After Long Directorship, Venerable Festival Likes Playing It Year By Year
PERSPECTIVE – Since James Conlon's prodigious service as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival (1979-2016), the event has thrived on single-season directors. This year Grammy-winning soprano Julia Bullock runs the show.
No Sets, No Costumes, But Music, Imagination Fire Concert ‘Turandot’
MONTREAL – Arguably the most visually lavish of all operas, this epic love story might seem an odd choice for the concert hall, but the Orchestre philharmonique et choeur des mélomanes reminded us of the splendor in Puccini’s score.
Like Back In The Day: Two Opera Stars Unite For A Dazzling Recital
NEW YORK – In an old-fashioned, high-energy, and much-applauded event, beloved Met Opera regulars soprano Erin Morley and tenor Lawrence Brownlee sang 19th-century Italian and French arias and duets with pianist Malcolm Martineau.
Cleveland Orchestra’s Portrait Of A Composer Profiles Community Ties
DIGITAL REVIEW – In a live recording, three works by Allison Loggins-Hull, who immersed herself in community outreach while serving as a fellow at the Cleveland Orchestra from 2022-2025, provide a striking impression of an important composer.
Post-Minimalist Threads Reveal Wide Range Of Influence On New Music
BROOKLYN – The diversity of fresh works at Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival illustrated how minimalism descended from encounters among American composers, jazz musicians, and improvisers in the classical traditions of India.
Recalling Van Cliburn’s Moscow Triumph With Melodrama And A Wink
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – For its 35th anniversary, the Gilmore International Piano Festival unveiled American Sputnik, with music by Evan Mack and libretto by Mark Campbell and built on Cliburn-linked works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.
Dudamel, Approaching NY Phil Directorship, Displays A New Poise
NEW YORK – No longer the 20-something whiz kid who put El Sistema on the map, Gustavo Dudamel showed a more contained podium demeanor in his Philharmonic program featuring Ellen Reid's Earth Between Oceans and Stravinsky's Firebird.
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CVNA MARKS 12TH ANNIVERSARY!
Classical Voice North America has won praise for the quality of its informative reviews, articles, commentary, and occasional podcasts at a time when many newspapers have cut back or eliminated coverage. We explore the richness of the classical music scene: opera productions, leading and regional orchestras, new works and upcoming artists, plus calendar listings. But access is free, so we need your support!
IN THE NEWS: MCANA MEMBERS' PICKS
- Gustavo Dudamel receives $1 million award from musician Herb Alpert: ‘We can change the world, but it starts with educating young people’ - by María Porcel at El Pais
- ‘Time to Act’ Review: Pittsburgh Opera’s Didactic Trauma Drama - by Heidi Waleson at WSJ
- After ‘Priceless’ Violin Flies on Lap, Lufthansa Changes Carry-On Rules - by Christine Hauser at NY Times
- More than 40% of musicians may suffer from tinnitus - and it’s not just rockers, according to new research - by Hazel Davis at Classic FM
- Remembering Helmuth Rilling, Who Brought Bach to a Wider Audience - by Tim Page at WSJ
- Klaus at Chicago's Art Institute - by Hannah Edgar at Chicago Sun-Times
- Is Lise Davidson the soprano of the century? - by Fiona Maddocks at The Observer
- From Kythera to Boston: The Greek pianist setting fire to classical music - by Anna Cominos at Greek Herald
- 2025 in classical music: A year of small triumphs, against all odds - by Michael Andor Brodeur at Washington Post
- Vote for your favorite classical music in the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2026 - at Classic FM
- Gesualdo Six explored controversial namesake in new theatrical concert - results at Classic FM
- Vancouver Symphony offers sophisticated delights with launch of Modum - by David Gordon Duke at Vancouver Sun
- Philip Glass pulls world premiere from Kennedy Center - by Michael Andor Brodeur at Washington Post
- 2026: Gabriela Lena Frank, Composer of the Year - at 2026 Musical America Awards
- The Cliburn, Known for Piano Competitions, Will Hold One for Conductors - by Derrick Bryson Taylor at NY Times
- Yo-Yo Ma plays for the whales - at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
- A new ‘Petrushka’ is bringing shape-shifting human puppets to Philadelphia - by David Patrick Stearns at Philadelphia Inquirer
- New Man for the Paris Opera - by Ronald Blum via Musical America
- Guerrero, Grant Park Music Festival to explore the meaning of “American music” in nation’s 250th anniversary - by Lawrence A. Johnson at Chicago Classical Review
- Met Opera season broadcast dates - at MetOpera.org
- 120 years of Deutsche Grammophon, Anniversary Edition – at Diabolus in MusicaIn Defense of the Traditional Review – by Richard Brody at The New Yorker
- Boulanger: The celebrated teacher’s early opera is brought back to life - by Andrew Clements at The Guardian
- Emanuel Ax, Artist of the Year - at Musical America
- Jakub Hruša, Conductor of the Year – at Musical America
Around the US
Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’ Gets Regal Treatment, Even In Semi-Staging
BOSTON – The Boston Baroque orchestra plus chorus and a half-dozen soloists, led by David Bates and focused by Bill Barclay’s insightful direction, explored the king's return from the Trojan War and the effect of his vows en route.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Welcome to Classical Voice North America, the online magazine of the Music Critics Association of North America. Since 2013, CVNA has been a vibrant outlet for music criticism, providing expert coverage by members and occasional guest contributors. If you are a writer with experience in classical music, please consider joining MCANA. Together, we will keep music criticism alive and well.
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INTERNATIONAL
DISC AND STREAM
In Paean To Mythic Idyll, A Recording Embraces Spirit Of The Baroque
DIGITAL REVIEW – Early-music ensemble Les Délices led by oboist Debra Nagy has put together an engaging album of secular cantatas by Rameau, Handel, and others sung with grace by soprano Hannah De Priest, plus Baroque sonatas.
GAIL WEIN FOR CLASSICAL GAS
ISSUES IN THE ARTS
Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT Or Just Michael), The Nonstop Adventurer
PERSPECTIVE – The formidable conductor, who died at 81 on April 22, always exuded a childlike enthusiasm and wonder for whatever came his musical way. To some, he was "our Elvis." To me, he was simply Michael. I’m sure that I’m not alone.
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