BOSTON – The setting of Boston Lyric Opera's production, starring soprano Karen Chia-Ling Ho, is World War II America. While the balance of power is better, stereotypes remain, and the primary reason to hear the opera is unchanged.
NEW YORK – Over the past four years, Met Opera audiences have heard the refulgent-voiced Norwegian soprano Lisa Davidsen, now a favorite, sing the likes of Wagner's Eva and Strauss' Marschallin. Her season-opening recital was a joy.
BOOK REVIEW – What do we want to remember, and how should we? What monument or artwork can appropriately perpetuate a memory? These enigmatic questions underlie Jeremy Eichler's perspective on music in the wake of World War II.
BOOK REVIEW – Nancy Spada's new book provides an overdue portrait of the prodigious American conductor, known as much for his movie-star looks as he was for his expertise in opera, who died of cancer in 1977 at age 47.
SYDNEY – On paper, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra program promised a night of fireworks: John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Wynton Marsalis' Violin Concerto (with Nicola Benedetti), and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. The plan fizzled.
BANFF – In 2017, the triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition introduced a recurring string-quartet-plus festival. This year's typically surprising musical adventures drew assorted artists and full houses for eight concerts.
DIGITAL REVIEW – Composer-pianist Penelope Thwaites, 79, performs at the center of a CD offering a retrospective on her purposefully “retro" body of work. Her music is rightly archived here as a last vestige of a lush British sound.
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.
FISHTAIL, Mont. – Located on a 12,500-acre ranch, Tippet Rise Art Center offers music in venues with seating for no more than 150 people. Expansive views and monumental sculptures that punctuate the landscape provide the sublime ambience.
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!
DIGITAL REVIEW – At Play, the third and final disc in this project by pianist Sarah Cahill, which she initiated in 2018, stands out for the many living composers included. It shows her commitment to the series title, The Future is Female.
PERSPECTIVE – In the six years since his uneasy exit from the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert has become chief conductor of Hamburg's NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, music director of the Royal Swedish Opera, and busy guest conductor.
