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David Allen
Posts
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The Conductor Claudio Abbado Saw Orchestras as Collectives
A collection of 257 CDs and eight DVDs released by Deutsche Grammophon offers the breadth of Abbado’s approach, and its legacy.
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‘It Has It All’: Taking on a Strange, Immense Piano Concerto
The conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the pianist Igor Levit discuss Ferruccio Busoni’s Piano Concerto, a rarity they are performing in San Francisco.
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The Composer Julia Wolfe Focuses on Climate in ‘unEarth’
Julia Wolfe’s latest in a series of increasingly political, oratorio-like works, “unEarth,” premieres this week at the New York Philharmonic.
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The Composer Carlos Simon Is Busier, and More Honest, Than Ever
On the rise before the pandemic, Simon has shot to even greater prominence since. His next premiere commemorates the murder of George Floyd.
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What Gustavo Dudamel’s Recordings Reveal About His Conducting
The discography of the New York Philharmonic’s future music director suggests that he is an often agreeable maestro with a lot of work still to...
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Boston’s Mayor, Michelle Wu, Trades City Hall for Symphony Hall
Michelle Wu, a lifelong pianist, has played to prepare for mayoral debates. Last weekend, she joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra onstage.
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Mo Willems Finds Yet Another Way to Entertain Kids: Opera
The beloved author of children’s books is experimenting with new forms, alongside starry collaborators, at the Kennedy Center.
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The Danish String Quartet’s ‘Prism’ Is Essential Listening
This group has wrapped its series of five albums that traced a lineage from Bach to late Beethoven to his successors into the 20th century.
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John Luther Adams, Praying for the Earth in Music
The composer has long been inspired by nature without sending an explicit political message. But his latest work takes on a newly urgent tone.
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A Cellist Breaks Music Into ‘Fragments,’ Then Connects Them
Alisa Weilerstein’s latest project is a series of staged solo recitals that weave Bach’s cello suites with newly commissioned works.