Music
December 1, 1990
Fine Tuning
From the Panhandle to the Bayou City, homegrown classical music ensembles are our best-kept secret.
143 Articles
Music
January 1, 1989
Playing It Safe
Take two Aspern: one a world premiere by the Dallas Opera, the other the Henry James novella on which the opera is based. Which is better for you?
Classical Music
December 1, 1987
That’s Entertainment
The Houston Grand Opera was out to impress, with its new house and three ambitious productions in one week, but what it proved best was just how enjoyable this brand of theater can be.
Classical Music
June 30, 1987
Singing All the Way
Mary Jane Johnson and Timothy Jenkins live in Amarillo, but they’re at home in the world’s great opera houses.
Classical Music
January 1, 1987
Enter, With Trumpets
A series of world premieres commissioned by the Houston Symphony Orchestra has brought a dash of fanfare to Jones Hall.
Classical Music
September 30, 1986
For the Love of Bach
The Dallas Bach Society combines crackerjack musicians, a well-trained choir, and top-ranked vocal soloists—the result is a baroque-music lover’s dream.
Classical Music
March 1, 1986
Changing the Tune
Some new recordings of old symphonies reveal how the composers really wanted things to sound.
Classical Music
February 1, 1986
No-shows and Great Shows
The only excitement of the Dallas Opera season came from a couple of fortunate gambles, while the Houston Grand Opera triumphed by bringing Faust alive for contemporary audiences.
Classical Music
December 1, 1985
Desire and Memory
The Ups and Downs of Theophilus Maitland had more ups than downs in Dallas, but Memorial Candles didn’t have much memorable melody.
Classical Music
November 1, 1985
Is It Live Or Is It a CD?
Compact discs: coasters? Frisbees? or the best sound you’ll ever hear?
Classical Music
September 30, 1985
True to the Past
Forget all that debate about early instruments versus modern ones for eighteenth-century music.
Classical Music
July 31, 1985
Short and Sweet
Sometimes the opera is over before the fat lady sings. Consider the successful debut of sixteen brief and eclectic works commissioned by the Texas Opera Theater.
Classical Music
April 30, 1985
Operatic Adventures
A little gimmickry goes a long way toward making the Fort Worth Opera's current season a success.
Classical Music
April 1, 1985
Contemporary Classic
The octogenarian whom many believe to be the greatest living composer pays a long-awaited visit to Texas.
Classical Music
February 1, 1985
Strummin’ On the Old Gamba
Using antique and original instruments like the viola da gamba, the Texas Baroque Ensemble is making Garland the place to hear early music in Texas.
Classical Music
December 1, 1984
Classical Glass
The Houston premiere of Phillip Glass’ Akhnaten was a grand opera.
Classical Music
September 30, 1984
Brahms the Bountiful
A flood of new Brahms recordings that honor the composer’s 150th birthday reveals an oeuvre of surprising richness.
Classical Music
August 31, 1984
Opera For Beginners
The Public Opera of Dallas aimed its first season at opera greenhorns and scored two bull’s-eyes.
Classical Music
July 31, 1984
A Flop
At this year’s dismal San Antonio Festival, the English National Opera and the Texas productions were the only shows worth seeing.
Ballet
July 31, 1984
Dancing Up a Cliché
Jamboree, a new Joffrey ballet commissioned by the City of San Antonio, features prancing rhinestone cowboys and just plain silly choreography.
Music
May 31, 1984
Top O’ the Pops
The fare offered by the Houston Pops Orchestra may not be highbrow, but conductor Ned Battista thinks it’s American music at its best.
Theater
April 30, 1984
Awash in the Limelight
New blood and a commitment to high standards at the Theater Center and the Plaza have helped to make this theatrical season Dallas’ best.
Theater
April 1, 1984
Alley of Aspirations
Houston’s well-heeled Alley Theatre is trying to pass itself off as a national theater. Across town, the Chocolate Bayou is just trying to hang on.
Arts & Entertainment
March 1, 1984
In the Wings
Backstage at the Houston Ballet is a world of pastel shadows, brilliant spangles, and anxious waiting.
Classical Music
March 1, 1984
Who Needs Singers?
In conductor’s opera, each of the vocalists becomes just one more instrument in the musical ensemble.
Classical Music
December 1, 1983
The Courage of Their Compositions
These days the Houston Symphony Orchestra isn’t playing the same old thing. Conductor Sergiu Comissiona battles boredom by playing brand-new works and little-heard older ones.
Theater
November 1, 1983
The Palace of Pros
With The Palace of Amateurs, the Plaza Theatre brought a sparkling Mariel Hemingway to Dallas and a lofty new theatrical standard to Texas.
Classical Music
November 1, 1983
A Soprano Is Born
Houston likes to think it discovered Erie Mills, but it’s willing to share the winning young star with the rest of the opera world.
Classical Music
September 30, 1983
Rose-Colored Ivories
Is Claudio Arrau the last great Romantic pianist?
Classical Music
August 31, 1983
A Chamber of Music
Jim Cartwright has a classic case of obsession-he owns thousands of records. Under Sung Kwak the Austin Symphony has gone from mediocre to memorable.
Classical Music
July 31, 1983
Something for Everyone
The ambitious San Antonio Festival went all out, with 73 acts-everything from Dallas ballet to Berlin opera, from Robert Merrill to Sarah Vaughan. Houston Grand Opera and Leonard Bernstein both made mistakes in A Quiet Place.
Classical Music
June 30, 1983
Those Raucous Babylonians
This spring both of Texas’ top symphonies staged the late William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Fest. Dallas held back, but Houston made merry with the splashy biblical spectacle.
Classical Music
May 31, 1983
Midland on a String
From out of the West Texas plains comes the rich, beautiful sound of the Thouvenel String Quartet.
Classical Music
April 30, 1983
Happy Birthday, Franz and Igor
Both Haydn and Stravinsky marked special anniversaries last year, but music lovers got the presents: a shower of fresh new versions of their works.
Classical Music
April 1, 1983
Curtains!
Once touted, now routed, San Antonio’s opera takes its last bow.
Classical Music
February 1, 1983
Standing Room Opera
Texas opera lovers would have ended the season happily just having seen a lively Rosenkavalier, a magical Rheingold, and a fiery Wozzeck. But then the Houston Grand Opera’s Pagliacci came along and took their breath away.
Theater
December 1, 1982
Bringing Down The House
The board of the Dallas Theater Center is fighting with its stuck-in-a-rut staff to pull the company out of its decade of doldrums.
Classical Music
December 1, 1982
Hal-le-lu-jah!
On Christmas Day, people all across the country can tune in to PBS to hear the Concert Chorale of Houston sing the Messiah. That’s reason to rejoice.
Classical Music
November 1, 1982
From The Mouth Of Saints
Four Saints isn’t a solemn Gregorian chant but a lovable American opera. New LPs of Brahms, Shostakovich, and Bach are worth a second listen.
Music
November 1, 1982
Halftime Heroes
The bright-eyed, pink-cheeked cream of Texas youth aren’t scrambling on the football field. They’re playing in the high school band.
Theater
August 31, 1982
The Midas Touch
In the past two years Kjehl Rasmussen has opened two acclaimed Dallas theaters and directed a hit musical. And that’s just for starters.
Classical Music
July 31, 1982
Ol’ Man Musical
Houston Grand Opera dedicated a lot of its budget and all of its heart to producing not an opera but an American musical—Show Boat.
Theater
June 30, 1982
A Generous Helping
Houston’s Stages theater gave new writers a push and established writers a pat when it put on a Texans-only playwrights’ festival.
Theater
May 31, 1982
Hands Across The Ocean
British playwright Alan Ayckbourn dropped in on his American cousins at Houston’s Alley Theatre and directed the U.S. premiere of his latest and most innovative work.
Classical Music
April 30, 1982
They’re Playing Our Song—Again
The Pachelbel Canon has gone Hollywood and become the best-selling classical piece in the country. Works by Bach, Mozart, and Wagner are managing to hold their own, too.
Dining Out
March 1, 1982
Hot Pasta
From their antipastos to their cannoli, three restaurants are leading Texans to the pure, simple pleasures of classical Italian cooking.
Classical Music
March 1, 1982
The Score In Houston
Two young conductors are rousing audiences in Houston and making motions toward becoming the country’s finest maestros.
Theater
December 1, 1981
Our Son, The Murderer
Dallas’ Stage #1 proves it’s worthy of its name with a gut-wrenching production about a family torn apart.
Music
November 1, 1981
The Attack of the Electronic Beast and Other Pleasures
Four performers in Dallas are making a new kind of music that combines precision, grace, and crazy humor.
Dining Out
November 1, 1981
Bread and Circuses
At San Antonio’s Mi Tierra, you’ll see the rabble, the rich, and everyone in between, all feasting on Tex-Mex and homemade pan dulce.