What better place than Salzburg to watch crowns slip? This summer’s twin portraits of rulers under pressure—Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto and Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda —offered two radically different dramaturgies … » Read

LONDON—Among some fairly scattergun programs at this year’s Proms, this September 7 concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Music Director Vasily Petrenko stood out for its cohesion and satisfying musical parallels. The … » Read

LONDON—It’s been a good year for Shostakovich with a series of worldwide celebrations in honor of his death. This September 1 BBC Prom at Royal Albert Hall was one of the more ambitious: a semi-staging of his opera Lady Macbeth of … » Read

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.—No one collects fast-rising young talent quite like Decca. Among those on the esteemed label’s artist roster are wundermaestro Klaus Mäkelä, violinist Randall Goosby , and, since 2022, Brazilian guitarist … » Read

LONDON—Frederick Delius’s A Mass of Life is his longest, most ambitious concert work. For many, it is also his magnum opus, exploring over 100 minutes cosmic ideas of humanity, eternity, and the soul. And yet it’s hardly ever … » Read

LONDON—Ravel’s Piano Concerto was an odd pairing for two works by Soviet composers, but this August 15 Prom at Royal Albert Hall was a corker, even if the two halves went together like the proverbial chalk and cheese. That it managed … » Read

Four recent discs of newish orchestral music, much of it conceived on a grand scale, suggest all is well in the world of contemporary composition. Gabriela Ortiz’s new album with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil is a multi-faceted jewel. The … » Read

Every summer the Bard Music Festival offers two consecutive weekends of concerts, panel discussions, lectures, and a volume of scholarly essays devoted to exploring the life and work of a single composer. The subject is often a well-known name, … » Read

LONDON—The BBC Proms season continued apace on August 10, with a neatly themed program by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Royal Albert Hall. Principal Conductor Edward Gardner took water as his inspiration leading three early … » Read

On Aug. 9 the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) teamed up with the Kronos String Quartet for a Summermusik Festival program devoted to “trailblazers.” The Kronos, now entering its sixth decade with only one of the original four … » Read