Tuesday , July 28 2026

Jon Sobel

Jon Sobel is Publisher and Executive Editor of Blogcritics as well as lead editor of the Culture & Society section. As a writer he contributes most often to our Music section, where he covers classical music (old and new) and other genres, and to Culture, where he reviews NYC theater. Through Oren Hope Marketing and Copywriting at http://www.orenhope.com/ you can hire him to write or edit whatever marketing or journalistic materials your heart desires. Jon also writes the blog Park Odyssey at http://parkodyssey.blogspot.com/ where he is on a mission to visit every park in New York City. He has also been a part-time working musician, including as lead singer, songwriter, and bass player for Whisperado.

Theater Review (NYC): ‘Dimension Zero,’ a Riotous Anti-Capitalist Puppet Musical

Dimension Zero

Spiky and overflowing, 'Dimension Zero' whips its traditions and influences into a cheeky gumbo, its earnest anti-capitalist message wrapped in cosmic-psychedelic paraphernalia and unstoppable hijinks.

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Concert Review: Modus Operandi Orchestra, Violinist Chloé Kiffer, and Mozart (October 15, 2025)

Violinist Chloé Kiffer's rich-toned, elegant, note-perfect playing took Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 to a high level rivaling the weightiness of his final two symphonies at MOO's latest NYC concert.

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Review: ‘The Mutables’ Wields Technology to Mix Dance, Theater, Opera

The Mutables

This hard-to-categorize show employs an innovative technology called the "BodyMouth" in a dance-theater-opera performance that references mythological female forest creatures from Balkan folklore, commenting on the othering and suppression of women and the female voice.

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Concert Review: Parlando Chamber Orchestra – Can Art Make You a Better Person? Music of Strauss, Mendelssohn, Schreker

Ian Neiderhoffer and Parlando

Can art make you a better person? Ian Niederhoffer and his chamber orchestra Parlando posed the question thoughtfully at the ensemble's season-opening concert.

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Interview: Heartbeat Opera’s Dan Schlosberg and Jacob Ashworth on Heartbeat’s Past, Present, Future—and Halloween Drag Show!

Rodolfo Giron, Bernard Holcomb, Angela Yam, Hans Tashjian in Heartbeat Opera production 'Slaylem,' costumes by David Quinn

"We couldn't do this show in some places. Even opera, with some people not wanting to perform 'The Marriage of Figaro!'…But we're thankful that we're here in New York and for the moment we're able to do this in its full glory."

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Concert Review: New York Festival of Song—’The Color of Where You Can Never Go,’ Curated by Nathaniel LaNasa

Rubin Museum of Art spiral staircase

Pianist Nathaniel LaNasa curated a thought-provoking and entertaining set of art songs on the theme of things that are out of reach.

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An International Mosaic: 28th Beijing Music Festival Links Classical and Contemporary, China and the West, October 10–24, 2025

Beijing Music Festival 2025

Every fall the BMF brings together China's top rising talent with world-class musicians from across the globe.

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