VIENNA – This is a city awash in the Beethoven anniversary. No surprise there, since he lived in 60 locations in the area during his last 35 years and composed some of his biggest works for local music institutions, all nine symphonies … » Read

At first glance, the New York Philharmonic’s program on February 20, conducted by music director Jaap van Zweden looked unusual: A group of contemporary songs, including two by Icelandic singer Björk, sung by Renée Fleming … » Read

When the local critic advises that the best way to experience Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades at Chicago’s Civic Opera House is “simply to close your eyes and listen, for the music-making hardly could have sounded … » Read

There seems to be nothing that the dancers of Companhia De Dança Deborah Colker can’t do. And nothing that Deborah Colker, the artistic director and choreographer behind the Brazilian company, doesn’t ask of them. Though only … » Read

LONDON—Two words caught my ear as the London Coliseum emptied on February 12. “Death wish.” I don’t know who uttered them but it’s pretty clear they were aimed at English National Opera rather than any of the … » Read

The beauty of attending a complete cycle of the Beethoven string quartets is the chance to go on a journey, experiencing “a complete life in music,” as the Danish String Quartet puts it in its lively program note. From February 7-18, … » Read

Forget Beethoven’s 250th birthday, this year’s most inspirational anniversary is the centenary of the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment (“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by … » Read

LOS ANGELES – Even for an organization that routinely shoots for the new and unusual, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2017 Reykjavik Festival was really out there, a gamble that music from remote Iceland would find an audience in … » Read

Caroline Shaw won the Pulitzer Prize in Music Composition in 2013, the youngest person to do so. The winning work, Partita, written for the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, of which she is a member, displays a plethora of musical styles, ranging … » Read

With its scheming politicos, sexual shenanigans, and an air of jaded amorality, Handel’s Agrippina is the perfect opera to hold a mirror up to our own times. It’s not surprising then that Sir David McVicar chose a contemporary … » Read