classical

The home of Italian opera has renewed its music director’s contract, but only until the end of next year. Riccardo Chailly, 72, has been in charge since 2017 but has suffered bouts of ill-health. The […]

From my monthly essay in The Critic: Twice in the last century, Russia stood on the brink of world dominance. Specifically in music, but in other fields as well. Here’s roughly what happened…. Read on […]

The Salle Gaveau is putting on Liszt’s version of the choral symphony on May 14, accompanied by two pianists. We’re tempted. The pianists are Hélène Mercier and Louis Lortie. The chorus of the Orchestre de […]

Kirill Serebrennikov’s new production of Mozart’s #Metoo hero at Berlin’s Komische Oper suggests that the Don makes a play for both sexes. It also follows him into hell with a section of Mozart’s unfinished Requiem. […]

The latest gimmickry at London’s South Bank Centre is arousing audience discontent. The symphonies affected were by Shostakovich and Mahler. Here’s a letter sent by one unhappy patron to those complicit and responsible. Let us […]

The conductor, who is suffering from the recurrence of a brain tumour, took his final bow on Sunday with the San Francisco Symphony that he led for half of his 51-year podium career. From the […]

Duke Ellington   We talked last week about the great Duke Ellington and his work with the equally great Ella Fitzgerald, whose birthday it was, without my noticing that this week is the 186th birthday of […]

The board of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Italy’s second most importnat opera house, has named Elisabetta Riva as the new Sovrintendente, starting immediately. Riva, 52, has been director for the past ten years of […]

Message received (and see the bottom line): Press Release (WASHINGTON)—The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is excited to announce a new concert titled Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony. This remarkable program, scheduled for June 26 and […]

Here, exclusively, is this week’s Apple Classical’s global streaming chart. The #1 and two other entries are by JS Bach: 1 J. S. Bach: Mass in B Minor,          Raphaël Pichon, Pygmalion, […]