T/classical-music

  1. Charles Wadsworth, Pianist and Champion of Chamber Music, Dies at 96 Arts, Yesterday

    As the founder, director and genial host of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, he helped drive the chamber music boom of the 1970s.

  2. Waiting for Gustavo Dudamel, the Philharmonic Is Doing Just Fine Arts, Yesterday

    Between music directors this season, the orchestra has been sounding fresh, engaged and more cohesive.

  3. They’re Exquisite. They’re Divine. They’re Incomprehensible. Why? Opinion, May 29

    Opera’s greatest composers wanted us to understand the words. English, please!

  4. 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now Arts, May 29

    Brooklyn Rider’s exploration of the four elements, miniatures by Kurtag and the Anzû Quartet’s debut recording are among the highlights.

  5. What I Learned From Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, a Sublime Voice Arts, May 28

    The baritone Benjamin Appl remembers his teacher at 100, as one of the 20th century’s greatest singers and a complicated, conflicted man.

  6. Why Isn’t My Favorite Composer More Popular? Arts, May 27

    I love the operas of Leos Janacek. So do audiences — when they go to see them. But the works remain stubbornly on the outskirts of the repertory.

  7. Dudamel Unveils a Love Letter to the Philharmonic Arts, May 23

    Kate Soper’s tender, whimsical “Orpheus Orchestra Opus Onus,” a tribute to the orchestra, had its premiere on Thursday with its composer as soloist.

  8. With Last-Minute Conductor Swap, Philharmonic Soldiers On Arts, May 19

    Brett Mitchell led the New York Philharmonic in the local premiere of a song cycle by Kevin Puts, featuring the soprano Renée Fleming.

  9. The May 17 Eurovision 2025 Final Winner live blog included one standalone post:
  10. Michael Flynn, a Trump Ally, Sponsors Beethoven at the Kennedy Center Arts, May 16

    Following the president’s overhaul of the center, Mr. Flynn, the former national security adviser, has made a substantial gift to the National Symphony Orchestra.

  11. A New ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ Opera Sags at the Met Arts, May 13

    John Adams’s Shakespeare adaptation has been trimmed since its premiere, but still struggles with setting a flood of dense Elizabethan verse.

  12. The Frick’s Gift to New York: A Superb New Concert Hall Arts, May 12

    There’s a crackling aliveness to music in the 220-seat, subterranean yet airy auditorium, which was put through its paces in a burst of six concerts.

  13. La Scala Taps South Korean Maestro as Music Director Arts, May 12

    Myung-whun Chung will be the first Asian, and one of the first conductors born outside Italy, to serve as music director in the opera house’s 247-year history.

  14. The Opera Built From Pyramids, Old Hollywood and Beyoncé Arts, May 12

    The inspirations behind the staging of “Antony and Cleopatra,” which imagines a world in which celebrities can be tantamount to gods.

  15. The Classical Music Our Critics Can’t Stop Thinking About Culture, May 8

    Watch and listen to five recent highlights, including Metropolitan Opera performances, the posthorn solo in Mahler’s Third and music by Tomeka Reid.

  16. Pierre Audi, Eminent Force in the Performing Arts, Dies at 67 Obits, May 3

    After turning a derelict lecture hall into the daring Almeida Theater, he had a long career as a director and impresario in Europe and New York.

  17. A Pianist and a Law Professor Meet at the Bar … Op Ed, May 3

    Classical musicians have a lot to teach interpreters of the U.S. Constitution. It’s so much more than the text.

  18. Joel Krosnick, Longtime Juilliard String Quartet Cellist, Dies at 84 Obits, May 2

    Widely admired for his intense and precise playing, Mr. Krosnick stayed with the quartet for over 40 years, longer than either of his cellist predecessors.

  19. A Blind Bicyclist and His Daughter Work in Tandem Metro, May 2

    Thomas Panek and his daughter, Madeleine, will be cycling in the Five Boro Bike Tour this weekend.

  20. Our Dad, Leonard Bernstein, Would Want His Music Played at the Kennedy Center Op Ed, May 2

    Some have urged us to withdraw our father’s music from the Kennedy Center to protest Trump’s hostile takeover. We asked: What would Dad have done?

  21. 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.

  22. 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.

  23. 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.

  24. 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.

  25. 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.

  26. 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.

  27. 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.

  28. 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.

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

    The benefits of group (music) therapy.

  30. 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.

  31. 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.

  32. 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.

  33. 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.

  34. 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.

  35. 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.

  36. 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.

  37. 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.