Master Class

Richard Thompson had just finished playing "Hard On Me" when a man in the audience at Berklee on Saturday shouted "Hey! Can you do that again?" What a silly thing to say -- except not a few concertgoers, including yours truly, would have been perfectly happy to hear those very chord changes, and the dazzling guitar work, and the song's searing poetry one more time. He's that good. No Richard Thompson review is complete without noting the criminally cultish size of his fan base.

Harry Belafonte came to town Wednesday to inspire future philanthropists with a master class on the convergence of social justice and celebrity. It was a multimedia convergence as well, with a digitized class session at Yale University, an advance screening of a new film documentary on Belafonte's career and an old-fashioned public talk at Yale's Whitney Humanities Center. "Nobody ever had as much fun with a career as I did," Belafonte, 85, told members of Maxim Thorne's Philanthropy in Action class.

CAMBRIDGE - Vladimir Spivakov's recital at Sanders Theatre on Friday followed an old-school pattern - warhorse, showpiece, contemporary garnish, warhorse - which was apt, given Spivakov's old-school air. The violinist (also familiar as a conductor, particularly of the Moscow Virtuosi) maintains a comfortably erect bearing, with a technique to match: fluid, correct, efficient. In this concert, though, it was the glimpses behind the refined curtain that were the more memorable. The recital opened in high classical-masterpiece territory - Johannes Brahms's Sonata in D minor (Op. 108)

CAMBRIDGE - Vladimir Spivakov's recital at Sanders Theatre on Friday followed an old-school pattern - warhorse, showpiece, contemporary garnish, warhorse - which was apt, given Spivakov's old-school air. The violinist (also familiar as a conductor, particularly of the Moscow Virtuosi) maintains a comfortably erect bearing, with a technique to match: fluid, correct, efficient. In this concert, though, it was the glimpses behind the refined curtain that were the more memorable. The recital opened in high classical-masterpiece territory - Johannes Brahms's Sonata in D minor (Op. 108)

Emerson alum Joe Bwarie was back on campus this week teaching a master class as part of a five-week musical theater program for high school kids. (Bwarie, who plays Frankie Valli in the touring production of "Jersey Boys," has just released his first CD, "Joseph Leo Bwarie Nothin' But Love. ") Students from across the country apply to the Emerson College summer program, which is taught by Bwarie's former classmate, alum Alison Bretches , the artistic director for Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network in Southern California.

Harry Belafonte came to town Wednesday to inspire future philanthropists with a master class on the convergence of social justice and celebrity. It was a multimedia convergence as well, with a digitized class session at Yale University, an advance screening of a new film documentary on Belafonte's career and an old-fashioned public talk at Yale's Whitney Humanities Center. "Nobody ever had as much fun with a career as I did," Belafonte, 85, told members of Maxim Thorne's Philanthropy in Action class.

MONTPELIER -- World-renowned flutist and composer Louis Moyse, cofounder of Vermont's Marlboro Music Festival and a teacher to top flutists around the world, died of heart failure Monday, his family said. He was 94. Mr. Moyse, who moved to Montpelier in the late 1990s, remained active in music to the end of his life. He spent his last year writing an arrangement of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," and led his master class in a performance of it last week. "He was so anxious to conduct it and have the master class, because he knew it would be his...

Jazz Madeleine Peyroux Bare Bones Rounder ESSENTIAL "Instead" Stylistically, "Bare Bones" is more of the same from Madeleine Peyroux. But who complains about more of the same when it's another dish of hot fudge sundae or another night in Paris? What's different on this, Peyroux's fourth album, is that all of the songs are originals. As its title suggests, this is a laid-back, stripped-down affair. The lyrics, too, suggest that we slow down, decide to be happy, and enjoy life.

Callie Thorne knows she's living a charmed life. The Boston-bred actress (pictured) stars on the USA dramedy "Necessary Roughness," which airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Her costars are a trio of hunky actors: Scott Cohen , Marc Blucas , and Mehcad Brooks . "That gorgeosity mixed with the funny is what I think makes someone the sexiest for sure," Thorne said during a chat at the Television Critics Association press tour in LA. "It's...

R&B R. Kelly Untitled Jive ESSENTIAL “Echo’’ R&B’s maestro of carnality hits the sweet spot with his best record in years - a focused, expertly executed suite of songs. His subject? This is R. Kelly, folks. Sex, sex, and sex. Forget the salacious material; you come away from “Untitled’’ marveling at his craftsmanship. When he’s on his game, no modern R&B artist even approaches the Chicago veteran (here working with various producers)

Q. You're the kind of actress who pops up in so many places and does such good work that viewers really hope to see them get their own show. Now you have your own show! A. It's so crazy and not at all the luck I thought I was going to have. I felt like all my luck may have run out with seven seasons of "Rescue Me. " I was thinking, "That's it, I'm probably never going to work again. " (Laughs.) Q. And if that had been it? A. I would've been very grateful, because "Rescue Me" was the most fulfilling part of my life ever, in terms of the work I got to do, the friends I got to...

Callie Thorne knows she's living a charmed life. The Boston-bred actress (pictured) stars on the USA dramedy "Necessary Roughness," which airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Her costars are a trio of hunky actors: Scott Cohen , Marc Blucas , and Mehcad Brooks . "That gorgeosity mixed with the funny is what I think makes someone the sexiest for sure," Thorne said during a chat at the Television Critics Association press tour in LA. "It's...

Emerson alum Joe Bwarie was back on campus this week teaching a master class as part of a five-week musical theater program for high school kids. (Bwarie, who plays Frankie Valli in the touring production of "Jersey Boys," has just released his first CD, "Joseph Leo Bwarie Nothin' But Love. ") Students from across the country apply to the Emerson College summer program, which is taught by Bwarie's former classmate, alum Alison Bretches , the artistic director for Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network in Southern California.

WATERTOWN — “You got any scars?’’ A cook named Johnny asks this of a waitress named Frankie, just minutes after the two of them have made love for the first time in her darkened apartment. Her reply: “Everybody has scars.’’ Johnny is talking literally, having just mentioned his hernia operation, but the guarded, sealed-up expression on Frankie’s face suggests she might not be. In any case, as Terrence McNally’s “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune’’ unfolds, it becomes clear that they’re both damaged souls.

Shame on all the young musical theater and singer wannabees who missed Saturday’s concert by the Tony- and heart-winning Brian Stokes Mitchell. The perfectly packaged and delivered 102-minute concert at Sanders Theatre was like a master class. Let’s start with the venue. Calling it one of his five favorite places to play in the United States, the baritone said, “when you sing a note [here], the hall takes it from you and puts an extra spin on it.’’ Next is the accompaniment provided by pianist Tedd Firth who took your breath away when the leading man wasn’t...

R&B R. Kelly Untitled Jive ESSENTIAL “Echo’’ R&B’s maestro of carnality hits the sweet spot with his best record in years - a focused, expertly executed suite of songs. His subject? This is R. Kelly, folks. Sex, sex, and sex. Forget the salacious material; you come away from “Untitled’’ marveling at his craftsmanship. When he’s on his game, no modern R&B artist even approaches the Chicago veteran (here working with various producers)

Shame on all the young musical theater and singer wannabees who missed Saturday’s concert by the Tony- and heart-winning Brian Stokes Mitchell. The perfectly packaged and delivered 102-minute concert at Sanders Theatre was like a master class. Let’s start with the venue. Calling it one of his five favorite places to play in the United States, the baritone said, “when you sing a note [here], the hall takes it from you and puts an extra spin on it.’’ Next is the accompaniment provided by pianist Tedd Firth who took your breath away when the leading man wasn’t grabbing it. A...

Q. You're the kind of actress who pops up in so many places and does such good work that viewers really hope to see them get their own show. Now you have your own show! A. It's so crazy and not at all the luck I thought I was going to have. I felt like all my luck may have run out with seven seasons of "Rescue Me. " I was thinking, "That's it, I'm probably never going to work again. " (Laughs.) Q. And if that had been it? A. I would've been very grateful, because "Rescue Me" was the most fulfilling part of my life ever, in terms of the work I got to do,...

Ian Bostridge walked onto the stage at Jordan Hall on Friday night like a bashful sixth-grader about to recite an embarrassing scene from "Romeo and Juliet. " He shuffled, he blushed, he wouldn't meet our eyes. By the end of the evening, a remarkable thing had happened. After the final notes of Schubert's "Im Walde," he seemed rapt, and the audience held its breath, and applause, until he finally gave the signal that life could resume. That kind of hold on an audience can't be faked.

Jazz Madeleine Peyroux Bare Bones Rounder ESSENTIAL "Instead" Stylistically, "Bare Bones" is more of the same from Madeleine Peyroux. But who complains about more of the same when it's another dish of hot fudge sundae or another night in Paris? What's different on this, Peyroux's fourth album, is that all of the songs are originals. As its title suggests, this is a laid-back, stripped-down affair. The lyrics, too, suggest that we slow down, decide to be happy, and enjoy life.