Charles McPherson Quintet at Smoke
Caught a living legend last night at UWS jazz club Smoke, where alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, 86, is in residency with his veteran quintet: Steve Davis – tromboneJeb Patton –
The Door Less Chosen: Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla Conducts the NY Philharmonic
In his 2022 profile of the Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, the NY Times Joshua Barone recounted a conversation she had with the violinist and artistic director Gidon Kremer, whom she’s
The Vienna Philharmonic Returns to Carnegie Hall with Andris Nelsons
Throughout my conversation with Manfred Honeck in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago, there was one institution which seemed to loom over eveything we discussed: the Vienna Philharmonic, where Honeck
The Composer Comes First: A Conversation with Manfred Honeck
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been attending concerts at Heinz Hall for nearly 30 years, a byproduct of some longstanding personal ties I have to the Steel
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Soar with Bruckner 8 at Heinz Hall
PITTSBURGH, PA Last weekend, I attended a recording session of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Heinz Hall. Ok, that needs some clarification. After witnessing the PSO’s triumphant return to Carnegie
An American Cacophony: Tom Service on Trump’s MAGA Orchestra
Watching the absurdly-long State of the Union last night, I couldn’t help but think of this equally-absurd image of Trump conducting an orchestra of his MAGA cronies. Look closely and
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Returns to the Met
Most of today’s opera companies stage productions according to what’s known as the stagione system, where a single opera remains onstage for the duration of its run, as opposed to
New Music Dispatch: Tristan Perich at Issue Project Room and David Moore at Roulette
Having documented contemporary music in New York for the better part of two decades, I’ve had a front row seat to the evolution of several well-known musicians as they developed
What Price Glory? A Word on Music Directors
“Conducting has become the profession of a traveling salesman… A conductor has to stay put to educate an orchestra.” – William Steinberg (1899-1978) former music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony