October 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Opera North’s reworking of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of October

1. Natalia Lafourcade- De Todas las Flores

Rapturous beauty.

2. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City

My review.

3. Brian Harnetty- Words and Silences

My review.

4. Dave Douglas- Songs of Ascent: Book 1- Degrees

Advanced harmolodics.

5. Boston Modern Orchestra Project- Anthony Davis: X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X

A new rendering of the neglected opera.

6. Anat Cohen- Quartetinho

Exquisite chamber jazz.

7. Evgueni Galperine- Theory of Becoming

A Ukrainian Morricone.

8. Armani Caesar- The Liz 2

The month’s best Griselda album.

9. Babyface- Girl’s Night Out

Sultry collaborations.

10. Caroline Shaw and I Giardini- The Wheel

I prefer this hushed recording to the widely praised The Blue Hour.

Top Ten Songs of October

1. Plains- "Hurricane"

Leveled.

2. Grupo Marca Registrada and Luis R. Conriquez- "Puro Campeón"

A true champion.

3. iLe- "Lo Que Yo Quería"

Celestial pop.

4. Ozuna featuring El Cherry Scom- "Perreo y Dembow"

Dizzying.

5. Quavo and Takeoff- "Two Infinity Links"

I’m 250 pages into Joe Coscarelli’s Rap Capital.

6. Jamila Woods- "Boundaries"

Blurred lines.

7. LF System- "Hungry (For Love)"

Famished on the dance floor.

8. SleazyWorld Go featuring G Herbo- “Glitches”

Shots fired.

9. Nardo Wick featuring Polo G- "G Nikes"

If the shoe fits…

10. Hardy- "Truck Bed"

Hick-hop goes pop-punk.

Top Ten Performances of October

1. Marin Alsop and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo at Helzberg Hall

My review.

2. Ohma and FKJ at the Midland Theater

My review.

3. Raven Chacon’s “American Ledger no. 1” at Agnes Arts

My review.

4. Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at the Uptown Theater

My review.

5. Terence Blanchard with Turtle Island Quartet at Atkins Auditorium

My review.

6. Alter Destiny at Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

7. Karen Hsiao Savage, Hyeyung Sol Yoon and Gregory Beaver at White Recital Hall

My review.

8. Stan Kessler, Rod Fleeman and Bob Bowman at a driveway concert

Three of Kansas City’s best on a glorious fall afternoon.

9. Esthesis Quartet at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

10. Alex Mallett and Jeff Harshbarger at Market at Meadowbrook

Folklore.

Last month’s survey is here.

Concert Review: Karen Hsiao Savage, Hyeyung Sol Yoon and Gregory Beaver at White Recital Hall

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Had I realized I’d be able to watch a video of the concert the next day, I probably wouldn’t have dragged my poor human body to White Recital Hall on Monday, October 3. But I would have missed the privilege of sitting 15 feet away from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long. An interpretation of his “Spirit of Chimes” (13:30) thrilled me. I also enjoyed monitoring composer Mathew Fuerst’s reaction to a rendering of his “Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano” (33:20). I moved to the back row for Felix Mendelssohn’s “Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49” (62:25 mark) ater intermission. The piece initially struck me as stale, but I gradually became invested in the reading of the 1839 composition by pianist Karen Hsiao Savage, violinist Hyeyung Sol Yoon and Gregory Beaver. And for better or worse, had I stayed home I wouldn’t have been troubled with the knowledge that less than 50 people availed themselves of the free offering on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.