On Friday night, when most New Yorkers were heading to their local sports bar to watch the NBA Finals (Go Knicks!), I was finding my seat at Carnegie Hall. For […]
Lise Davidsen Sings Schubert Songs with James Baillieu at Carnegie Hall Read Post »
In what’s become an annual tradition, the Danish String Quartet returned to Zankel Hall Friday night with their annual April recital. Except, this was hardly a recital by any standard
The Danish String Quartet with the Danish National Girls Choir at Zankel Hall Read Post »
After a couple of weeks out of town, I was back at Carnegie Hall last night to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra play a sold out concert with their principal guest conductor,
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 Vienna Philharmonic Returns to Carnegie Hall with Andris Nelsons Read Post »
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
An American Cacophony: Tom Service on Trump’s MAGA Orchestra Read Post »
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
Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer Triumph with Mahler 3 at Carnegie Hall Read Post »
When you live in New York, where we’re spoiled by a never-ending stream of visiting international orchestras, not to mention our very own world-class orchestra, it’s easy to forget that
This January, my musical cup runneth over. Just one day after hearing The Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst dismantle symphonies by Mozart (41) and Shostakovich (11), I was back at
Identity is an elusive quality among today’s symphony orchestras. Whereas orchestras were once home-grown, populated by players largely from within their own borders, today they have become global ensembles, drawing
The Prague Philharmonia Bring Their Music – and Musicianship – to Carnegie Hall Read Post »
