T/classical-music

  1. Martha Argerich, the Elusive, Enigmatic ‘Goddess’ of the Piano Arts & Leisure, Today

    At 83, the Argentine-Swiss pianist is at the peak of her powers. But she doesn’t want to talk about it.

  2. A Kronos Quartet Glow Up: New Players, Newly Lustrous Sound Culture, Yesterday

    The venerable quartet returned to Zankel Hall with a typically eclectic program and a newfound emotional intensity.

  3. A Conductor’s Intensity on the Podium Matches Her Approachability Off Culture, March 30

    Joana Mallwitz, one of Germany’s fastest rising stars, makes her Metropolitan Opera debut in “The Marriage of Figaro” on Monday.

  4. Under Trump, Kennedy Center’s Classical Offerings Will (Mostly) Go On Culture, March 27

    The center’s opera company and orchestra are planning typical seasons. But one opera was withdrawn from the lineup by the artists who created it, who objected to the president’s takeover.

  5. 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now Weekend, March 27

    A new take on Wynton Marsalis’s “Blues Symphony,” a piano cycle by Gregory Spears and Rosa Feola’s solo debut are among the highlights.

  6. Opera Has a Sustainability Problem. One Company Wants to Fix It. Arts & Leisure, March 25

    The Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam has made dramatic moves to go green, from the materials it uses in productions to the food it serves.

  7. A Festival Displays the Expressive Power of Tuning in Music Culture, March 24

    The Los Angeles collective Wild Up brought its Darkness Sounding festival to New York, with some of the event’s appeal lost in transit.

  8. Why a Percussionist Was Playing a Siren Metro, March 21

    At the New York Philharmonic, the piece “Amériques” called for some unusual instruments, like sleigh bells and air raid sirens.

  9. For Cleveland Orchestra, It’s Beethoven (and Freedom) to the Rescue Weekend, March 20

    When the star singer Asmik Grigorian dropped out of the orchestra’s performance at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Fifth and his “Leonore” Overture No. 3 subbed in.

  10. Amid Kennedy Center Upheaval, a Maestro Decides to Stay On Culture, March 19

    As the center goes through changes after President Trump’s takeover, Gianandrea Noseda is extending his tenure at the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the center’s main groups.

  11. Dismayed by Trump, the Star Pianist András Schiff Boycotts the U.S. Culture, March 19

    Mr. Schiff, who has refused to play in Russia and his native Hungary because of strongman rule, said he was alarmed by President Trump’s “unbelievable bullying.”

  12. This Japanese Sax Polymath Might Be a Postmodern Bach Culture, March 19

    The composer and saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu is at home in free jazz, classical and art pop. Finally touring North America, he’s going big by staying small.

  13. The ‘Father’ of Native American Composers Hasn’t Gotten His Due Arts & Leisure, March 17

    Louis W. Ballard paved the way for a booming generation of artists. But his works have been too little performed and recorded.

  14. Trump Seeks More Sway in Picking Kennedy Center Honorees Culture, March 15

    The president, who recently had himself installed as the center’s chairman, has called a meeting of its board to approve changes that would give him more input in the process.

  15. JD Vance es abucheado en un concierto del Kennedy Center, ahora controlado por Trump En español, March 14

    El vicepresidente y su esposa ocupaban sus asientos para un concierto de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional con un programa de Shostakovich y Stravinsky cuando ocurrió la rechifla.

  16. Dudamel Leads a Premiere by a Youthful Ravel. Not Bad for a Kid. Culture, March 14

    The New York Philharmonic and its next music director gave “Sémiramis” its first public hearing, alongside other Ravel pieces and works by Varèse and Gershwin.

  17. JD Vance Is Booed at a Kennedy Center Concert After Trump’s Takeover Culture, March 14

    The vice president and his wife were booed as they took their seats for a National Symphony Orchestra concert of music by Shostakovich and Stravinsky.

  18. A Composer Both Fully Modern and Sincerely Spiritual Culture, March 13

    Sofia Gubaidulina’s work, with its thorniness and religious themes, put her at odds with the Soviet government.

  19. A Tharp Master Class on Themes, Variations and Allusions Weekend, March 13

    A program celebrating Twyla Tharp’s 60th year making dances features the masterwork “Diabelli” and the fresh new “Slacktide,” set to Philip Glass.

  20. Sofia Gubaidulina, Composer Who Provoked Soviet Censors, Dies at 93 Obits, March 13

    Blacklisted at home but finding acclaim abroad, she sought to bridge East and West, the sacred and the secular, in vivid, colorful compositions.

  21. After Nearly 125 Years, a Lost Jewel by Ravel Gets Its Premiere Culture, March 12

    A prelude and dance by the French master recently surfaced in a Paris library. Gustavo Dudamel and the New York Philharmonic will give the world premiere.

  22. The Philharmonic’s New Season: What We’re Excited to Hear Culture, March 11

    Our critics choose highlights from a lineup that includes Joshua Bell, Nathalie Joachim, Barbara Hannigan and more.

  23. Inside the Detail-Obsessed, Essential World of Music Editing Arts & Leisure, March 11

    When composers publish their scores or prepare them for performance, they need an editor — a role that rarely enjoys the classical music limelight.

  24. Fashion? Rockets? Yachts? A Trump Ally Has Ideas for the Kennedy Center Culture, March 10

    Paolo Zampolli, a Trump appointee on the center’s board, wants the institution to host Valentino fashion shows, send art into space and open a marina and a Cipriani restaurant.

  25. A New York Philharmonic Evening of Small Epiphanies Culture, March 7

    Marin Alsop led the orchestra in a program of works by Beethoven, Brahms and Stravinsky, as well as a new violin concerto by Nico Muhly.

  26. The Classical Music Our Critics Can’t Stop Thinking About Weekend, March 6

    Watch and listen to five recent highlights, including music at a fraught moment in the Kennedy Center’s history and a passing delight in Tchaikovsky.

  27. Let the Organ Revitalize You Magazine, March 4

    No, not that kind of organ.

  28. The Details That Make the Vienna Philharmonic Like No Other Orchestra Culture, March 3

    Riccardo Muti, in what felt like a victory lap, returned to Carnegie Hall to lead the Philharmonic’s annual three-day series of concerts.

  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.