Classical Music
A Singapore Symphony Orchestra recording of compositions by John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, and Hugo Friedhofer quietly punctures old prejudices about film composers and “serious” music.
Soprano-conductor Barbara Hannigan’s semiquincentennial album reframes familiar American classics through a lens of wistfulness, insight, and quiet defiance.
A pair of concerts at the Shalin Liu Performance Center paired elegy, bite, and virtuosity in vividly different ensemble settings.
A thoughtfully curated program uncovers surprising connections between George Gershwin and Vienna’s early 20th-century avant-garde.
With Carlos Simon’s “Four Black American Dances,” the Pittsburgh Symphony offers a thoughtful and resonant recontextualization of Dvořák’s Ninth.
Andris Nelsons and the Vienna Philharmonic deliver a polished but curiously inert reading of a symphonic powerhouse.
A fierce new cello concerto and adventurous premieres showcase the orchestra’s flair for the elemental.
Pianist Jonathan Biss and the Brentano String Quartet animated Dvořák, Haydn, and Beethoven with emotional urgency and tonal finesse.
A polished, detail-rich account of two lyrical concertos, distinguished more by clarity and refinement than by risk or fire.
Arts Commentary: The Orchestra Gap — Europe vs. the US
The widening chasm between European and American orchestras is not just a matter of polish, but of style, inheritance, and musical conviction.
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