Music Reviews

Music Reviews

Jul 2nd 2015

The International Tchaikovsky Competition in St. Petersburg and Moscow ended last night (July 1) in a virtual American sweep in the piano category, with gold and bronze prizes going to American-trained Russian boys and the silver to a Chinese-American player from Boston.

Jul 1st 2015

With mixed results, the San Francisco Symphony performed Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis,” using projected imagery and movement on June 11th [2015] at Davies Symphony Hall.

Jun 7th 2015

The Bordeaux Opéra Nationale has been packing its 18th-century Grand Théâtre for a week of sellout performances of Norma, the great Vincenzo Bellini opera on which much of his reputation rests.

Jun 6th 2015

"The classical music scene in New York City is amazing. Not only for the quality, but also for the depth and breadth of the offerings. Yes, there are always the A-list attractions, Netrebko at the Met, Argerich at Carnegie.
Jun 4th 2015
Music festivals are about to die, according to leading rock promoter and manager Harvey Goldsmith.

Speaking recently at the Hay Literary festival, he declared that it w

Jun 1st 2015

In his 70s, the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim continues to attract attention not only for his performance schedule but also for his views on global issues.

May 27th 2015

When an aging Radu Lupu sauntered onstage in Bordeaux Tuesday evening (27 May) a hush fell over the packed Auditorium. This pianist is generally recognized as one of the world’s most accomplished keyboard artists, and the full house of 2,200 attendees knew it.

May 8th 2015

One can easily imagine an opulent home of a Seattle billionaire like Bill Gates or Paul Allen as a setting for Richard Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos.” So after the curtain went up for Seattle Opera’s opening night (May 2) at McCaw Hall, the contemporary setting, created by Robert Dahlstrom, aptly

Apr 22nd 2015

When legendary soprano Patricia Racette, currently starring at the Met in Pagliacci, called and asked if I would like to produce her new CD, I had to pinch myself. This is the kind of request that can make my day, week and month.

Apr 20th 2015

Young Boston area players performed a broad range of instrumental and vocal works by the up-and-coming Boston University (BU) composer Christopher LaRosa (in the picture) Friday night at Boston’s United Church of Brookline, virtually rattling the stained-glass win

Apr 11th 2015

Music Director Andris Nelsons’s Thursday [April 9, 2014] BSO program, comprising a wide range of musical styles and eras, induced an enthusiastic reception in the nearly full house. The program will be repeated tonight (Friday), Saturday and next Tuesday.

Apr 2nd 2015

When scheduling an orchestral program a year or more in advance, it is probably impossible to know how a brand new piece will match up with any other work, but Michael Gandofi’s “Ascending Light,” which received its world premiere last weekend from Boston Symphony, had a lot in common with Gusta

Mar 29th 2015

The Handel and Haydn Society celebrated its 200th anniversary with an intense and moving performance of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” before a full house at Symphony Hall (Boston) on Friday (March 27).

Mar 25th 2015
Billions of people enjoy music; many feel that they can’t live without it.

Why?

Mar 14th 2015

Alessandro Deljavan, the charismatic Italian pianist whose playing created a sensation at the 2013 Cliburn International Piano Competition, has produced his much-anticipated CD of Robert Schumann works. Distribution is scheduled for the end of this month.

Mar 2nd 2015

When the thunderous introduction to Grieg’s piano concerto erupted in Carnegie Hall on a spring evening in 1951, the audience was poised for a great musical experience.

Mar 2nd 2015

You might think that watching a Baroque opera with its endless da capo arias would be akin to watching paint dry, but Seattle Opera’s all-new production of Handel’s “Semele” tosses that notion out the window.

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