A job interview in music form? Skillful interplay among the instruments and the contrasting moods of the responses show once again a sensibility deeply rooted in the human.
Read More »Jon Sobel
Opera / Theater Review: Mannes Opera – ‘The Silent Serenade,’ Erich Korngold Operetta in U.S. Premiere
How often does a student opera company get to stage the U.S. premiere of a work by a major 20th-century composer? Mannes Opera has done just that with Erich Wolfgang Korngold's 'The Silent Serenade'
Read More »Words and Music: Two Sides of Patrice Michaels
Ginsburg and Scalia weren't the only music-loving Justices. In a previously unreleased song, Michaels adapted and set the text of a letter from Justice David H. Souter praising a classical album.
Read More »Theater Review (NYC): ‘You Got Older’ by Clare Barron – Alia Shawkat Shines Darkly in Theatrical Stage Debut
Shawkat's performance is warm and gutsy, powerful and generous, impressive on its own terms and even more so as a stage debut.
Read More »Concert Review: Akshara Music Ensemble
Percussionist Bala Skandan's arrangements, performed by his fluid cast of musicians, mingle classical ragas with elements of Western music to create a decidedly unique listening experience.
Read More »Music Review: Ken Ueno – ‘Wavelengths,’ a Percussion Collection
Ueno's percussion music reminds us that as long as there's a musician and a listener, there is real physical interplay between the the sound and the auditor's biology.
Read More »Concert Review: Voices of Ascension – Monteverdi, ‘Vespers of 1610’
The full choir filled the large church with waves of glorious sound, especially in the psalm settings with their complex choral writing and in the finale, a massive "Magnificat."
Read More »Concert Review: Modus Operandi Orchestra Performs Brahms and Burckardt (March 3, 2026)
The finale of Brahms' Symphony No. 4 teemed with extravagant passion and boasted a remarkably beautiful flute solo.
Read More »Music Review: Ensemble Dal Niente Performs Music by George Lewis, Carola Bauckholt, Igor Santos on ‘portrait RE/Flux/Pacific Time’
This bold new collection showcases music from a relative newcomer side-by-side with recent compositions by long-established contemporary composers.
Read More »Exclusive Interview: Composer Elliot Goldenthal on American Ballet Theatre’s Revival of Lar Lubovitch’s ‘Othello’
Once Goldenthal had completed the music for a scene, he and Lubavitch continued their dialogue as the choreographer worked with the dancers, refining the dance in the studio...
Read More »
Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment