OJAI, CA—Since the 1980s, the Ojai Festival has had a different music director every year, with only the artistic director remaining in place year-round (currently it’s Ara Guzelimian). As a result there have been wide swings in … » Read

Once the rock star of the avant-garde, the blonde, charismatic Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) has been fading toward invisibility in the U.S. The Park Avenue Amory's presentation of Inside Light, taken from the composer's gargantuan cycle of … » Read

On June 7 in David Geffen Hall, Jaap van Zweden conducted the second of three performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 ( Resurrection ), his swansong as music director of the New York Philharmonic. (He conducts the orchestra again presently … » Read

SAN FRANCSICO—With the downstage platform of Davies Hall cleared for the Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancers in the first half of the program and a Peter Sellars-directed monodrama in the second, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen appeared to be … » Read

LONDON—When reviewing live music it helps to witness a performance from a good seat. This, dear reader, is not because journalists somehow deserve the best, but because you do. A critic's primary task is to serve as your eyes and ears: to … » Read

In past seasons, Spoleto Festival USA has mounted a mix of new and old operas, many of them critically praised and several new ones performed around the country. The 2024 edition of the festival offered only one premiere— Ruinous Gods by … » Read

Last week, Talea Ensemble celebrated 15 seasons with two programs at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on the Upper West Side. Among a number of estimable new music ensembles in the city, Talea is one of the best. It has also commissioned a … » Read

LONDON—Of the English country garden festivals that have proliferated in recent years, only one has given Glyndebourne a run for its money. Garsington Opera boasts an award-winning Perspex pavilion that nestles in the verdant surroundings … » Read

With a program on Thursday evening (May 30) consisting of three concertos from three different centuries, the New York Philharmonic reached the midpoint of its final concerts under Music Director Jaap van Zweden, who steps down at the end of the … » Read

Anyone who thinks classical music concerts are stuffy homages to outdated traditions has never seen (and heard) Yuja Wang perform. The 37-year-old superstar has established herself, writes Alex Ross in The New Yorker , as a player who … » Read