It's been seven long years since I last went to the Big Ears Festival, a combination of Covid shutting things down (2020-21) and my own inertia. But, I'm happily returning for this year's festival, which takes place next week (March 21-24) in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. Now in it's 11th edition, the boundary pushing, genre-busting festival has grown significantly since my last visit in 2017 (I also attended in 2015 and 2016), adding several new venues including the 6,500 capacity Knoxville Civic Auditorium. As always, festival producer and founder Ashley Capps applies the same basic formula ..read more

After spending the past six weeks surveying orchestras from Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Vienna, I felt it was high time I took in a concert by our own NY Philharmonic, which I did last Friday at Geffen Hall. There wasn't much star-wattage on the bill - no-name guest conductor, unfamiliar soloist - but the program seemed interesting: a new work (technically, a new arrangement) by a Native American composer, an obscure 20th century cello concerto, and Scheherazade. If nothing else, it would be a pleasant evening in the new, improved Geffen Hall, with its airport lounge decor and danc ..read more

Growing up in a proud Irish-American family, I am an unapologetic fan of all things Irish: the food, the literature, the craic. And, especially the music: a high-spirited blend of bodhráns, flutes and fiddles, usually played around a table filled with pints of Guinness. And, while nothing compares to hearing live music in Ireland, there's no shortage of quality Irish music right here in NYC, with more than a dozen regular seisúns across the five boroughs (shout out to Hartley's in Clinton Hill.) But 25 years ago, Belfast native Barry Douglas, winner of the 1986 Tchaikovsky piano competition ..read more

Franz Welser-Möst with the Vienna Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, 2/26/17  “Now, whenever I stand in front of them, it’s just making music with good friends.”                         - Franz Welser-Möst While the famously self-governing Vienna Philharmonic hasn't had a regular conductor for more than a century, Daniel Froschauer, the Philharmonic's chairman (and violinist) told the NY Times last month that they "secretly have two: Riccardo Muti and Franz Welser-Möst." And of those, only Welser-Möst has the additional distinct ..read more

by Pete Matthews (in Cleveland, OH and Pittsburgh, PA) Despite being several generations removed from their industrial heyday, both Cleveland and Pittsburgh punch well above their weight when it comes to cultural stimuli, maintaining world-class museums, universities, theaters, restaurants, and more breweries than you can shake a towel at. Not to mention orchestras, with one belonging to the so-called "Big Five" club of American orchestras while the other excels almost in spite of itself (more on that later).  I was back in the Rust Belt last weekend, primarily to visit friends and famil ..read more

by Pete Matthews While I will always and forever cherish my summers seeing the Boston Symphony Orchestra up in their summer home at Tanglewood, it's always a treat (not to mention a convenience) to catch them here in NYC, where they've played Carnegie Hall just about every year since it opened in 1891. Some of those concerts have been among my most memorable experiences at Carnegie, such as Seiji Ozawa leading a 2001 performance of Berlioz' Requiem in tribute to the victims of 9/11, or the gargantuan forces assembled for Mahler's 8th symphony in James Levine's first appearance as Music D ..read more

by Dan Lehner Editors Note: Both Dan and I were originally supposed to cover this year's Winter Jazzzfest, but your's truly got COVID on Wednesday, so I've been self-isolating all weekend. I'm still hoping to make it out to Wednesday (1/17) night's Ryuichi Sakomoto tribute at Roulette with DJ Spooky, Yuka C. Honda; tickets available here. In 2004, Winter Jazzfest’s first roster counted a total of 20 bands claiming the three floors of the Knitting Factory’s old Manhattan location on Leonard Street, occurring as a one-night-only event. Twenty years later, the festival now boasts 700 artist ..read more

Benjamin Sheehan's Akathist: Nov. 10, at 7:30pm at Trinity Church Wall Street Three years in the making, Benedict Sheehan’s oratorio Akathist weaves together a diverse array of musical languages—from medieval chant and minimalism to gospel and jazz—and is based on a unique text from the Eastern Orthodox tradition known as “Glory to God for All Things.” Featuring The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Artefact Ensemble; NOVUS NY; Downtown Voices; Trinity Youth Chorus; and Elaine Kelly, conductor. Free. Also streaming online. Brooklyn Folk Festival: Nov. 10-12 at St. Ann's Church Now in its 15th yea ..read more

There are many reasons to go to Lincoln Center, but for me, dance isn't typically one of them. Mind you, I don't have anything against dance - it's perhaps the most arresting and physically impressive of all the performing arts - but...well, this is a live music website. And unfortunately, it's become a rare occasion to hear interesting - let alone live - music at dance performances these days. (Sorry, I don't do Tchiakovsky.) But Saturday night, I made an exception to go see the Paul Taylor Dance Company, who are currently holding their annual residency at the David H. Koch Theater. Taylor wa ..read more

"I could live to be 500, and I don’t think I’d run out of things to do in music." - David Harrington Unlike rock bands such as the Rolling Stones or The Who, a 50th anniversary isn't unheard of in the world of string quartets. The Emerson Quartet just played its final shows after 47 years; the Juilliard Quartet is still going strong well into its ninth decade (though without any of its original members.) So, on its surface, Friday night's concert at Carnegie Hall celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Kronos Quartet wasn't really remarkable. Until you stop to think about all that they've a ..read more