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
In a much-hyped event, accompanied by theatrical lighting, live entertainment, and an prize fight-style introduction by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gustavo Dudamel took to the stage of Geffen Hall last night with
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
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
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
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
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
“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
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
