MILAN--After three months of silence, Italy’s opera companies are making a comeback. The lockdown in Europe has, for now, brought the health crisis under control, so the government gave socially distanced live performances the green light … » Read

Orchestras may have fallen silent but, with lockdown restrictions slowly easing, chamber ensembles have been slowly re-emerging—if not in the concert hall, then at least in the recording studio. The result has been a steady flow of new … » Read

MADRID, Spain--The pandemic is wreaking havoc on the performing arts world, but from June 17 to June 28 the Teatros del Canal went forward with the 35 th Madrid Dance Festival. Six recently made full-length works, created and performed by Spanish … » Read

Despite its impact on live performances, the COVID-19 crisis has failed to stem the tide of new recordings, and especially new recordings of new music. As this latest crop proves, new music is hardly the sole province of the young. From George … » Read

What a difference six weeks makes. The May 3 Bang on a Can online marathon was a generally consoling event, reflective, but full of hope for some kind of return to normality. Since then a lot has happened, little of it hopeful, which at times … » Read

See also, Part I. Sybarite5 (Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass) is a standout among groovier new music ensembles. Its latest disc, Live from New York , is a diverse … » Read

VIENNA – As Joni Mitchell wrote, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” This made the surprise reopening of Vienna’s wondrous Musikverein for three weeks in … » Read

While COVID-19 continues to stamp out the prospects of live performance—at least in the U.S.—it’s never been a better time to listen to recordings. To judge from the contents of my download folder, new American music is still … » Read

No one could have predicted the value of A New Century , the latest recording from the Cleveland Orchestra and the first release on its new in-house label. Conceived as the kickoff to a new, post-centennial era under Music Director Franz … » Read

These are banner times for opera online , but viewers would do well to check out BR Klassic’s new Die Walküre (four CDs) with Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (which follows their Das Rheingold from 2015). The … » Read