Billy Strayhorn: Lotus Blossom

Billy Strayhorn: Lotus Blossom

I’ve been thinking about bel canto the past few days. Usually the term refers to a fertile era in Italian opera at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Composers like Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini used long-lined melody and bravura passagework to tell their...
Billy Strayhorn:  Day Dream

Billy Strayhorn: Day Dream

Our continuing preview of this year’s concerts continues with a peek at Tain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do: Songs of Gay Harlem, set for December 12. After the dizzying success of last year’s tribute to W. C. Handy, I wanted to get the team together again as soon as...
Billy Strayhorn:  The Flowers Die of Love

Billy Strayhorn: The Flowers Die of Love

In every NYFOS program I like to have a specialty number, something completely on-topic but completely unexpected. I despaired of having such a song for the April 24th Lorca concert until Michael Barrett said, “Oh, you should contact my cousin Jonathan Mayhew. He’s a...