LOS ANGELES—There are two sides to John Adams: the deep-thinking composer who dreams big and takes on weighty issues, and the self-described “trickster” who doesn’t take himself too seriously and likes to come up with … » Read

It’s always gratifying to see a good turnout for new music, and if the line snaking through security at David Geffen Hall on March 6 was anything to go by, Zhao Lin’s Concerto for Pipa, Cello and Orchestra was a highly anticipated … » Read

Now and then an artist comes along who charts unfathomable (not to mention unattainable) territory. One of these is flutist Claire Chase, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, a founder of the International Contemporary Ensemble, … » Read

William Christie and Les Arts Florissants have been welcome guests at the Brooklyn Academy of Music ever since the 1990s, when they first gave groundbreaking performances there of operatic masterpieces from the French Baroque. So it was last … » Read

Julia Wolfe has been winning acclaim of late for her socially savvy, large-scale works for orchestra and chorus—pieces like the hour-long Fire in My Mouth , premiered last month by the New York Philharmonic—so it’s good to be … » Read

An appropriate subtitle to New York City Ballet’s "New Combinations" program—William Forsythe’s Herman Schmerman (1992), Justin Peck’s Principia (2019), and Kyle Abraham’s The Runaway (2018)—might be … » Read

NEW YORK--German composer and conductor Matthias Pintscher has become a regular with the New York Philharmonic since helming one of the three orchestras required for Stockhausen’s Gruppen back in 2012. Since then, he’s led the group … » Read

LOS ANGELES--David Lang’s the loser , presented by Los Angeles Opera in its West Coast premiere February 22 and 23, works on the principle of musical mesmerization. It relies on a single voice relating its hour-long tale in the first person … » Read

Ever since the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra  dispensed with the services of its Chief Conductor Daniele Gatti following charges of sexual harassment—accusations that Gatti still denies—the media has been speculating on his … » Read

At first impression, Robert Ashley’s style of vocal writing seems tantamount to simplicity itself. Text typically unfolds on a single pitch, like the reciting tone of liturgical chant, in a continuous flow that seems undifferentiated by … » Read