One of the most felicitous results of the classical music world’s push to expand the repertoire has been the rediscovery of long-forgotten composers such as Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint George. Born the son of a French planter and an … » Read

LONDON—Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar, make odd bedfellows. One is all positivity and light, the other abounds in irony and gloom. But if the two works sat a little awkwardly on this … » Read

LOS ANGELES--Now 86-years-young, Steve Reich has spent his ninth decade breaking out of some long-established comfort zones, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a crucial partner. He wrote his first orchestral work in 30 years, Music for … » Read

CHICAGO—Even in this lively arts town, for two principal opera companies to unveil world premieres over the same weekend is unprecedented. On March 24, Lyric Opera of Chicago premiered Proximit y , a megawatt, mixed-up triptych of new … » Read

The legacy of the late composer/conductor Pierre Boulez lives on, most notably through the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the esteemed new-music chamber group he founded in 1976. It arrived at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall on March 25 with a concert … » Read

Like pre-draft NFL quarterbacks jumping from team to team, conductors on the music directorship carousel elicit much speculation. Take Susanna Mälkki, for instance. She’s much admired, especially as a deeply experienced middle-aged … » Read

LONDON— Things to Come , H.G. Wells’s vision of global warfare and dream of mankind’s quest for the stars, is a remarkable thing. Realized as a 1936 black and white movie by producer Alexander Korda, with a blisteringly dramatic … » Read

CHICAGO—Leave it to Yuval Sharon + to make Lyric Opera of Chicago’s most daring project in decades even more daring. Four years ago, Renée Fleming, the company’s then-creative consultant, assigned three … » Read

When the Greek debt crisis of 2015 unleashed economic turmoil in that country, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation ploughed on with building its plush Cultural Center near Athens's port. Greek National Opera (GNO) relocated to the complex two years … » Read

LONDON—It’s a confident company that programs Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt , a work calling for vast orchestral forces and singers with the stamina of oxen. English National Opera may have its ongoing funding woes, … » Read