Musical Events
The Escher Quartet and Igor Levit Test Musical Limits
The chamber ensemble played all six of Bartók’s string quartets, and the pianist played devilishly difficult transcriptions of symphonic scores by Mahler and Beethoven.
How Arnold Schoenberg Changed Hollywood
He moved to California during the Nazi era, and his music—which ranged from the lushly melodic to the rigorously atonal—caught the ears of everyone from George Gershwin to James Dean.
The Opera “Chornobyldorf” Channels Ukrainian Rage and Sorrow
The experimental work, recently staged at La Mama, feels eerily resonant in a time of war.
The Sonic Revolutions of George Lewis
As composer, improviser, electronic pioneer, and scholar, Lewis is one of the major musical minds of our time.
What Does California Sound Like?
A dazzling array of new music at the California Festival, spearheaded by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Secrets of the East German Oboe Underground
Oboists rarely strike out on their own. James Austin Smith’s recent program at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust—pieces culled entirely from the vaults of the German Democratic Republic—was a true solo mission.
Reorienting “Madama Butterfly”
At Detroit Opera, a new production subverts Puccini’s depiction of Japan.
London’s Feisty Music Scene
Classical audiences are rebelling against funding cuts by faux-populist arts leaders.
Requiem for Mostly Mozart
Does the end of the beloved summer festival signal a rising disdain for classical music at Lincoln Center?
Elemental Opera at Santa Fe
The pioneering summer company presents Monteverdi’s “Orfeo” in the open air, with a bracing orchestration by Nico Muhly.