The Classical Review

Roll over Vivaldi? Daniel Hope to perform a retooled “Four Seasons” at Ravinia

Lawrence A. Johnson — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:17:55 +0000

When Max Richter was a child, he loved Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. But with time and and familiarity, that initial thrill faded as he [...]

Boston Early Music Festival’s Charpentier makes for memorable evening in Rockport

Lawrence A. Johnson — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:12:21 +0000

For the first time in its 32-year history, opera has graced the stage of the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. The Boston Early Music Festival [...]

Kalmar, Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus spark a genuine storm in festival opener

Lawrence A. Johnson — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 20:48:35 +0000

The cancellation of the Grant Park Music Festival’s season-opening concert Wednesday night was a disappointment for all. Especially irksome was the fact that the [...]

The Wagnerian past is prologue with Muti’s compelling CSO program

Lawrence A. Johnson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:03:55 +0000

For his penultimate Chicago Symphony Orchestra week of the season, Riccardo Muti has fashioned a generous and offbeat Austro-German program, beginning with Wagner’s end [...]

Adamo’s new “Mary Magdalene” opera won’t take traditional Jesus story as gospel

Lawrence A. Johnson — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:05:06 +0000

The women in the life of Jesus Christ have been receiving a lot of attention lately. This spring Broadway saw a short-lived run of [...]

Hugo Kauder’s “Merlin” receives its belated world premiere in New Haven

Lawrence A. Johnson — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:26:31 +0000

His students remembered him as a polymath and consummate pedagogue. Lessons with Hugo Kauder, one of his American pupils recalled, lasted three hours and [...]

Muti returns to Chicago Symphony with rare Martinů and sensual Scriabin

Lawrence A. Johnson — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:53:38 +0000

While Riccardo Muti elicits first-class results in Verdi and Austro-German cornerstone works, it is often in less frequently encountered repertory where the Chicago Symphony [...]

Pianist Ott shows dazzle and depth in Chicago recital debut

Lawrence A. Johnson — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:43:16 +0000

Twenty-four-year-old Alice Sara Ott is not yet a familiar name even among keyboard aficionados, at least in the United States, but that is likely [...]

Compelling premiere shines a modern light on Persian poet at Boston’s Guerilla Opera

Lawrence A. Johnson — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:32:55 +0000

Rumi seemed to have it all. Son of a well-to-do Persian theologian and mystic, he would go on to become, by the mid-thirteenth century, [...]

Florida Grand Opera swaps “Thaïs” for “Tristan,” announces casting for season

Lawrence A. Johnson — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:53:26 +0000

If you live in Miami and were anticipating your first Wagner opera in many years, you’re going to have to be patient just a [...]