John Shand Posts

June 25, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Blue Mountains Theatre, June 6 Taken prisoner when the Japanese overran Ambon (in modern Indonesia) during World War II Lloyd Swanton’s uncle, Stuart Swanton, died in the island’s notorious POW camp. This grim piece of family history stirred Swanton to commemorate in music an uncle who at grave personal risk…

June 23, 2015 / Album Reviews - Archive

This Time (Which Way) As fascinating as the expansion of Slava and Leonard Grigoryan’s musicianship beyond the classical guitar domain has been, it is always a pleasure when they return to this core discipline. Superbly recorded in Oslo’s illustrious Rainbow Studios (with famed engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug), this album nods…

June 21, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

City Recital Hall, June 5 Some musicians play with eyes closed and faces frozen in concentration, some are more animated, and then there is pianist Stefano Bollani. His exuberance ignites the music and the music fuels his exuberance in a mad spiral, his body contorting like a marionette with the…