LONDON--The London Philharmonic Orchestra has an enviable track record when it comes to Elgar’s First Symphony. In the 1960s and 70s, LPO recorded it twice under Principal Conductor Sir Adrian Boult, and in 1975 did so again under his … » Read

The current season marks the final one for the Emerson String Quartet . Founded in 1976 by two Juilliard graduates—violinists Philip Setzer and Eugene Drucker—the foursome, which also includes Lawrence Dutton (a member from 1977) and … » Read

Any orchestral concert depends for its success on the equal collaboration among musicians, conductor, and, especially for new works, the composer. Absent such a partnership, writes Joshua Kosman in the San Francisco Chronicle , “sorrowful … » Read

It seems odd to speak of a composer’s “late style” when the composer, Franz Schubert, died at 31. But the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) made the case convincingly at the opening of its “Winter Festival: The … » Read

A Jan. 19 concert by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with violinist Pinchas Zukerman as both conductor and soloist, left critic Scott Cantrell feeling that the ensemble “lacked its usual focus and cohesiveness.” Zukerman is well-known … » Read

Alban Berg as Franz Schubert's musical grandson? That idea of a kinship between two Viennese composers who lived a century apart—proposed in a program note by Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst—began to make … » Read

As the Metropolitan Opera struggles to redefine itself, the company reached back nearly a half century on Sunday afternoon to John Dexter’s classic production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. Though last revived just four … » Read

Suicide-prevention warnings are now common in many quarters—even, apparently, opera.  David Lang’s note to a friend premiered at the Prototype Festival, Jan. 12-15 (I attended the final performance) with one: “This … » Read

LONDON--Last year, the Irish National Opera (INO) production of Vivaldi’s Bajazet —the first opera by the Venetian composer to be staged at London’s Royal Opera House—won them multiple awards. This year, the same … » Read

In The Beloved Vision: A History of Nineteenth Century Music , Stephen Walsh has written a clear and insightful history of Romanticism in music. The author, an emeritus professor at Cardiff University, frames his study with what historians call … » Read