From the earliest symphonies to operas made in the past decade, politics has been present in classical music — not only as a subject of composer’s interest, but as a force that shapes the music deemed worthy. Today, we consider two works of music: one by a Russian composer under the microscope of the 1920s Soviet Union, the other by an American composer given considerably more leeway to comment on American international politics of the 1970s.
“Beautiful– The Carole King Musical” has joyously returned to the SHN Golden Gate Theatre for a limited two week engagement. Its stellar touring cast effectively propagates a unique dialogue with San Franciscan audiences and emphasizes “Beautiful’s” tonal complexity and engaging narrative. The Tony and Grammy-winning musical centers on the life and career of singer/songwriter Carole…
Last Friday night, under the soft lights of Toyon’s lounge, Stanford Collaborative Orchestra (SCOr) swept the audience away on a musical adventure. Layers of strings, woodwinds and incredible pianists carried the listeners through a dizzyingly gorgeous set and reminded me of just how many amazing musicians Stanford has. SCOr’s spring concert, “Good Vibrations,” featured a…
How international pop superstars BTS paved the way and changed the game What does it take to be the biggest boyband in the world? Evidently, it takes seven charismatic men, striking visuals, high production values, multi-genre tracks adorned with percussive raps and sparkling verses almost entirely in Korean, polished and perfected dance moves in perfect sync…
Lysley Tenorio’s debut short story collection, “Monstress,” astonishes with its brilliance and profound insight into the human experience. Tenorio also places emphasis on truthfully depicting the complications of American and Filipino identities, and the struggle to unite them with a hyphen. Through his melodic prose, Tenorio — also a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford —…
Ambitious, smart, funny, outspoken, overbearing, snide, controlling and endearing are just some of the adjectives that define Molly, the main character of “Booksmart.” In the first few minutes of the film, it’s tempting to try to box her into one of the character tropes we’ve seen time and time again in high school movies: she’s…
Holding a music festival is, in general, a bad idea. The logistics on either end are hellish— you’re handling the specific needs of four or more performers and their accompanying entourages and stage sets, or wrangling thousands of people in various stages of coherence and intoxication as they loiter for hours waiting for headlining acts…
To those disillusioned after the 2016 presidential election, “Knock Down the House”, a documentary featuring four women — including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who ran for public office in 2018, offers a message of hope through the stories of women who fight to improve their broken communities. Directed by Rachel Lears, “Knock Down the House”, released…
