More Bellyaching in Boston over Andris Nelsons
I’ve been overseas for the past two weeks, but apparently folks are still up in arms about Andris Nelsons’ dismissal from the Boston Symphony three weeks ago. Reports are that […]
Classical
A Boston Tea Party: Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra Part Ways
I, like most people who follow classical music, was floored by the news last Friday that Andris Nelsons, music director of the Boston Symphony since 2014, was being dismissed at
The Door Less Chosen: Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla Conducts the NY Philharmonic
In his 2022 profile of the Lithuanian conductor Mirga GražinytÄ—-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
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
Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer Triumph with Mahler 3 at Carnegie Hall
Despite the prevalence of Finnish conductors at the top of today’s orchestra heap – think Esa-Pekka Salonen, Klaus Mäkelä, or Susanna Malkki, among many others – it’s easy to forget