

Zachary Woolfe
Posts

Inside the Shed’s Sonic Sphere
A hanging concert hall at the Shed in Manhattan purports to offer something “experimental, experiential and communal.” Our critic climbs the stairs.

Review: A Composer’s ‘Lear’ Freshens a Shakespeare Evening
The Met Orchestra’s season-ending concert at Carnegie Hall featured the premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s “Heath (‘King Lear’ Sketches).”

For Riccardo Muti, a Grand Sort-of-Finale in Chicago
The eminent maestro is ending an acclaimed 13-year run at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. But with his successor not yet named, he’s sticking around.

It’s the End of an Era at the Metropolitan Opera
As the 2022-23 season ends, the country’s largest performing arts institution looks ahead to a future of fewer titles.

The New York Philharmonic’s Season of Mixed Boons
The orchestra’s renovated hall and Gustavo Dudamel, its next leader, have kept ticket sales robust, but cool acoustics curb the music’s impact.

Turning 100, the New Jersey Symphony Sticks to Home
The orchestra could have rented Carnegie Hall for the celebration, but “our supporters are here, our audiences are here,” its chief executive said.

Kaija Saariaho: 11 Essential Works
This poetic composer, who died on Friday, wrote indelible, simmering operas, concertos, orchestral explosions, choral meditations and solos.

Audiences Are Coming Back to Orchestras After a ‘Scary’ Fall
“It seemed like a switch flipped right before Thanksgiving,” the leader of the Chicago Symphony said.

Review: Gustavo Dudamel Leads His New York Philharmonic
Performing Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, the superstar maestro conducted the orchestra for the first time since being named its next music director.

A Six-Hour Opera Goes On for One Euphoric Night Only
“Stranger Love,” a singular and hypnotic work by Dylan Mattingly and Thomas Bartscherer, opens (and closes) on Saturday in Los Angeles.