Gustavo Dudamel’s appearances with the New York Philharmonic this season, apart from its Spring Gala and Concerts in the Parks series, amount to three subscription programs. Of these, the main event for those seeking insights into what a … » Read

LEIPZIG, Germany—When Dmitri Shostakovich died in 1975, the world lost one of the last composers whose work regularly touched the souls of listeners beyond the usual classical music crowd. Fifty years on, that is reason enough to celebrate … » Read

LONDON—A nagging concern ahead of Glyndebourne’s new Parsifal arose because a decade ago the company’s current artistic director, Stephen Langridge, staged a production for The Royal Opera that badly misread the opera. He … » Read

For flashes of Zen insight, George Balanchine’s collected sayings rival or surpass Yogi Berra’s. Did the founding choreographer of the New York City Ballet truly once propose that all ballets should be called Swan Lake because then … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO—The traditional 19 th -century view of the concerto, at least to a first approximation, pits the soloist against the orchestra in a battle of wills. Later generations, though, ginned up a variety of different dramatic … » Read

CHICHESTER, U.K.—Sixteen days after Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms got its world premiere in New York, on July 15, 1965, it reached the English cathedral city that had commissioned it. The Very Reverend Walter Hussey, Dean of … » Read

LONDON—The Bach Choir has a singularly distinguished lineage among Britain’s amateur choral societies. Founded in 1876 for the U.K. premiere of Bach’s Mass in B minor , it has had only nine music directors, including Sir Charles … » Read

John Adams’s works for the theater have typically shaded into oratorio. Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer proceed less as dramatic narratives than as vehicles for librettist Alice Goodman’s poetic musings; similarly, Doctor … » Read

LONDON—Founded in 2012, Zürich-based Il Pomo d’Oro has emerged as one of the leading period-instrument ensembles around. To judge by its healthy discography, it’s also something of a go-to for top-flight singers in the … » Read

It’s an Aix-en-Provence tradition for a major visiting ensemble to perform Bach’s sacred music on Easter Day. They usually opt for one of the great epics; however, this year Easter Festival welcomed regular visitors Les Talens … » Read