What elements contribute to a great song?

On a grand piano alongside a trio of talented singers at center stage, NPR’s popular composer, conductor, and master music analyst Rob Kapilow continues his 27^th year captivating audiences with his vast musical knowledge, sense of humor, and careful analysis of what makes the best songs tick.  Every note, lyric, and rhythm is meticulously constructed to bring out the excitement and enrich the scope of the piece and Rob Kapilow shows you just how they do it.  Though music styles and genres inevitably change, Rob Kapilow may make you see your favorite songs in a whole new light.

Vivo Performing Arts, formally Celebrity Series of Boston, presented What Makes it Great? with Rob Kapilow live and in person at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston, Massachusetts for one night only Saturday, January 17 at 8PM.  This semi-interactive performance ran 90 minutes and included a short question and answer session.  Click here for more information on the performance and here for a closer look at Vivo Performing Arts’ upcoming events. Click here to learn about all of Rob Kapilow’s works including his next stop in his What Makes it Great series.

Whether you are music virtuosos or a casual music listener, Kapilow consistently offers something new that in some way will change the way you hear music for the better.  Though often speaking to a large audience, Rob Kapilow is so personal, relaxed and friendly during his talks, it often feels like a one-on-one session on a baby grand piano.  He is so popular with the Vivo Performing Arts crowd, he offers at least two appearances a season tackling everything from swing to dance to classical to Broadway music revealing each song’s inherent brilliance.

Featuring a few of American lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and Austrian composer Frederick Loewe’s classic Broadway songs from Camelot, My Fair Lady and Brigadoon, Kapilow uses a mix of sophistication, humor and an easy to follow delivery to explore each song’s appeal and emotional undertones through its carefully selected musical notes. 

Delving into the Golden Age of Broadway as well as Lerner and Loewe’s dynamic history, Kapilow chose a selection of lighthearted and dreamy songs as well as pivotal numbers from musicals that leads to a character’s imminent transformation.  With humor and grace, Kapilow also reveals what each song might have sounded like without its individuality and as he peels back each layer, What Makes It Great? becomes an eye-opening experience. 

Calling on a couple of Broadway love songs, Kapilow was accompanied by soprano Emily Albrink and stirring singer, actor, and musician Ben Jones.  Jones and Albrink share gorgeous harmony and lighthearted chemistry for duets Brigadoon’s Almost Like Being in Love and playful Heather on the Hill.

Touching upon Rex Harrison’s complex casting in My Fair Lady, Kapilow ties in music and lyrics which waltz together teetering on so many emotions for I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face in which Jones articulates in an animated and humorous rendition.

In an elegant flowing dress, Albrink brimmed with excitement evident is her full and rich vibrato as she delivered an exuberant rendition of My Fair Lady’s I Could Have Danced All Night.  In a jacket, tie, and bathed in rose lighting, Jones croons, mastering the complex and emotional weight of Camelot’s stirring ballad If Ever I Should Leave You, before concluding with a bold finish. 

From classic songs and American Standards such as It’s Almost like Being in Love from Brigadoon to the high-spirited I Could Have Danced All Night from  My Fair Lady to a humorous and not to be missed I Remember it Well from Gigi, Rob shows how compulsive American lyricist Lerner of the famed retail stores and poverty-raised and frugal Austrian composer Loewe poured themselves and their imaginations into their music to create some real Broadway magic.

Vivo Performing Arts, formally Celebrity Series of Boston, presented What Makes it Great? with Rob Kapilow live and in person at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston, Massachusetts for one night only Saturday, January 17 at 8PM.  Click here for more information on the performance and here for a closer look at Vivo Performing Arts’ upcoming events. Click here to learn about all of Rob Kapilow’s works including his next stop in his What Makes it Great series.