

Zachary Woolfe
Posts
An Opera About Harvey Milk Finally Finds Itself
The composer Stewart Wallace has overhauled his 1990s score and says “the music is freer now, and more organic, and yet completely recognizable.”
The ‘Philosopher King’ of Percussion Starts His Next Chapter
Steven Schick, a renowned figure in contemporary music, had nearly burned out as a performer. But a new recording project shows he’s hardly finished.
In Cleveland, Schubert Outsings Even the Mighty ‘Otello’
After playing Schubert’s Ninth Symphony just before the pandemic lockdown, the Cleveland Orchestra shone in its return to the sprawling work.
Review: After 36 Years, a Malcolm X Opera Sings to the Future
Anthony Davis’s “X” has stretches of incantation that, in person, turn it into something like a sacred rite.
Review: ‘Hamlet’ Boldly Engulfs the Metropolitan Opera
Brett Dean and Matthew Jocelyn’s adaptation of the classic play is both traditional and innovative, elegant and passionate.
Review: A Cellist Accompanied by His Sister. Or Vice Versa?
Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason were true musical partners in concert at Zankel Hall.
Review: In ‘Lucia’ at the Met, a Modern Woman Comes Undone
Simon Stone’s new staging of Donizetti’s classic opera updates the work to a present-day American town — hold (some of) the madness.
Review: A Chinese Concerto and a Romantic Classic Gaze Back
The New York Philharmonic, under Long Yu, played works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Qigang Chen and Rachmaninoff at the Rose Theater.
Putin Says Tchaikovsky Is Being Canceled. The Met Opera Disagrees.
The company’s revival of “Eugene Onegin” gives the lie to the Russian president’s claim that his country’s composers are suffering in the West.
Review: The Philharmonic’s Conductor Returns to His Perch
Jaap van Zweden led the orchestra after seven weeks away in works by Julia Perry, Shostakovich and Beethoven.