Arguably the least musical US national anthem

Message from a frustrated reader: Dear Mr Lebrecht, I recently created a small concert series with my sister, Harriet Mackenzie (https://harrietmackenzie.com/) presenting some legendary pieces of classical repertoire. In order to promote our series we […]

The Cleveland Institute of Music is doing all it can to stop unhappy staffers from joining a union. It’s getting heated out there. First up is board member Bonnie Cook: Next, here’s a round-robin letter […]

Richard Wagner’s only comic opera had a long gestation. Summer 1845: drawing on the History of German Literature as well as the biography of poet and shoemaker Hans Sachs, the composer sketches out ideas for a satirical […]