Jonathan Blumhofer
At least waiting for Andris Nelsons to take over the orchestra is done. And we don’t have to bide too much time before we get to hear more from him: his first subscription series with the BSO kicks off on Wednesday.
Nothing, until the very end of the opera, is ever settled or, even, as it seems: this is psychological musical drama writ large and graphically.
Worcester Chamber Music Society is a top-notch chamber ensemble based in central Massachusetts, a region not exactly overflowing with resident, headline-grabbing professional classical music groups.
Camerata Pacifica does right by John Harbison. And when it comes to Beethoven’s music for cello and piano, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov are tops.
Things are going well with Monadnock Music: before Saturday’s concert kicked off, managing director Christopher Sink announced that the festival had cleared its financial debts as it heads into next year’s 50th anniversary season.
For those who got to know the Discovery Ensemble over its truncated life, this was a vital ensemble, one that regularly embodied all that’s good about classical music.
What’s clear is that something needs to give and, after nearly thirty-five years of labor-management harmony, it’s apparent that the Met’s problems start at the top.
To judge from the BSO’s responsive playing and the audience’s enthusiastic responses, director-designate Andris Nelsons can’t do much wrong these days. Of course, a decade ago, neither could James Levine.
Opera Commentary: The Mess at the Met — … curtain!
On the surface, this is a deal that lets both sides go forward having saved face, though a closer look at things suggests that the musicians came out ahead.
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