Denk Celebrates Ives, That Thorny American, In Anniversary Recital
PERSPECTIVE – Pianist Jeremy Denk will pay tribute to the composer's boisterous, dense, and unapologetically American music, performing Ives' Sonata No. 2 (Concord) on a program Dec. 12 in New York celebrating the 150th year of his birth.
Gravity Meets Brilliance: Traversing Beethoven’s Violin-Piano Sonatas
SEATTLE – In the intimacy of a 536-seat recital hall, violinist James Ehnes and pianist Orion Weiss performed the full cycle of 10 sonatas over two concerts presented by the Seattle Chamber Music Society, of which Ehnes is artistic director.
Northern Lights: Polished Singers Spark Two Canadian Concerts
VANCOUVER – Vancouver Recital Society offered exceptional vocal programs back to back: a local premiere by soprano Barbara Hannigan with pianist Bertrand Chamayou and Schoenberg by Hila Baggio with the Israeli Chamber Project.
Amid The Tour Baggage, Clear Signs Of A Bond Between Maestro, Band
PERSPECTIVE – Even for the much-traveled Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, its recent European trek with music director Rafael Payare stands out for a critical consensus that conductor and orchestra are always on the same page.
The Met’s ‘Frau’ Unfurls Bounty To Be Savored Again — And Again!
NEW YORK – How great, indeed thoroughly exciting, is this Metropolitan Opera revival of Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten? Like many others I know, I went home and purchased seats for more than one subsequent performance.
‘Dream Of Red Chamber’ In Revised Opera Guise Delivers New Intimacy
MINNEAPOLIS – Bright Sheng's opera based on an epic Chinese novel received a lavish production for its San Francisco Opera premiere in 2016. A scaled-down version, newly staged at the University of Minnesota, refocuses the story.
Smoking Performances At U.K. Opera Houses Now Under Political Fire
PERSPECTIVE – Opera as an art form has been under attack from bureaucrats and cost-cutters on all ends of the British political spectrum as elitist. But this visitor found Britain retains an admirable range of classical vocal experiences.
IN THE NEWS: MCANA MEMBERS' PICKS
- Angelina Jolie goes full-on diva in a daring, sad turn as Maria Callas - by Ty Burr at Washington Post
- Locke’s 2024 List of Notable Opera Recordings and a Few Non-Operatic Ones - by Ralph Locke at The Arts Fuse
- LSO/Volkov review — Lachenmann’s astonishing avant-garde epic - by Geoff Brown at The Times
- Deutsche Grammophon President Promoted with New Strategic Classical Role - by The Violin Channel
- Jon Batiste Scores First No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Albums Chart With ‘Beethoven Blues’ - by Keith Caulfield at Billboard
- Cincinnati May Festival names Grammy Award-winning soprano as 2025 director - by Cincinnati Business Courier
- Playing by memory: Do soloists ever forget onstage? - by Kurt Loft at TFO
- Royal College of Music connects three disparate pieces - by Sam Smith at musicomh.com
- From Bach to Beyonce, why a church orchestra aims to lift up young musicians of color - by Deepa Bharath at AP News
- Classical conductor Ronnie Sanders keeps the score on the field and podium - by Nicholas Frank at San Antonio Report
- Atlanta's classical music and jazz faithful enjoy concerts in religious spaces - by Jeff Dingler at ArtsATL
- 'I failed because a term has been created around the type of music I make': Nils Frahm on struggling within the classical music space and navigating the live world - by Danny Turner at Music Radar
- Is this what next generation classical music sounds like? - by Jo Kelly at 34th Street
- BSO's top oboist leads the charge in classical music's #MeToo fight - by Rebecca Ritzel at Baltimore Banner
- Authors talk about their own books in the Eastman Music series - at Proofed
- Former Music Critic Talks About A Unique Career & The Prize In His Name - by Anya Wassenberg at Ludwig van Toronto
- At 80, a Concert Singer Finds Herself a Hot Commodity in Opera - by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim at NY Times
- Barrie Gavin, filmmaker who brought the stars of 20th-century classical music to the small screen - by Staff at The Telegraph
- Classical music unfinished and restored - by Georg Predota at Interlude
- How musicians with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony helped rescue the orchestra from bankruptcy - by Josh O'Kane at The Globe and Mail
- A conversation about 'Macbeth' with soprano Ewa Płonka - by Nicole Lacroix at WETA
- PUBLIQuartet bringing improv chamber music to Hanger Stage in Iowa City - by Diana Nollen at The Gazette
- In concerts brilliant and grand, Muti showed why he still waves magic wand over the CSO - by Lawrence B. Johnson at Chicago On the Aisle
- String quartet swaps half its members - by Norman Lebrecht at Slippedisc
- Dr. Samantha Ege on her remarkable story of Black women who transformed Chicago's classical music scene - by Michael Johnson and Jewell Hillary at WGNTV
- 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
- 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 Launch of Philadelphia Orchestra China Tour - by Rick Perdian at Seen and Heard International
Around the US
Royal Concertgebouw, Mäkelä Parade Colors To Kick Off U.S. Tour
ORLANDO, Fla. – It was a night full of orchestral swells, deep rumblings, and colossal fortes as Amsterdam’s revered ensemble invoked Mahler and Schoenberg to launch a six-date tour led by Klaus Mäkelä, its chief conductor-designate.
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!
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DISC AND STREAM
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.
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
Embracing, Unvarnished Jolie-As-Callas Biopic Hits A High B-Plus
PERSPECTIVE – The new film about Maria Callas (simply titled Maria), starring Angelina Jolie, is reasonably authentic and well made. What's more, Callas fans can be grateful that Jolie’s Oscar-baiting work means the movie will be seen.
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.
