SINCE 1999 A LIVE REVIEW SITE FOR OPERA, BALLET, CONCERTS, BROADCASTS, AND THEATRE
France Berlioz and Wagner: Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano), Michael Spyres (baritenor), Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg / John Nelson and Ludovic Morlot (conductors). Livestreamed on medici.tv (directed by Jean-Pierre Loisill) from the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès, Strasbourg, France, 26.1.2024. (JPr)
United Kingdom Debussy: Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano). Barbican Hall, London, 24.1.2024. (JC)
United Kingdom Natalia Horečná’s La Strada: ACWorkroom Ltd, Sadler’s Wells, London, 25.1.2024. (JO’D)
United States Mahler: San Francisco Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 25.1.2024. (HS)
United Kingdom Puccini, La bohème: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Evelino Pidò (conductor). Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 25.1.2024. (JPr)
Germany Schoenberg: Soloists, Berlin Radio Chorus (chorus director: Gijs Leenaars), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Kirill Petrenko (conductor). Philharmonie Berlin, 25.1.2024. (MB)
Shostakovich Festival Leipzig 2025
Shostakovich’s music has much in common with Beethoven and Mahler by sharing in their creativity the ideals of humanity, freedom and justice. It is no coincidence that Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony was composed like Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony during a time when Vienna and Leningrad were under siege. It is for the shared values of human dignity entwined in their magnificently expressive scores that more and more people are drawn to their music.
Zach Carstensen profiles conductor Kahchun Wong
Anticipation crackles in the air, thick like summer lightning before the storm breaks. A hush descends, settling over an expectant audience. Every cough or rustling program feels like a desecration. At the podium, conductor Kahchun Wong stands at the edge of creation – shoulders squared, back straight, baton held aloft. A moment’s pause, pregnant with possibility, his hand dips, slow and deliberate, tracing the first stroke of a masterpiece: Beethoven’s Symphony No.9.