Scaling Strauss Twice, And Matching Peaks In The ‘Alpine Symphony’
FRANKFURT – Just a few days apart, both the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra played Strauss' monumental work at the Alte Oper. Both delivered one astonishing moment after another.
Batons, Bowings, Beats: A Maestro’s New Guide To Modern Masterworks
BOOK REVIEW – Leonard Slatkin’s new book belongs to a distinguished tradition, reflecting a lifetime of study and podium experience at the highest level. And it can be absorbed by anyone with a working knowledge of how to read music.
Beach’s Grand Mass Dusted Off, Cut Down, Its Fresh Vision Intact
VANCOUVER – In what was likely the work's first performance in Canada, the Vancouver Cantata Singers and Allegra Chamber Orchestra presented an effective and convincing adaptation of Amy Beach's splendorous Grand Mass in E-flat major.
Desolation Illustrated: Frozen, Deathly Vistas Of ‘Sinfonia Antartica’
SEATTLE – Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 7, enhanced by photos and journal readings from Robert Scott's ill-fated expedition, conjured a convincingly brutal soundscape in a performance by the Seattle Symphony led by Gemma New.
Adams-Sellars ‘El Niño’ Blows Onto Met Stage With Look Of A Fixture
NEW YORK – With a lavish set by Lileana Blain-Cruz and a superb cast led by Marin Alsop, this complex collage opera from 2000 (the title refers to the boy Jesus) had a strong Met premiere. Familiarity could make it a deserved favorite.
Even In Twilight Years, Andrew Davis Brought Lifelong Zest To Podium
APPRECIATION – This was a shocker. Not because 80 is an unseemly age at which to make an exit, but because Andrew Davis, the British conductor who died April 20, had cut such a convivially youthful figure onstage for so many decades.
All Hands On Deck: Orchestra Shares Stage With ‘Rheingold’ Singers
CALGARY – For its first go at any of Wagner's Ring dramas, Calgary Opera moved the considerably expanded orchestra from a cramped pit and onto the action space, front and center amid an uneasy flow of gods and giants and Rhinemaidens.
IN THE NEWS: MCANA MEMBERS' PICKS
- Tenor Russell Thomas on career high notes, allure of Atlanta - by James L. Paulk at ArtsATL
- Bavarian orchestra’s dark, edged Mahler Sixth bespeaks ascendant composer of modern era - by Lawrence B. Johnson at Chicago On the Aisle
- Rising star conductor Valentina Peleggi makes US debut in Seattle - by Thomas May at Seattle Times
- Interview: The New Orleans Opera's Lila Palmer - by Kelly Massicot at New Orleans
- Podcast/transcript: Singer Lise Davidsen on her Tiny Desk experience - by Scott Detrow at WWFM
- Remembering Norman Carol - by Timothy Judd at The Listeners' Club
- 13th Hear Now music festival finishes in style - by Jim Farber at Classical Voice San Francisco
- Jakub Hrůša, Hélène Grimaud and the Bamberg Symphony dazzle at Carnegie Hall - by Susan Stempleski at Bachtrack
- Atlanta Opera’s new ‘Die Walküre’ soars with world-class cast - by Paul Hyde at ArtsATL
- The BBC has joined the war on culture - by Stephen Pollard at The Telegraph - by Stephen Pollard at The Telegraph
- Saltwater glory from Charlotte Symphony in seafaring works - by Perry Tannenbaum at Cultural Voice North Carolina
- Jakub Hrůša, Hélène Grimaud and the Bamberg Symphony dazzle at Carnegie Hall - by at Bachtrack
- Philadelphia Orchestra choir lands its first labor contract - by Peter Dobrin at The Philadelphia Inquirer
- All-star Junction Trio 'a new-generation supergroup' - by Beth Wood at the San Diego Union-Tribune
- An education in music makes you a better employee. Are recruiters in tune? - by Diana Tolmie at CutCommon
- This pianist soothes elephants by playing them classical music - by Mihai Andrei at ZME Science
- Neuwirth premiere disappoints while Søndergård debut impresses with Philharmonic - by Rick Perdian at New York Classical Review
- The Phone That Tore Us Apart as Harmony Failed - by Patti Niemi at New York Times
- Heartbeat Opera breaks new ground with Daniel Schlosberg’s The Extinctionist - by Rick Perdian at Seen and Heard International
- Celebrating collaboration: Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott at Carnegie Hall - by Susan Stempleski at Bachtrack
- At Edmonton Opera, "Ayre," a program focused on music of Osvaldo Golijov - by Bill Rankin at Opera Canada
- Cleveland Orchestra with Klaus Mäkelä - by Laura Kennely at COOLCleveland
- Margaret Lattimore’s Ma Joad powers the MasterVoices Chorus’s The Grapes of Wrath - by Rick Perdian at Seen and Heard International
- Atlanta Baroque Orchestra's 25th season finale celebrates the ensemble's continuity with colorful concertos - by Jon Ciliberto at EarRelevant
- Built on sand: Dame Sarah Connolly prepares to star in the Saudi opera 'Zarqa Al Yamama' - by Hugh Morris at VAN Magazine
- Gustavo Dudamel saves the day at the New York Philharmonic - by Oussama Zahr at The New York Times
- Heartbeat Opera: Productions Grounded in the Present - by Heidi Waleson at Wall Street Journal
- Andrew Davis, conductor and scholar, led opera and life with an imperishable twinkle - by Lawrence B. Johnson at Chicago On the Aisle
- Spectacular visuals make for a scenic feast in Met’s “El Niño” - by Rick Perdian at New York Classical Review
- A modern Mouret from Opera Lafayette - by Anne E. Johnson at Early Music America
Around the US
Nadia Boulanger Opera, Despite Cuts, Displays Teacher’s Own Mastery
NEW YORK – La ville morte should have been the sensation of 1914 Paris but for the hand of fate. More than a century later, the only opera composed by the influential teacher was given its New York premiere by Catapult Opera Company.
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
Baritenor’s CD Traces Glittering Paths That Led Opera To Wagner
DIGITAL REVIEW – In his latest recital disc, In The Shadows, the eternally curious baritenor Michael Spyres surveys some of the Bayreuth bard’s antecedents, and also recaps his own vocal journey as he embarks on the Wagnerian canon.
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 Cacophony Of Voices, Human And Planetary: Songs Of World As One
PERSPECTIVE – Composer Matthew Aucoin's new Music for New Bodies, directed for the stage by Peter Sellars, is a “synesthetic song cycle” that reflects the interconnectedness of individuals and collective humanity with the wider natural world.
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.