Category: music

“Andris Nelsons, born into a family of musicians in Riga in 1978, has previously been a singer, specialising in early music, and a trumpeter in the Latvian National Orchestra. He has studied conducting privately with Mariss Jansons since 2002.”

“The sheer hugeness of the Civil War as a subject often proves overwhelming, and there are long sections in the dramatically flaccid first act where “Appomattox” simply runs aground – not only structurally, but in director Robert Woodruff’s staging, which elsewhere crackles with a sharp kinetic energy.”

Philip Glass’ new opera “Appomattox” at the San Francisco Opera is ‘a significant work,” writes David Mermelstein. “To my mind [it’s] one of the best new operas in many years, evoking the U.S. Civil War and its aftermath in complexly pleasing music and imagery.”

“The New York Philharmonic has a problem, which is that it doesn’t believe it has any problems. The accountants are content; the seats are almost full. The New York Philharmonic brand is intact, even aglow. But the New York Philharmonic exists, or should exist, to reflect today’s creative musical life and to continually reinvigorate the past. On many nights, it gives perfectionist executions, pedantically ‘great’ interpretations of certifiably great works–but not performances full of the feverish urgency that comes from an encounter with mind-altering music.”

“Slatkin’s appointment, which consummates a torrid four-month courtship, is a coup for the DSO. His musicianship promises to refocus national and international attention on the orchestra while bringing to Detroit a conductor known for his enlightened leadership beyond the podium.”

Leonard Slatkin’s appointment, “all but a certainty since midsummer, ends an unusually long search that began when Neeme Jdrvi announced his intention to step down as music director in 2005 after a popular 15-year run.”

“Mr. Gilbert is a busy guest conductor. But the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic is the only major orchestra he has directed, and a look at his tenure gives clues to how he will approach his new job, a high-profile cultural position in a world capital of classical music.”

The Miami-based New World Symphony bills itself as America’s only orchestral academy for young musicians, and stresses education as its primary mission. But in recent years, the profile of the group as a performing ensemble has been rising, helped in part by the lack of a full-time professional orchestra in Miami. “The New World inhabits a peculiar position as an educational institution that, by virtue of the extraordinary quality of its performances, has become the area’s leading classical music organization.”

Looking for classical CDs in Chicago? Good luck. “Smaller cities around the Midwest like Madison, Minneapolis and Ann Arbor boast centrally located stores” specializing in classical music, but in the Windy City, such bricks-and-mortar retailers are nearly extinct.

Toronto’s architecturally innovative and acoustically controversial Roy Thompson Hall turns 25 this year. “With the passage of years the hall’s deficiencies came to be seen – or, rather, heard – in marked contrast with pre-construction press releases promising Torontonians not just a fine hall but, rashly, the finest concert hall in the world.” A $20 million renovation helped, but debates continue to be heard over the hall, its quality, and its evolving mission.