Classical, Jazz Orbits Cross In Visionary Art Of Mary Lou Williams
MIAMI – Slowly but surely, the music of the multitalented jazz pianist-arranger-composer is inching its way into the American classical canon. A New World Symphony festival exploring the Harlem Renaissance marked a big step forward.
Finesse, Subtlety Shape Music On CDs Devoted To Danish Composers
DIGITAL REVIEW – A delicate, ambiguous sound world of silence and pale light, evident in works by Hans Abrahamsen (right), Per Nørgård, and Bent Sørensen on three discs, evokes a contemporary shadow play on the music of Sibelius and Nielsen.
Met Resurrects ‘Forza’ In Stark New Look, And A New Force Is With It
NEW YORK – Once a staple at the Met, Verdi's La forza del destino, his most tragic and ambitious opera, has lost favor. But it returns recharged in Mariusz Treliński's apocalyptic production with the electrifying Lise Davidsen as Leonora.
Oratorio ‘Émigré’ Recalls Jews Fleeing Germany Into Chinese Embrace
NEW YORK – Fashioned as a love story, the new work by composer Aaron Zigman (right) and librettist Mark Campbell will receive its North American premiere by the N.Y. Philharmonic, chorus, and soloists led by Long Yu on Feb. 29.
‘Days Of Wine, Roses’ As Musical For 2, Seen Through A Glass Darkly
NEW YORK – Like two people stranded at sea, Joe and Kirsten (Brian d'Arcy James and Kelli O'Hara) are blissfully happy in this high-intensity lyric drama by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas, until their drinking makes their joie de vivre go smash.
Handel With A Cultural Asterisk: Concert Adds Counterpoint Of Slavery
NEW YORK – "Handel: Made in America," offered by an imposing lineup of Black singers and instrumentalists, came with a sharp reminder that the composer's British patrons grew wealthy from the slave trade and that he invested in the trade.
Early Music Ensemble Takes Instructive Trek Through Mozart’s Time
NEW YORK – Keyboardist and conductor Kristian Bezuidenhout presided over a concert by the student period-instrument group Juilliard415 that cross-referenced works by Mozart and two of his contemporaries, Joseph Kraus and J.C. Bach.
After Long Covid Delay, New(ish) Adès Concerto And Champion Hit Town
LOS ANGELES – An early victim of the pandemic was the LA Philharmonic premiere in April 2020 of Thomas Adès’ then-new Piano Concerto led by the composer with soloist Kirill Gerstein. Finally, this classically built virtuoso romp had its local day.
Angst, Misery, Murder, And Loud Orchestra In ‘Elektra’ To Remember
DALLAS – In the title role of Strauss' grisly opera, soprano Marjorie Owens swung her ax with joy and displayed a voice equal to the musical and dramatic demands, though the audience couldn't always hear her in this Dallas Opera production.
Singers Unseen, Sober Tone Unstinting, ‘Passio’ Was Lengthy Challenge
NEW YORK – I wanted to like Arvo Pärt's setting of the Passion according to St. John, but an hour and a half of its stately, non-contrapuntal, gorgeous sonorities, with the Experiential Orchestra and voices led by James Blachly, sapped my energy.
Musical ‘Map’ Explores Byways, Underbrush Of Self-Styled Artist’s Life
NEW YORK – “I don’t want to be part of any movement I didn’t start!” Thus spake Scott Johnson, whose work for soprano and string quartet received its premiere at a tribute event for the composer, who died in 2023 at age 70.
As Composer Reflects On Life Of His Mother, Memory Meets Music
SEATTLE – Steven Mackey's Memoir, which received its Pacific Northwest premiere, extends a thread of tributes to his parents. The work for narrator and chamber group also continues his pursuit of links between music and remembrance.
Beethoven Makeover: 1st Symphony Keeps Its Panache As Piano Trio
CHICAGO – The all-star ensemble of pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma have been performing and recording the symphonies arranged for three. The brash First retained that spirit in a lithe, agile new form.
In Concert That Touted Courage, Even Stand-In Maestro Showed Pluck
PORTLAND – The Oregon Symphony program exploring fortitude featured Hans Abrahamsen's piano work for the left hand as well as music by Louise Farrenc and Schumann. Unscheduled on the podium was German conductor Markus Stenz.
Museum Monodrama: In A Displaced Temple, An Alienated Performer
NEW YORK – The Egyptian Temple of Dendur, housed at the Metropolitan Museum, inspired Lebanese musician Hamed Sinno's Westerly Breath, a psycho-political memoir on the personal odyssey of this charismatic LGBTQ+ activist.
Closing A Mahler Circle, MTT Returns To His Old Band For A Grand Fifth
SAN FRANCISCO – Michael Tilson Thomas, the longtime music director of the San Francisco Symphony, made his debut here at 29 with the Ninth Symphony. Fifty years later, now battling brain cancer, he led notably measured Mahler.
It Wasn’t Just The Music That Faded Away In This Phantasmagorical Gig
PRINCETON, N.J. – The trumpeter materialized in different parts of the virtual room before simply disappearing. Flutists sprang up and vanished. This immersive, illusory concert by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra reset the idea of closeness.
Shock Of Shostakovich Is Tempered In Concert Sans Lurid Stage Action
BOSTON – Strangulation, sex, betrayal, suicide. The incendiary opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk brings it all. But in a Boston Symphony account led by Andris Nelsons, the only visible action came when soprano Kristine Opolais shed her nylons.
Pushing Opera’s Limits, Prototype Fest Shifts Its Daring To Larger Canvas
NEW YORK – From the start, Prototype sought out creative artists doing nontraditional work. Three new works bespoke a quest to tell stories that resonate deeply within contemporary society, even if they go beyond the viewer's comfort level.
A Saga Trimmed To Fit: ‘Das Rheingold’ Glitters In Sly Concert Version
LOS ANGELES – How do you turn a concert hall into an opera house? The LA Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel had a "fully staged" answer at Disney Hall. It helped that venue architect Frank Gehry was also the Rheingold scenic designer.
