Perspectives

PERSPECTIVE – In a chat with Gail Wein, author Sarah Fritz, whose book Madame Composer: The virtuosic genius of Clara Schumann will be out in October, explains her fascination with the 19th-century composer-pianist, already famous at 18.

PERSPECTIVE – The composer of Susannah and Of Mice and Men, a self-effacing artist who died in 2021, will be widely honored in performances. "He wasn't going to toot his own horn, but we kind of are," said the director of the centennial effort.

PERSPECTIVE – The strident urgency of James Ehnes' turn through Sibelius' Violin Concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra, soon after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by ICE agents, bespoke a long history of music's expressive shape-shifting.

PERSPECTIVE – In this edition of "Classical Gas," the distinguished composer says her highest honor came when the Library of Congress decided to hold her manuscripts in a dedicated collection, giving her work a permanent home.

PERSPECTIVE – Since its founding in 2013, Classical Voice North America has posted some 2,700 articles, forming a permanent archive of events worldwide. Here's a sampling of work by 45 writers in 2025 that you might have missed.

PERSPECTIVE – In her new book Opera Wars, Caitlin Vincent takes on issues facing an opera world that she depicts in constant conflict as ego-driven composers, librettists, directors, and singers all endeavor to dominate the stage.

PERSPECTIVE – This year has seen the emergence of new musical leadership in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile. The latter city has also seen the opening of a new concert hall. The end of the season was fascinating in both centers.

PERSPECTIVE – Inspired by Edgard Varèse's paradigm-shifting work for solo flute, Density 21.5, flutist Claire Chase has pushed to the mid-point of a herculean project she calls Density 2036. She dives into the venture with Gail Wein.

PERSPECTIVE – With births historically scant in a nation of just over 50 million, the implications are not good for beginner pools, youth orchestras, even instrument makers. The task is to re-engineer a musical ecosystem tailored to reality.

PERSPECTIVE – Spain isn't the first place North Americans think of when it comes to opera, but the country can furnish rich experiences in the art form. In one week, I experienced unforgettable evenings in the two leading musical centers.

BOOK REVIEW – In her observant and personal book I Knew a Man Who Knew Brahms, writer, broadcaster, and arts consultant Nancy Shear looks back six decades to her place in the royal swirl of Stokowski, Ormandy, and Rostropovich.

PERSPECTIVE - Joining Gail Wein on her podcast, violinist Colin Jacobsen, co-founder of the Brooklyn Rider string quartet and a composer, explores the foursome's new enterprise called "Citizenship Notes," honoring the nation's birth.

PERSPECTIVE – In a corner of the classical music world that features cooperation rather than competition, the Seattle Chamber Music Society and Chamber Music Northwest accented their musical smorgasbords with a bit of sharing.

PERSPECTIVE – At pianist Beatrice Rana's ninth Classiche Forme festival in Italy, the keyboard became a heartbeat rather than a spotlight, while pianist Filipe Pinto‑Ribeiro's 11th Verão Clássico & Academia balanced mastery with master classes.

PERSPECTIVE – As you get older, the departures of people who played significant roles in your work and imagination become more numerous and saddening. Certainly Schifrin's passing on June 26 affected me this way – and more than I expected.

PERSPECTIVE – Pique Dame (Queen of Spades) was Tchaikovsky’s favorite of his works, and this summer one could see it twice in the span of a week: at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Vienna State Opera, where Anna Netrebko was thrilling.

PERSPECTIVE – "His music is one of the main reasons we do what we do," says Jan Grüning, violist with the ensemble in residence at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory. Their CD release of the Op. 18 quartets launches a complete cycle.

PERSPECTIVE – Most cities in Poland have at least one orchestra, with Warsaw, Katowice, and Krakow home to three of the best. And like the country itself, they rose from the ashes of World War II and the dark days of Soviet control.

PERSPECTIVE – What distinguishes Rana’s playing is an exceptional technical mastery coupled with singular freedom of expression. One can hardly connect her poise at the piano with the power and intensity that emerge from the instrument.

SALT LAKE CITY – At the 80th national conference of the League of American Orchestras, which drew representatives of 630 ensembles, the league conferred its annual Gold Baton Award and highest honor on the veteran conductor.