The brash young composer Nico Muhly – much to the surprise of many but probably not to himself – turned out to be right. When his opera Dark Sisters was premiered in New York City in November, many believed the ever prolific Muhly (yes, even more prolific than his longtime employer Philip Glass) had rushed through the composition of a chamber opera about Church of Latter-Day … [Read more...] about Nico Muhly’s many opinions on polygamists, opera and idiocy.

"Beautiful pianist!" Such was the backstage verbal shorthand among Philadelphia Orchestra musicians at the Kimmel Center after Maria João Pires rehearsed May 16 for her first U.S. concert since 1999.. Replacing Maurizio Pollini, she interrupted her designated free month to play Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 both in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall in what were Charles … [Read more...] about Maria João Pires: The Buddhist warrior who won

Amid the polite veneer of the symphonic world, composer/conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen's unmediated honesty can be one of the more delightful sources of provocative wisdom. With the x-ray vision of a composer and the irreverent viewpoint of an outsider (he's Finnish), Salonen has long cut through the sanctimoniousness of serious music and says what few people could with his … [Read more...] about Esa-Pekka Salonen unedited (seriously unedited)

Great music often takes on the color of its surroundings, but Vespers does so more than most musical containers - if only because, in most cases, the music is assembled to suit the particular occasion. Claudio Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 was the big exception, something consciously composed and published as a whole entity (as opposed to something pieced together out of … [Read more...] about Tales of Two Vespers: 350 Years Apart, They Give the World What it Needs

Opera-goers are losing their theatrical innocence, at least in conservative Metropolitan Opera circles, as opera starts looking like something that actually belongs in the 21st century. Considering how innocence is a distant memory among the world's Joan Sutherland widows, you'd think they would welcome virginity in any form - even as they're losing it. If nothing else, … [Read more...] about Faust in NYC and Onegin in UK: Do productions outclass the operas?