When I studied with Philippe Leroux in Paris, he said to me once that he knows three Israeli young composers (who have been in his class), and he finds it weird that we do not have a common musical language. At this time his observation sounded very weird to me - why should we have a common musical language just because we are Israelis? Leroux’s question makes a lot of sense when one is looking at a French composer (or maybe any European composer), since the long tradition of the French culture can be easily observed in different schools throughout history and even with younger composers today. Since Israel is a new country, with immigrants coming from everywhere (mainly Europe and north Africa), the musical identity of composers is definitely less clear, and was completely obscure to me at the point Leroux mentioned his observation.

The world of digital concerts is now a “thing”. Who would have ever thought that this form of consumption would be necessary. But about a year later, we all know why. Watching performances on a screen—no matter the size—might be something you’ve found taxing this past year. You’re not alone. However, just like other things in life, there are “blessings in disguise”. And likewise, in classical music, digital concerts have become the lifeblood of our time that has uniquely given access to “high art” unlike anytime in history.

The following are the program notes for Schubert III: Winterreise, available now on the Brooklyn Art Song Society Digital Concert Hall.

Mr. Alejo and Ms. Happel Ashe form the ensemble River Town Duo.

In winter 2018, I was developing a conference proposal when a former oboe student Carly Gordon visited me. Carly is a wonderful musician, entrepreneur, and activist, devoted to equity, diversity, and social justice. As we talked, it dawned on us she and I should do a joint presentation for the conference, focused on diversity in recital programming. She would write a paper explaining the history of white male hegemony in classical music, and the specific obstacles marginalizing music by underrepresented composers. I would gather a collection of works for English horn alone, and interpolate performances of the music with her PowerPoint talk.

I’m thrilled to see some of the top orchestras in the U.S. finally announce their socially-distanced plans for the 20-21 season! “It’s been a tumultuous year” is one of the greatest understatements ever, so anyone in the arts and live entertainment industries who has come up with a plan to successfully pivot is to be applauded. This month, I recently perused various news releases coming out of storied institutions and saw a shocking disparity between some who were able to really move forward with a fall season, but some who could not for a plethora of reasons. As I want to see what’s working and evaluate how these ideas can be implemented for current clients, I’ve selected three of the major U.S. A-list orchestras who seemingly have figured out a way forward this fall despite in-person restrictions. Here’s how The Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and LA Phil are pivoting.

My new album Désordre (New Focus Recordings: FCR 269) features music by the Hungarian composer György Ligeti and includes the first two books of his piano études along with his horn trio. The recording comes over twenty years after I first became familiar with his piano music.

In the last year, several prominent artists released albums highlighting their life-long journeys through an endlessly vast musical literature. Deutsche Grammophon released its long-awaited first solo album of acclaimed pianist Sergei Babayan, coinciding with the release of a duo album with his superstar student Daniil Trifonov. Two younger artists also made news this year. Pianist Jonathan Biss released his final volume of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas, and pianist Adam Golka is soon to release his first volume of the same monumental cycle. In the orchestral world, the San Francisco Symphony provided MTT’s Keeping Score to virtual audiences free of charge during the closing of concert halls worldwide. The Tetzlaff Quartet’s new Beethoven album was also released on the Ondine label to great critical acclaim.

21st-century audiences reap enormous benefits of current technology when it comes to recordings, and never more so as during the COVID-19 pandemic, when public concerts have been shelved for safety concerns. Modern audiences also enjoy nearly limitless access to recordings from decades and even a century ago through YouTube, Spotify, and various archival projects, such as those of Allan Evans for Arbiter Records and Ward Marston for Marston Records. Over a hundred years of technological advances have created a world of difference in recording quality, yet today’s musicians are still encouraged to explore the mesmerizing performances of Cortot, Kreisler, and Casals, and even earlier performers such as Rachmaninoff, Leschetizky, and Toscanini. Beneficiaries of modern recording technology may very well ask, why ought one to listen to historical recordings with seemingly shoddy audio quality, narrow or distorted sound, and less accurate playing?

Times of crisis call for radical action. Clearly we can all agree we’re in a state of emergency as a global society, but specifically in the arts and live entertainment. As we’re already months into the problem, there are not many concrete answers. As the situation prolongs, we wait patiently for a recovery to “the good old days” of attending live concerts and events in-person. This is anxiously anticipated, obviously, but it does seem short-sighted from what I’ve seen and heard working within this space.

April, 2020: It’s a few weeks into quarantine, and the music students are getting restless. While most other college programs continued virtually after the sweeping March shutdown, conservatories cut their semesters short and canceled all remaining rehearsals and performances, citing the infeasibility of conducting them online. I felt as though I had been unceremoniously plucked from my life of rehearsing string quartets and memorizing concertos and thrust into a vacuum. Mere weeks from the end of my graduate degree, my already-uncertain future was now on indefinite hold, and it seemed like my life in music would never look the way I expected.

Unsurprisingly, the first months of the much-anticipated “Beethoven 250” year have already seen several new releases of the string quartets. One standout is the Tetzlaff Quartet’s contribution, which highlights two major works (Op. 132 and Op. 130, with the “Grosse Fuge”) and—as we have come to expect from this formidable group through a patiently growing discography of thoughtful performances—features probing readings that take the artists out of the spotlight, foreground the music’s dynamism, and let these idiosyncratic, philosophical masterpieces stand front and center.

Like those of most musicians, my career is a jerry-rigged jigsaw puzzle. Like for so many of us, key pieces of that puzzle involve adjunct teaching at the university level. As a somewhat extreme case, I’ve been juggling four part-time, non-tenure track posts this past academic year – at the conservatory of a private liberal arts school (a rather under-recognized gem), and on three different campuses of the University of California system.

For composers, the process of being hired to score television and film projects has seemed elusive since the dawn of the movie business. Many successful composers may brush off their success to luck, but it’s about preparation and knowing the professional etiquette of scoring for TV & Film.

Lorenzo Wolff is a professional listener. After many years as a touring musician he’s settled down to lend his ears to everyone from Randy Newman to Ricky Martin at Restoration Sound, his recording studio based in Brooklyn, NY. At this moment when artists are contemplating future recording projects, Classical Post asks Wolff what to bring to your Recording Session! These tips apply to composers, performers, and recording engineers.

Who is Aida Garifullina? From her childhood and musical development to her rise in the world of opera, here’s all you need to know about the stunning Russian soprano.

Wei-Luo is a 20-year-old pianist who has been making waves since she was just 13. We’re always excited by young artists who are charting new paths in classical music, and Luo is one of them. She was the recipient of the 2018 Gilmore Young Artist Award, and in her most recent achievement, Luo performed at the Gilmore Festival in January as part of their Rising Stars series.

Anderson & Roe are the duo you didn’t know you needed — but now can’t live without. The San Francisco Classical voice called them "the most dynamic duo of this generation,” and the Miami Herald deemed them “rock stars of the classical music world.” 

Khatia Buniatishvili is a French-Georgian concert pianist who started playing the piano when she was just three years old. She’s a natural born talent who gave her first concert with Tbilisi Chamber Orchestra when she was six — the age when most kids are just learning to read! 

Opera singer Larisa Martinez made both her Kennedy Center debut at the inaugural REACH festival and her Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium debut in 2019. For the last two years, Larisa has been touring with Andrea Bocelli throughout North America including Madison Square Garden, South America, and Europe. Here are three reasons that we love Larisa — in addition to her incredible talent.