The publication of Defending the Music: Michael Steinberg at the Boston Globe, 1964-1976 has prompted John Adams to reminisce about a music critic who delivered “an almost endless chain of exemplary reviews and essays… witty, now and … » Read

LONDON—The Met Orchestra is typically encountered shrouded in darkness and tackling operatic repertoire old and (increasingly) new. Its annual concert season is a chance for it to spread its wings and explore what for the average symphony … » Read

HOLLYWOOD—Gustavo Dudamel finally arrived at the home stretch of his not-quite-farewell tour as Los Angeles Philharmonic Music and Artistic Director last  weekend, landing at Hollywood Bowl for four wildly-diverse programs. As is … » Read

“Come in great numbers to witness such entertainments as no one has ever seen, nor ever shall see again,” touted an admirer of Antonio Cesti’s Il Pomo d’Oro when it was finally premiered in Vienna in 1668. This festa … » Read

HOLLYWOOD, CA—Up until Tuesday morning August 18, it looked as if the beleaguered National Symphony Orchestra’s debut in the historic Hollywood Bowl that evening would be just a brief respite from the cascade of ominous news looming … » Read

This season the Bayreuth Festspiele presented an artificial intelligence generated Ring Cycle as part of the celebration of its 150th anniversary. It was a dud: instead of “AI slop,” it was “sloppy AI.” Stage directors of … » Read

Few works are so well-suited to London’s Royal Albert Hall as Hector Berlioz’s gargantuan Requiem, so aptly subtitled the Grande Messe des Morts . With its 16 timpani, 10 sets of cymbals, four gongs and four additional brass bands, … » Read

Every now and then a new opera comes along that shakes your world, reminding you of the power and emotional depths that can be attained by this most complex of artforms. David T. Little’s What Belongs to You is just such a work, one of … » Read

Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos was the first opera to be performed at the Salzburg Festival, almost exactly 100 years ago. This new production (seen July 31) by Ersan Mondtag, updated the location from the desert island of Naxos to the … » Read

LONDON—As conductor laureate of the Philharmonia as well as of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen was an ideal choice for this August 11 BBC Prom of 20th-century classics bringing together student orchestras from both sides of … » Read