Maazel In His 80s Rode In To Rescue Chicago SO Tour
By Nancy Malitz
Lorin Maazel was 84 when he died July 13 of complications from pneumonia. But in early 2013, he was vigorous, mentally sharp, and openly thrilled to be able to step in for ailing Riccardo Muti on a Chicago Symphony Asia tour.
Like Super Heroes, Subs Often Save The Musical Day
By Adeline Sire
Kristine Opolais' back-to-back role debuts as both Butterfly and Mimi within 24 hours at the Metropolitan Opera is just one example of last-minute bravery that occurs regularly, often with mad chains of events backstage.
Chicago Academy Is Major Key For Young Musicians
By Kyle MacMillan
CHICAGO -- How many cello concertos did Mozart write? A music theory contest caps the elite academy school year at the Music Institute of Chicago with applause, cheers and laughter, but the dedication to learning is serious.
NY Phil Biennial Boosts New Music By Reaching Out
By George Loomis
NEW YORK – A wealth of participants in the first-ever NY Phil Biennial, currently underway, includes the Gotham Chamber Opera, which brought Toshio Hosokawa's monodrama "The Raven," inspired by Poe.
A Far Cry Makes Diverse Music In Democratic Spirit
By Adeline Sire
BOSTON - The chamber orchestra A Far Cry comprises musicians, called Criers, who perform everything from 12th-century pieces to newly commissioned works. Each player has a say in repertorial and interpretive matters.
Chicago to D.C.: Rutter’s Tale Of Two Cities
By Kyle MacMillan
CHICAGO – As she prepares to leave the presidency of the Chicago Symphony to take up the reins at the Kennedy Center, Deborah Rutter talks about the accomplishments and challenges of running esteemed arts organizations.
B’way, Opera Join In Chicago Lyric’s ‘Sound of Music’
By Nancy Malitz
CHICAGO -- An ambitious venture into the golden era of Rodgers and Hammerstein pursues an increasingly recognized connection between the mid-century American musical and the European tradition of operetta.
What Makes Any Music Classical? Tradition!
By Richard Nilsen
COMMENTARY – Pittsburgh-raised Lorin Maazel soaked up the Viennese tradition like a sponge, reflecting the reality that classical music is "classical" because it has been handed down. A score tells us only so much.
Forget Wagner, Quartet Dials Up New Ring Cycles
By Kyle MacMillan
CHICAGO – Among life's minor annoyances are cheesy ringtones, but the Spektral Quartet has just the antidote: Mobile Miniatures. It has recorded more than 60 ringtones, alerts and wake-ups by 46 composers.
‘CVNA’ Rounds Up Critics’ Coverage Of Sarasota Verdi Fest
By Members of the MCANA
SARASOTA, Fla. – Ten members of the Music Critics Association of North America headed south in March 2014 to cover Sarasota Opera's latest installment of its ongoing Verdi cycle. We are pleased to provide links to all of these articles here, in one convenient place.
Did Dessay Say Adieu Past ‘Manon’? Mais Non, Perhaps
By George Loomis
Reports to the contrary, French soprano Natalie Dessay isn't yet ready to abandon the opera stage. But she's branching out by planning a monodrama and giving recitals in North America with pianist Phillippe Cassard.
Campus Concerts Rebuff Notion Of Classical Decline
Raymond Sokolov
Reports of the death of classical music ring out with the regularity of noon on a grandfather clock. Don't worry: the safest haven for serious music in America is on campus, and this is no ivory-towered phenomenon.
Suddenly Schubert Is The Song On Everyone’s Lips
By Rodney Punt
An unusually large bounty of Schubert is to be discovered in this bicentennial year of “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” composed by the seventeen-year-old Schubert in 1814. Three wide-ranging projects focus on his influence.
Did Fleming Play Fast, Loose With Anthem? You Bet
By Arthur Kaptainis
A lot of money was riding on the outcome Sunday evening. I refer, of course, to the duration of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as sung by Renée Fleming. One popular over/under betting line was two minutes, 25 seconds.
Osmo Vänskä, In Job Limbo, Wields Traveling Baton
By Robert P. Commanday
SAN FRANCISCO - He was the beating heart of the Minnesota Orchestra. Vänskä's recent guest conducting appearance with the San Francisco Symphony made it clear why the Minnesota musicians love and need him. A CVNA commentary.
Bassoonist LeClair Brings Back-Bench Favorite To Fore
By Gail Wein
NEW YORK - All eyes and ears will be on Judith LeClair, longtime principal bassoon of the New York Philharmonic, when she plays Mozart's Bassoon Concerto with the orchestra Jan. 16-22. This time, she has a brand new cadenza.
Byrne Book Takes Stand for Music Without Borders
By Marvin J. Ward
BOOK REVIEW – How Music Works, by the legendary singer-songwriter and co-founder of Talking Heads, is analytical, frank, revelatory, and rich in food for thought regardless of one's musical preference. An updated paperback was recently released.
‘Fun Home’ Shines Where Two Boys Obscures Emotion
By Heidi Waleson
NEW YORK -- Jeanine Tesori's Fun Home, currently playing at The Public Theater, isn't actually an opera. Yet it delves deep and has extraordinary emotional resonance -- in ways that Nico Muhly's Two Boys at the Met doesn't.
Analysis: Deconstructing Orchestra Debacle In Minnesota
By Robert Commanday
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Orchestra lockout of the past 13 months, resulting in the cancellation of the 2012-13 season and early part of the current season, shows no signs of progress.
Minnesota Cancels Carnegie Concerts, Vänskä Quits
UPDATE: Music Director Osmo Vänskä resigned today (10/1) after the Minnesota Orchestra withdrew from its Carnegie Hall concerts. In the absence of an agreement, the lockout continues.
