Two new recordings and one much-welcome re-release contain first-rate performances of Haydn’s 1798 “Lord Nelson” Mass, Dello Joio’s opera about Joan of Arc, and Virgil Thomson’s astonishing musical portraits of Alice B. Toklas, Picasso, and others.
Handel and Haydn Society
Classical Music Concert: Handel and Haydn Society Does Bach Right
It’s hard to sit through these six masterpieces and not feel, for the moment, that life is really good.
Commentary: 2017-18 Orchestral, Opera, and New Music Season Preview
Some institutions’ offerings aren’t as challenging as they could be, but there’s a healthy balance between the familiar and new.
Concert Review: Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 — Exhilaratingly Performed
The fiery excellence of Handel and Haydn Society’s collective effort made Monteverdi’s epic masterpiece sparkle like a star.
Music Commentary/Preview: 2016 Fall Orchestral Season Overview
In the six years I’ve now been reviewing for the Fuse, I can honestly say that the 2016-17 season looks to be one of the liveliest in recent memory.
Fuse Commentary: 2016 Orchestral Winter/Spring Season Preview
The upcoming season is a remarkably robust one in terms of the variety of offerings and the quality (and number) of participating ensembles.
Classical Music Commentary: 2015-16 Orchestral Fall Season Preview
It looks to be as rich, intense, and, hopefully, rewarding a season as we’ve seen in recent memory.
Classical Music Season Preview 2014-2015: Adhering to the Safe, With Exceptions
There’s a powerful attachment to conventional repertoire among the city’s many orchestras, through are there things to look forward to. Here is a guide to what’s coming up.
Concert Review: Aisslinn Nosky and the Handel and Haydn Society/Harry Christophers
Handel and Haydn artistic director Harry Christophers placed a composer who is familiar, but not always the focus of attention, front and center, and, in the process, reminded us just how good a musician Haydn was.
Concert Review: Handel and Haydn Society/Bernard Labadie at Symphony Hall
Handel & Haydn Society captured all of this and then some with a vigorous, focused performance that was a marvel of controlled fury.