Schenk’s 2023 Met production of Tannhäuser showcased a thrilling contest of skill among singers, with each performer elevating the others. Andreas Schager (Tannhäuser) ranged from joy to despair; Christian Gerhaher (Wolfram) conveyed elegance and warmth; Ekaterina Gubanova (Venus) thrilled with her voluptuous tone; Elza van den Heever (Elisabeth) impressed with luminous, effortless singing. Donald Runnicles led the orchestra with color and clarity. The Pilgrims’ Chorus was overwhelming, leaving a lasting impression.
Read MoreHe was considered a classical music concert pianist, but just a contemporary artist to me. His live art would fundamentally change New York's commercial art scene, but it was taken place at Carnegie Hall on 12.12.2023.
Hammerklavier sounded like paint being thrown onto a huge canvas.
It was a sound installation that blew away my knowledge and experience.
"Finger is heart", he said in this interview. What I saw was like his spirit through Steinway.
Read MoreFresh Bruckner 8th by Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by Donald Runnicles. So precious to have their discovery and sensation together under amazing the maestro’s navigation.
Juilliard Orchestra
Donald Runnicles, Conductor
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 in C Minor
Read MoreOn a December Friday night in a Manhattan church basement, Andrew Ousley curated The Crypt Session, an intimate concert for 40–50 attendees. The program included David Lang’s Four Voces and Minimized Effective Instruments and The Little Match Girl Passion. Every detail of the performance, from the acoustics of the curved stone space to the musicians’ preparation, created a deeply immersive experience, connecting centuries of Western musical development and delivering an unparalleled, profoundly moving sound.
Read MoreBrahms’s music, with its “subtle symmetries,” blends Bach’s structure, Beethoven’s dynamism, Schubert’s lyricism, Schumann’s romanticism, and German folk influences, while reflecting the modernity of Wagner and Strauss and admiration for Baroque composers. At Carnegie Hall, the Staatskapelle Berlin under Yannick Nézet-Séguin performed all Brahms symphonies, offering a rare view of his complete vision. Combining dark sonorities with sensuous brilliance, Brahms’s works—admired even by Schoenberg—came vividly to life through virtuosic solos, choral brass, and delicate wind blends, testifying to both his humanity and the shared artistry of musicians and audience.
Read MoreAt András Schiff’s Carnegie Hall recital, given without a program, the atmosphere felt intimate, almost like being at home with the pianist. He spoke and played with remarkable presence, his Bach sounding spontaneous, as if the composer himself were improvising. This sense of immediacy shone in his Mendelssohn and Haydn, where he shaped each line with clarity and boldness, letting the music’s narrative emerge effortlessly and resonating with listeners of all tastes.
Read MoreIn her performance, the dynamics of her mentor Barenboim and the clarity of Schiff seemed to merge, while her own extraordinary humanity shone through, projecting a unique vision across the works. The depth of sound and harmonic richness she created was remarkable—not from volume or technical display, but from her profound connection to the music. From Beethoven’s Pastoral to Haydn’s tremolos and Alkan’s Piano Symphony, every passage revealed her insight and curiosity, bringing the Steinway at Weill Recital Hall to life in a way that felt both intimate and monumental.
Read MoreThe clip begins with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto, featuring a “scherzo-like” interlude from Belgian soprano Désirée Artôt’s repertoire, highlighting Vinnitskaya’s emphasis on singing. In Boston, her performance conveyed a rhapsodic, selfless freedom. For the encore, she played Rachmaninoff’s Étude-tableau Op. 39, No. 5 as an eruptive inner monologue, reminiscent of Sergei Babayan’s New York recital, whose playing has been praised for its unmatched touch, phrasing, and virtuosity. The reviewer felt personally moved by Vinnitskaya’s passion.
Read MoreMallwitz’s performance of Schubert captivates with its vibrant energy and masterful structure. In the Fourth Movement of the Ninth Symphony, strings and brass gradually intertwine, building into a massive wave of sound that fully realizes the work’s emotional scope. The lyrical melodies, sudden orchestral outbursts, the Allegro non troppo’s relentless energy, and unexpected harmonic shifts highlight the symphony’s dynamic contrasts. Mallwitz’s positive, lively interpretation vividly brings out Schubert’s free musical spirit, guiding the listener to the work’s exhilarating heights.
Read MoreSergei Babayan impressed at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall with meticulously controlled, emotionally rich performances of Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Ryabov’s Fantasia. His Schumann Kreisleriana reshaped structure with improvisatory freedom, yet he avoided late-Romantic clichés, balancing turbulent passages with expressive design and slow sections with glittering, melancholic lyricism. Hailed for his emotional intensity, tonal color, and virtuosity, Babayan has been called “a genius” by Le Devoir and praised by Le Figaro for his unmatched touch and phrasing.
Read MoreLeif Ove Andsnes, familiar with Dvořák since childhood, explored the composer’s nuanced cycle during the pandemic, balancing spiritual pieces like In the Old Castle with everyday sketches such as Toying. At Carnegie Hall, his recital ranged from folk-like melodies to Vustin’s Lamento, where shifting harmonies and restrained outbursts conveyed deep emotion, leading into Janáček’s 1.X.1905 “From the Street”, a mournful tribute to a young Czech worker. Silvestrov’s serene work followed as a plea for beauty. Throughout, Andsnes masterfully shaped Dvořák’s Poetic Tone Pictures, revealing both subtlety and lyrical brilliance.
Read MoreMirga Gražinyte-Tyla, though small in stature, commands the podium with sweeping, expressive gestures that seem to reach every musician, as if embracing the music itself. Her calm presence lets the music flow like a purposeful river, leaving quiet awe in its wake. In Debussy, the play of waves and the dialogue of wind and sea took on the weight of climate change, culminating in a strikingly powerful final climax where a force-of-nature conductor met Mother Nature herself.
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