Bookending an extraordinary year that began with a Best Global Music Album Grammy nomination for his 2024 recording Paisajes, legendary Peruvian composer and guitar virtuoso  Ciro Hurtado’s artfully rendered, gracefully lyrical yet majestically symphonic single “Cantando en El Camino” earned a well-deserved nod for a 2026 Best Global Music Performance Grammy in a category that includes world music greats Bad Bunny, Angélique Kidjo and Anoushka Shankar. A lushly produced mast

Nearly 60 years after John Lennon wrote the immortal line “Picture yourself in a boat on a river” to start “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” acclaimed bassist/composer Walter Kittle creates the slammin’, seriously funked out contemporary jazz equivalent with “Lovin’ the Jam,” whose concept of gathering a high octane all-star ensemble on a boat came to Walter’s wife, flutist Robin Bleier, one night in a dream. Though she says she rarely remembers the events that occur in her dr

Once again, ‘tis the season…so, in the spirit of keeping the upcoming holidays merry and bright, don’t forget the perennial joys of Dr. Dave’s Christmas songs! Thanks to the commercial retail world, the Yuletide seems to be upon us earlier every year, pretty much starting the day after Halloween. The malls start blasting the same old tunes we’ve heard for decades, terrestrial radio stations gear up to switch their formats and listeners with more discerning, hipster tastes are

Originating from the 16 th -century Renaissance imitative counterpoint, the fugue’s main melody – or subject - is introduced by one voice and then imitated by other voices in succession to create an intricate and interwoven texturing. The term “fuga,” meaning “flight” in Latin, was used to describe the way one musical voices chases another that has already played the main theme. While the form reached a peak in the Baroque era via the refining and popularizing of greats like

Founded in 2013 by Grammy nominated pianist Aron Kallay, the non-profit Brightwork newmusic’s mission is to enliven and expand contemporary classical music with a focus on West Coast composers and performers. The members of its in-house band Brightwork Ensemble, including Kallay, percussionist Nick Terry, violinist Shalini Vajayan and most prominently soprano Stacey Fraser, are among the most treasured and impactful chamber musicians in the world. The group’s full length debu

Long celebrated for his bravura playing and facility for making complex music and fingering look effortless, world renowned classical saxophonist Timothy McAllister has long been celebrated as a powerful interpreter of works by Pulitzer Prize winning composers such as John Adams (“Saxophone Concerto”) and John Corigliano, whose “Triathlon” was showcased when McAllister made his NY Phil debut in March 2025. When he joined forces with famed collaborative pianist Liz Ames for Pr