Jonathan Tetelman is quickly becoming one of the opera world's most in-demand tenors — not only for the distinctive radiance and warmth of his voice, but also for the wide palette of emotions he brings to the characters he portrays. But as I discovered during a recent sit-down with Tetelman, early in his career the Chilean-American singer had many doubts about whether he could take on the deeply dramatic roles he's become known for. In fact, he almost pulled out of one of his first big European engagements — portraying Paolo in Riccardo Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini at Deutsche Oper Berlin ..read more

Few faces in classical music are more recognizable right now than that of Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä — not because of his sculptural good looks and piercing blue eyes, but because he's quickly become one of today's most popular conductors.  At just 28 years old, Mäkelä has already racked up an impressive résumé, including his current roles as music director of the Orchestre de Paris, chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, and chief-conductor designate of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. But despite his face adorning posters plastered on concert hall facades across Europe, Mäkel ..read more

Classical music so often feels divorced from pop culture, but we don't need to dive too deep into the history books to see how much composers of the past embraced the cultural traditions of their homelands. Béla Bartók traveled across Hungary documenting folk songs, Gustav Mahler wove popular tunes into his First Symphony, and even Mozart composed background music for playing the popular card games of his day. Is it possible for today's composers to once again marry concert music with aspects of popular culture? Juan Pablo Contreras thinks so. The Mexican composer-conductor thrives on combinin ..read more

For more than a year now, I've been obsessed with TÁR, the 2022 Todd Field film starring Cate Blanchett as an orchestral conductor whose power plays lead to her devastating downfall. Yes, the story is gripping and suspenseful, but it's the music interlaced throughout the film that keeps me coming back. Aside from the two works performed in the film — Mahler's Fifth Symphony and Elgar's Cello Concerto — which were baked into Field's script, the music you hear throughout TÁR is the result of months of work by the film's music supervisor, Lucy Bright. A specialist in the arenas of film and televi ..read more

Poetry has long served as a point of inspiration for classical composers. Just think of Beethoven's magnificent setting of Schiller's "Ode to Joy," Schubert's cinematic take on Goethe's "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel," or Ned Rorem's soulful songs based on the words of Frank O'Hara. And now there's a new work to add to this storied tradition from composer Brian Raphael Nabors. In Upon Daybreak, premiered by the Berkeley Symphony in late 2022, Nabors turns to a poignant poem by the late Maya Angelou, "A Brave, Startling Truth." Rather than set the poem's text to music, however, Nabors distills ..read more

There's an interesting dichotomy baked into the act of composing. Although the music that composers write reflects their own thoughts, emotions, and perspectives, they need to hand that music over to other people to bring it to life. But for Andrew Bennett, a Canadian composer of experimental electronic music who records under the moniker Factor Eight, his own voice is the driving force behind his 2022 album, II. Although that was never Bennett's plan for the album — it proved to be a creative breakthrough. "Throughout the creation of that record, I was also trying to create a sound that was e ..read more

When most people think of the pipe organ, they imagine its massive, majestic sound filling a large church during a wedding, funeral, or other Christian ceremonies. But as I learned in my recent conversation with the Austrian concert organist Lukas Hasler, we can trace the instrument's roots to ancient Egypt, thousands of years before the birth of Christ. And despite their prevalence in the church, organs have also played an important role in secular life. In the 19th century, for example, people in small villages or those who couldn't afford concert tickets could only hear new music when it wa ..read more

Anyone who's had the pleasure of seeing violinist Rachel Barton Pine perform live knows this is a musician who gives every performance her all. What many people will likely not know is how much that mesmerizing stage presence is informed and inspired by her love of heavy metal music. "[In heavy metal], there's this 150% commitment to feeling the music and sharing it with the person farthest away in the venue," Pine shares on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "That's something I try to do whether I'm playing things that are really bombastic or things that are perfectly calm ..read more

No matter what line of business you're in, building a new enterprise from the ground up isn't for the faint of heart. From defining your mission to marketing, payroll, and growth strategies, there's a lot to consider — and a lot of opportunities to give up when the challenges feel insurmountable. Conductor Luke McEndarfer encountered many of those moments in his early days leading the National Children's Chorus, where he's served as artistic director and CEO for 20 years. As he looked to expand the choir's reach beyond a handful of participants in Los Angeles, he hit a low point: needing to bo ..read more

A postmodern take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Yorgos Lanthimos's new film, Poor Things, sees the director exploring ideas of life and liberty in his uniquely surrealist way. The movie revolves around Bella, played by Emma Stone, a woman in Victorian Britain brought back to life by Dr. Godwin Baxter, played by Willem Dafoe. Eager to learn more about the world around her, Bella sets off on a fantastical, globe-hopping adventure. That theme of reanimation was central to composer Jerskin Fendrix while developing the film's score. Although he's primarily known as a singer, pianist, and songwrit ..read more