Seattle Opera just opened its new season with Strauss’s perennially provocative Salome, returning to the company’s stage for the first time since 2002. My review for The Seattle Times:
Filed under: directors, review, Richard Strauss, Seattle Opera
October 19, 2026 • 4:54 pm 0
Seattle Opera Revives Strauss’s Once-Scandalous, Still-Shocking ‘Salome’
October 15, 2026 • 11:33 am 0
Tacoma Opera Rides Scaled-Down ‘Walküre’ Toward Complete ‘Ring’
My take on the second part of Tacoma Opera’s Ring adventure for Classical Voice North America:
Tacoma Opera brought Wagner’s Die Walküre to the city’s historic Pantages Theater Oct. 9 and 11 in what appears to have been Tacoma’s first fully staged production of the opera. The occasion marked the second installment of Tacoma Opera’s first Ring cycle, launched a year ago with Das Rheingold….
Filed under: Classical Voice North America, review, Ring cycle, Tacoma Opera, Wagner
October 13, 2026 • 9:09 am 0
‘No two concerts are alike’: Mihai Marica on joining the Takács Quartet
For The Strad, I spoke with the Takács Quartet’s new cellist, Mihai Marica, about joining the ensemble and stepping into András Fejér’s chair. The quartet’s current tour brings its new line-up to Carnegie Hall for the first time this Friday, joined by pianist Jeremy Denk:
Filed under: chamber music, string quartet, The Strad
October 7, 2026 • 3:17 pm 0
Memory and Power: Two Leaders Under Siege at San Francisco Opera
I covered the first two productions of San Francisco Opera’s 2026-27 season for Musical America: Simon Boccanegra and Mary, Queen of Scots.
Filed under: Musical America, review, San Francisco Opera, Verdi, women composers
October 4, 2026 • 4:04 am 0
Prizewinners Announced at 2026 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis
A late-night dispatch from Indianapolis: the prizewinners at the 2026 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis have been announced – more on The Strad website:
US violinist Karisa Chiu, 27, has won the Gold Medal at the 12th International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
Elli Choi, 25, also from the US, received the Silver Medal, while Aozhe Zhang, 18, from China, took Bronze. Xunyue Zhang, 22, from China, placed fourth; Yesong Sophie Lee, 22, from the US, fifth; and Lina Nakano, 21, from Japan, sixth.
Each finalist appeared twice…
Filed under: competitions, music news, The Strad, violinists
October 1, 2026 • 10:55 am 0
Huang Ruo Named Seattle Opera’s Composer-in-Residence
Major announcement from Seattle Opera:
Internationally renowned composer Huang Ruo will serve as the company’s first-ever composer-in-residence beginning in 2027. Lasting three years, the residency launches with the Seattle premiere of M. Butterfly and will culminate in the world premiere of The Wedding Banquet, a comic opera inspired by Ang Lee’s 1993 film as well as Andrew Ahn’s re-imagined version from 2025, with a libretto by screenwriter James Schamus.
“Huang Ruo is one of the foremost composers of opera in the United States, and I couldn’t be prouder to
announce his residency with Seattle Opera,” said general director James Robinson, who has directed several of Huang Ruo’s
operas, beginning with the North American premiere of Dr. Sun Yat-sen at Santa Fe Opera in 2014.
“Beyond his accomplished record as a composer, Huang Ruo is also a compelling advocate for opera who believes deeply in the art form’s power to bring people together. He’s one of the most engaging and enthusiastic people I know, and I think Seattle Opera audiences will be fascinated by his perspectives.”
“I’m deeply humbled and honored by this invitation to serve as Composer-in-Residence for Seattle Opera,” said Huang Ruo, who conducted his chamber opera Bound at Seattle Opera in 2023. “It is rare for opera companies to engage Composers-in-Residence, so I think this partnership demonstrates both Seattle Opera’s bold vision for the future of the art form and an exciting model for how opera companies can work with living creators to create, present, and engage the community around new opera. I am excited for this new adventure and I feel a sincere responsibility as an artist and educator to help people better understand both ourselves and our world through opera.”
I wrote about for The New York Times here.
Filed under: music news, new music, new opera, Seattle Opera
September 28, 2026 • 7:43 pm 0
From Chamber Intimacy to the Edge of Chaos: Ehnes and Zhang in Seattle
For Seattle audiences, James Ehnes is more than another internationally celebrated soloist dropping in for a guest appearance. He has described both the city and Benaroya Hall as places he thinks of as home….
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Filed under: Berlioz, James Ehnes, Max Bruch, review, Seattle Symphony, Xian Zhang
September 26, 2026 • 9:45 am 0
From Bachian Buoyancy to Ravelian Vertigo: Yulianna Avdeeva in Seattle
Some thoughts on Yulianna Avdeeva’s recent recital presented by Seattle Chamber Music Society – reviewed for Bachtrack:
Yulianna Avdeeva opened Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Signature Series at the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall in notably changed surroundings. Over the summer, Benaroya Hall underwent an extensive renovation of its public spaces, leaving both performance venues untouched while transforming their surrounding lobbies. The recital hall’s newly redesigned, mid-century-modern-inflected foyer is now dominated by Robert Rauschenberg’s Echo…
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Filed under: review, Beethoven, Bach, pianists, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Maurice Ravel
September 21, 2026 • 8:42 am 0
Seattle Symphony Debuts Renovated Benaroya Hall, Opens 2026-27 Season
My report for The Seattle Times on Seattle Symphony’s opening night:
Seattle Symphony’s opening-night concert Saturday included an unusual extra audition: Benaroya Hall’s newly renovated public spaces met their first concert audience. A $20 million overhaul — the hall’s first major renovation since it opened in 1998 — has given the lobbies serving both auditoriums a striking makeover.
Filed under: music news, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Times, Xian Zhang
September 20, 2026 • 7:10 am 0
Evergreen Ensemble Presents Joby Talbot’s ‘Path of Miracles’
Evergreen Ensemble impressed me when I heard them last spring in the premiere of Connor Koppin’s To Look West for choir, string quartet, and piano, and I’m looking forward to their participation in the Seattle Bach Festival’s upcoming performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor.
This afternoon, the Edmonds-based choir, led by David Hendrix, is presenting English composer Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles, an cappella work inspired by the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela and evoking its spiritual and emotional dimensions.
Written for Tenebrae and premiered in 2005, Path traces the journey in four movements, setting a libretto by poet Robert Dickinson reflecting on the pilgrimage, with mediaeval texts interspersed.
Sunday, September 20, at 3 pm
Holy Rosary Catholic Church (West Seattle) 4210 SW Genesee St Seattle, WA 98116
Students and children under 18 free.
Details and tickets here
Filed under: choral music, new music
