Noon To Midnight Bash: Mix Of Musical Genres With A Beer Lubricant
LOS ANGELES – In the latest edition of the LA Philharmonic's adventurous musical marathon, elements that made past festivals pop remained in place. $12 got you a day of events cutting across jazz, electronic strains, art installations.
Letters Sung Of Love Found, Lost By Juliets And All Their Romeos
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Juliet Letters, an evocative collection of songs for the lovelorn by English rocker Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet, opened the Portland Opera season with vocal performances accompanied by string quartet.
One Singer’s Memorable Turn As Another Whose Memory Is Fading Away
NEW YORK – Soprano Lucy Shelton, 80, stars as a retired opera singer in early-stage dementia and living with her adopted son in Lucidity, an intimate one-act opera by composer Laura Kaminsky and librettist David Cote produced by On Site Opera.
Majesty, Poetry Signal Davidsen’s Arrival As Claimant To La Tosca
NEW YORK – Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen is the latest in a short list of Nordic voices, including Karita Mattila and Birgit Nilsson, who have taken on Puccini's heroine. Her role debut at the Met came amid a run of Toscas from Berlin to Vienna.
Grand Dame Von Stade Makes New Recording, And Declares It Her Last
PERSPECTIVE – Frederica von Stade, 79, made her first recording in 1975 with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. She says her latest, new works with Musica Viva NY led by Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, will close that long chapter.
Bryce Dessner’s ‘Solos’ Recording Is A Paradox: It’s About Connections
DIGITAL REVIEW – The guitarist-composer's latest project is deeply personal, a series of solo works that Dessner calls an “intimate diary.” These miniatures represent special rapport – with a musician, a city, family, all honoring collaboration.
Ambitious Album Casts Light On The Composer Inside Conductor MTT
DIGITAL REVIEW – With Michael Tilson Thomas' 80th birthday looming in December, his far-ranging compositions are finally being unleashed upon the world in a handsomely produced four-CD, five-hour set containing most of his music.
IN THE NEWS: MCANA MEMBERS' PICKS
- The BSO hits a surprise high note with Wynton Marsalis tuba concerto - by Michael Andor Brodeur at Washington Post
- What are you Haydn? The hoaxers who fooled the classical music world - by Philip Hebblethwaite at The Guardian
- Can a Synthetic Voice Be Taught to Sing Opera? by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim at NY Times
- Mary Zimmerman's Miniaturized 'Matchbox Magic Flute' Is Full of Fresh Delights at Berkeley Rep - by Jay Barmann at SFist
- Magnificent Mahler First Tops Off the Lauhcn of Philadelphia Orchestra China Tour - by Rick Perdian at Seen and Heard International
- Organist Moosakowski makes might sound in US debut - by Rick Perdian at
- Hear a Chopin Waltz Unearthed after nearly 200 years - by Javier Hernandez at NY Times
- A Mental Tightrope: When Instrumental Musicians Have to Sing, Too - by Jeffrey Arlo Brown at NY Times
- Pages upon pages of whole notes: An in-depth conversation with composer Ryan Francis - by Charles Rose at Oregon ArtsWatch
- 'We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together' combines opera and ritual for a cathartic experience - by Donna Lee Davidson at I Care If You Listen
- Still unstoppable: John Adams at 77 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra - by Michelle Assay at Ludwig van Toronto
- Sphinx Virtuosi and New York Philharmonic Play Black American Composers - by Gail Wein at Sequenza 21
- Hear a Chopin Waltz Unearthed After Nearly 200 Years - by Javier C. Hernández at NY Times
- Cincinnati May Festival names Grammy Award-winning soprano as 2025 director - by Janelle Gelfand at Cincinnati Business Courier
- Can a Synthetic Voice Be Taught to Sing Opera? - by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim at NY Times
- Riccardo Muti returned to the Philadelphia Orchestra after nearly two decades for a thrilling Verdi Requiem - by Peter Dobrin at The Philadelphia Inquirer
- A Mental Tightrope: When Instrumental Musicians Have to Sing, Too - by Jeffrey Arlo Brown at NY Times
- New World Symphony Succeeds With Two Challenging Operas - by Sebastián Spring at Artburst
- Opera Album Review: An Award-Winning Recording of a Spontini Opera Championed by Maria Callas - by Ralph P. Locke at The Arts Fuse
- Unique orchestra Minnesota Sinfonia and conductor Jay Fishman say goodbye - by Michael Anthony at MinnPost
- Classical music isn't supposed to be this much fun - by Sal Pizarro at The Mercury News
- 'M. Butterfly' review - Huang Ruo's cross-cultural opera gets and enthralling UK premiere - by Clive Paget at The Guardian
- Mozart never finished his 'Requiem.' This Portland musician decided to try. - by Megan Gray at Portland Press Herald
- Hear 2.5 hours of the classical music in Haruki Murakami's novels: Liszt, Beethoven, Janáček and more - by Colin Marshall at Open Culture
- The $550 Million Question: How Does David Geffen Hall Sound? - by Javier C. Hernández at NY Times
- Unique orchestra Minnesota Sinfonia and conductor Jay Fishman say goodbye - by Michael Anthony at MinnPost
- Opera on the brink: Can new compositions return the art to its popular roots? - by Nicholas Liu at Salon
- Recording review: Going solo with Viadana - by Anne E. Johnson at Early Music America
- Kevin Puts: The Hours - by Ralph P. Locke at The Arts Fuse
Around the US
Día De Los Muertos: Supercharged Concert Rings With Festive Life
LOS ANGELES – Día de los Muertos (Day of The Dead) is a Mexican holiday Nov. 1-2 that's catching on north of the border. The LA Phil offered a celebratory program of colorful, propulsive music led by Gustavo Dudamel.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Welcome to Classical Voice North America, the online journal of the Music Critics Association of North America. CVNA was launched in 2013 to provide an outlet for music criticism at a time when the market for traditional print journalism was shrinking. Over the past decade this trend has continued. Yet concert societies and opera companies remain vibrant and enthusiasm for what they do is undiminished. The need for informed commentary is as pressing as ever.
The mission of CVNA is to meet this need with expert coverage by members and occasional guest contributors. If you are a writer with experience in classical music, please consider joining the association. If you are a reader with thoughts to share, please write us at info@mcana.org. We believe in criticism!
AROUND CANADA
INTERNATIONAL
DISC AND STREAM
Musical Cultures Meld In Renaissance-Based CD Creatively Spiced
DIGITAL REVIEW – Although the music on Pilgrimage: Musical Journey of Kryštof Harant to Jerusalem / circa 1600 is almost 500 years old, the album’s message of cross-cultural parallels and joyous interaction is a needed balm today.
PARLANDO: VIVIEN SCHWEITZER'S PODCASTS
The composer, pianist and climate activist Gabriela Lena Frank talks about the environmental damage caused by the music industry, how her significant hearing loss has impacted her career, and more.
ISSUES IN THE ARTS
A Singer Sees The Light In Dark World Of Music Suppressed By Nazis
PERSPECTIVE – "I fell into a rabbit hole learning about 20th-century composers who found themselves marginalized due to the events of the Second World War,” said tenor Ian Koziara of his new recording devoted to songs once silenced.
MCANA HOSTED BLOGS
Prototype Festival 2020: Iron and Coal
The Prototype Festival of new opera offers a mid-winter adrenalin booster for New York opera lovers.
