T/classical-music

  1. Two New Bach Pieces? The Real Thrill Was in the Chase. Arts, Yesterday

    Two workmanlike pieces by the teenage Bach had their New York premiere at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

  2. Christine Baranski and ‘A Christmas Carol’: A Natural Pairing Arts, Yesterday

    On a recent recording, and in concerts this month, Baranski reads Dickens’s holiday classic with the Skylark Vocal Ensemble.

  3. Frank Gehry’s Buildings Sound as Marvelous as They Look Arts, December 6

    Gehry, who died on Friday at 96, made an invaluable contribution to classical music by designing spaces with stunning acoustics.

  4. The Pittsburgh Symphony Plays How an Orchestra Should Sound Arts, December 5

    Under its music director, Manfred Honeck, the ensemble returned to Carnegie Hall for the first time in over a decade, flying in on a high.

  5. 37 Things to Do in December Arts, December 1

    As the season of Nutcrackers, Messiahs, Scrooges and Santas begins, here are some novel ways to enjoy the holidays, including a poetry weekend and a Coltrane tribute.

  6. I’m a Concert Pianist. This Is Why I Seek Imperfection. Opinion, November 29

    It is not only classical musicians who are being stunted by the search for perfection. It is harming many aspects of our lives and sectors of our society.

  7. Considering the American Character in Two Violin Concertos Arts, November 24

    At the New York Philharmonic, concertos by Samuel Barber and Wynton Marsalis offered contrasting musical ideas: lyrical cohesion and vibrant pluralism.

  8. Security Lapse Allowed Protesters to Disrupt Performance, Met Opera Says Arts, November 22

    Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said a security guard was absent from his post when two people climbed onstage at a performance of “Carmen.”

  9. Protesters Interrupt a Performance of ‘Carmen’ at the Met Opera Arts, November 22

    One of the protesters, who were arrested and removed from the hall, denounced the billionaire David H. Koch.

  10. At 80, This Composer Is Easier Than Ever to Celebrate Arts, November 21

    With new releases and concerts, Anthony Braxton’s output as an artist and thinker is quickly available for longtime fans and initiates alike.

  11. Newly Discovered Bach Pieces Are the Fruits of Decades of Detective Work Arts, November 19

    A pair of organ works that scholars believe were written by a teenage Johann Sebastian Bach were premiered in Leipzig this week and added to the composer’s official catalog.

  12. A 50-Year Friendship, Recorded in Music Arts, November 18

    The composer George Benjamin and the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard met as students. In a new piece, they perform at the keyboard together.

  13. 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now Arts, November 13

    Meredith Monk’s “Cellular Songs,” a Kurt Weill rarity and a new take on Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier” are among the highlights.

  14. Hollywood Bowl Names Its Stage for John Williams Arts, November 12

    The celebrated venue dedicated its stage to the composer for “Star Wars,” “Jurassic Park” and other blockbusters, a first in the bowl’s 103 years.

  15. In This Rarely Seen Tchaikovsky Opera, Joan of Arc Speaks for Herself Arts, November 11

    The composer had grand hopes that “The Maid of Orleans,” with its battle scenes, rousing choruses and fiery finale, would be the making of him. It didn’t work out that way.

  16. Jaap van Zweden’s Brief, Fraught Time Atop the New York Philharmonic Arts & Leisure, May 28

    He arrived on a mission to reshape the ensemble as its music director. Now, as he departs, he’s still making sense of his pandemic-interrupted tenure.

  17. Audience Snapshot: Four Years After Shutdown, a Mixed Recovery Culture, March 12

    Covid brought live performance to a halt. Now the audience for pop concerts and sporting events has roared back, while attendance on Broadway and at some major museums is still down.

  18. It’s Never Too Late to Find a New Career (a Mile Above Your Old One) Projects and Initiatives, March 12

    Patrick Milando, an accomplished French horn player, now splits his time between the orchestra pit and the cockpit, where he teaches budding pilots like he himself once was.

  19. Channeling the Pain of Chinese Immigrants, in Music and Verse Arts & Leisure, January 7

    “Angel Island,” an oratorio by Huang Ruo, brings to life the stark poetry of the people who were detained on the California island in the early 1900s.

  20. Raising Our Glasses to a Pianist Who Loves Vodka Metro, October 13

    Gary Graffman, who is turning 95, is a man of many enthusiasms, including citrus infusions.

  21. Audiences Are Coming Back to Orchestras After ‘Scary’ Sales Last Fall Culture, May 23

    “It seemed like a switch flipped right before Thanksgiving,” the leader of the Chicago Symphony said.

  22. The Met’s Efforts to Increase Ticket Sales for Operas Letters, December 30

    Readers praise plans for more contemporary works. Also: Zelensky and American values; protecting the minority; remote work; the Groucho exception.

  23. Onstage, It’s Finally Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Again Culture, December 21

    After one holiday season lost to the pandemic and another curtailed by Omicron, seasonal staples including “The Nutcracker,” “A Christmas Carol” and “Messiah” are back in force.

  24. After Covid, Playing Trumpet Taught Me How to Breathe Again Magazine, November 29

    The benefits of group (music) therapy.

  25. In New York, Masks Will Not Be Required at the Opera or Ballet Culture, October 17

    Many arts groups, worried about alienating older patrons, have maintained strict rules. Now “the time has come to move on,” one leader said.

  26. Live Performance Is Back. But Audiences Have Been Slow to Return. Culture, August 21

    Attendance lagged in the comeback season, as the challenges posed by the coronavirus persisted. Presenters hope it was just a blip.

  27. Theater at Geffen Hall to Be Named for Two Key Donors Culture, August 3

    The Wu Tsai Theater will honor a $50 million gift from Joseph Tsai, a founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, and Clara Wu Tsai, a philanthropist.

  28. San Antonio Symphony to Dissolve Amid Labor Dispute Culture, June 17

    The decision will make San Antonio the largest American city without a major orchestra.

  29. San Antonio Symphony to Dissolve Amid Labor Dispute Culture, June 17

    The decision will make San Antonio the largest American city without a major orchestra.

  30. Never Missing a Curtain This Season, the Met Opera Takes a Final Bow Culture, June 13

    As it ended a challenging pandemic return, the Met had one last marathon: a matinee, an evening performance, and then moving out as American Ballet Theater moved in.

  31. New York Philharmonic Agrees to Restore Pay for Musicians Culture, June 13

    After a stronger-than-expected season, the orchestra said it would reverse pay cuts imposed at the height of the pandemic.

  32. At the Met This Season, Opera Was Icing on the Cake Arts & Leisure, June 12

    Amid a labor battle, the continuing pandemic and war in Ukraine, it often felt as though the real drama was in simply putting on a show.