussion Duo), with Andrea Vogler, David Hext, Harriet Kwong and Paul Patrick. l Most entertaining acceptance speech of the night was from tenor Nicky Spence (winner, Singer category), pointing out that he’d been up for the award more than once before and “I was beginning to think I was Pippa Middleton” and telling the tale of how his mother […]
2024-02-05 09:09:00
Not everyone climbs mountains
[…] twenty-first century expansion of the orchestral world". Mason Bates has also worked as a DJ and techno artist using the name Masonic in clubs and lounges around San Francisco, and this means he has a deep understanding of the new and young audiences that is almost completely lacking elsewhere in today's classical industry. While in Goa my reading included The Islander, the autobiography of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who nurtured the careers of Bob Marley, U2, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake, and Norah Jones among others. In his book Chris Blackwell highlights how the bass line connects young audiences with music. He describes how bass is the lead line in reggae music, which explains the phenomenal success of Bob Marley and other other reggae acts far beyond their core Jamaican audience. Mason Bates' understands this importance of the bass line, as is shown by the impressive lower registers captured on the SACD layer […]
2023-11-26 12:14:00
Joan Armatrading world premiere review – how did a brilliant pop melodist produce such a baffling mess?
Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonArmatrading’s first symphony, premiered by Chineke! conducted by Andrew Grams, was underdeveloped and dull. Neither composer nor ensemble come out well from thisEven pop geniuses have a patchy record when it comes to writing for an orchestra. For every success (a Jonny Greenwood or a Randy Newman, for instance) there is at least one dud (a Paul McCartney, a Sufjan Stevens, a Deep Purple). Sadly, on the evidence of the world premiere of her first symphony, Joan Armatrading is very much in the latter category: a brilliant pop melodist who somehow turns cloth-eared when trying to write for an orchestra.It’s difficult to see what Armatrading was trying to achieve with her half-hour composition, written in four movements. It features a handful of aimless, glib melodies, played almost entirely in unison. There is little harmony, no counterpoint, no tension and no sense of development. It’s difficult to believe that […]
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