T/classical-music

  1. A Hard-Knock Life: A Trump Cabinet Hopeful Is Moved Offstage U.S., Today

    Richard Grenell once hoped to be President Trump’s secretary of state. Instead, Mr. Trump just replaced him as Kennedy Center president.

  2. A Handel Flop Reveals Itself as a Work of Brilliance Arts, Yesterday

    At Carnegie Hall, the English Concert made a case for “Hercules” as a strikingly modern dramatic oratorio of psychological and musical depth.

  3. Crisis Follows Conductor’s Dismissal at the Boston Symphony Arts, March 13

    A decision by the orchestra’s board to fire its music director, Andris Nelsons, has set off protests from players, leaving their leaders scrambling.

  4. 1,865 Coats in 15 Minutes: A Fine-Tuned Opera House Team Arts, March 13

    Each night, the coat check at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin deals with hundreds of jackets, no matter how fancy the audience dresses.

  5. 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now Arts, March 12

    Lise Davidsen’s recital at the Met Opera, Gustavo Dudamel leading “Romeo and Juliet,” and a violinist’s personal program are among our selections.

  6. The New York Philharmonic’s Season: What We Want to Hear Arts, March 10

    A new era for the orchestra begins in September, when Gustavo Dudamel officially becomes its music and artistic director.

  7. At 100, This Composer Is Still Searching for the Right Note Arts, March 10

    György Kurtág, the eminent composer and Hungarian national treasure, has reached a rare milestone yet shows little interest in retirement.

  8. For Longtime Kennedy Center Patrons, a ‘Lifeline’ Has Been Cut Arts, March 9

    As President Trump prepares to close Washington’s premier performing arts venue for two years, loyal patrons wonder where they’ll get their cultural fix.

  9. A Maestro’s Fall From Grace Is a Cautionary Tale Worth Heeding Arts, March 7

    Andris Nelsons’s abrupt departure from the Boston Symphony Orchestra shouldn’t be surprising to those who have witnessed his artistic decline.

  10. Boston Symphony Abruptly Ends Its Music Director’s Contract Arts, March 6

    The orchestra’s leadership announced on Friday that it and the conductor Andris Nelsons “were not aligned on future vision.”

  11. Top National Symphony Leader Quits in New Blow to Kennedy Center Arts, March 6

    The executive director, Jean Davidson, said her departure reflects frustration at the turmoil that has engulfed the arts center.

  12. A Philharmonic Conductor’s Concerts Surprise, for Better and Worse Arts, March 6

    Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla returned to the New York Philharmonic for a pair of programs, but only one formed a cohesive arc of ideas.

  13. From 1977: Maria Callas, 53, Is Dead of Heart Attack in Paris Arts, March 6

    Considered the most exciting opera singer of her time, she thrilled audiences with her penchant for spectacle onstage and in her personal life.

  14. A Starry Young Conductor’s Tour Reveals His Talents and Faults Arts, March 3

    The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has placed a huge bet on Klaus Mäkelä for its future. It’s still too soon to tell whether that will pay off.

  15. Tuvo que llevar su violín en el regazo. Lufthansa cambió las normas para el equipaje de mano En español, March 2

    En un vuelo a Alemania, Carolin Widmann tuvo que sostener su instrumento centenario, valorado en millones de dólares. Su situación resonó entre músicos que han enfrentado desafíos similares.

  16. Two Approaches to Musical Time, From the Vienna Philharmonic Arts, March 2

    The orchestra returned to Carnegie Hall for three concerts, led by Andris Nelsons, in which the playing was inconsistent but also moving.

  17. After ‘Priceless’ Violin Flies on Lap, Lufthansa Changes Carry-On Rules Travel, March 2

    Carolin Widmann had to cradle her centuries-old, multimillion-dollar instrument during a flight to Germany. Her predicament resonated with musicians who have faced similar challenges.

  18. Music, at Least, Doesn’t Lie Opinion, March 1

    In an age in which facts are losing their meaning, the performing arts can ground us in what is true.

  19. 34 Things to Do in New York City in March Arts, March 1

    This month offers St. Patrick’s Day and the Oscars, vampires and Mapplethorpe, as well as free ice skating and a final bow from Jonathan Groff.

  20. Why the Vienna Philharmonic Played Nat King Cole Hits New York, February 27

    At a gala in New York, the orchestra recognized two of his daughters, who are underwriting a scholarship to its academy.

  21. Gustavo Dudamel, entre un largo adiós a Los Ángeles y un prolongado hola a Nueva York En español, February 24

    Mientras el director de orquesta se prepara para dejar la Filarmónica de Los Ángeles por la de Nueva York, dice: “Estoy en dos aguas”.

  22. Gustavo Dudamel’s Long Goodbye to L.A., and Long Hello to New York Arts, February 24

    As the conductor prepares to leave the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the New York Philharmonic, he says, “I am in two waters.”

  23. In the Secret Annex, Anne Frank’s Radio and a Love for Classical Music Arts, February 24

    Her diary overflows with her devotion to books and movies. But after rereading the entries, a critic was struck by how often she writes about music.

  24. A Pulitzer Winner Imagines Emily Dickinson Anew Arts, February 20

    Kevin Puts’s song cycle “Emily — No Prisoner Be” was brought to life by Time for Three and Joyce DiDonato in its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall.

  25. Fritz Lang’s Silent Epic, the Way It Was Meant to Be Heard Arts, February 18

    The monumental, two-film “Die Nibelungen,” drawn from similar material to Wagner’s “Ring,” is best when presented live with a full orchestra.

  26. What to See in New York This Spring Arts, February 18

    Onstage, “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and Adrien Brody in “The Fear of 13.” Plus: Cardi B goes on tour, Lise Davidsen takes on Isolde at the Met, 100 years of Martha Graham and more.

  27. Fania Fénelon, 74; Memoirs Described Auschwitz Singing World, February 17

    In “Playing for Time,” she recounted how singing in an all-female orchestra while in a concentration camp saved her from death.

  28. What Can Musical Variations Teach Us About Creativity? Arts, February 16

    Anthony Brandt, a musicologist whose work focuses on music cognition, talks about what this musical form and how human beings approach open-ended problems.

  29. 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.

  30. 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.

  31. 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.

  32. 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.

  33. 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.

  34. 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.

  35. 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.

  36. 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.

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

    The benefits of group (music) therapy.

  38. 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.

  39. 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.

  40. 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.

  41. 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.

  42. 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.

  43. 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.

  44. 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.

  45. 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.