A new Stradinterview with Gil Shaham about Premieres, his forthcoming album of violin concertos written for him by Scott Wheeler, Bright Sheng, and Avner Dorman:
Premieres, Gil Shaham’s new release on Canary Classics, brings together three violin concertos written expressly for him and realised in close collaboration with conductor Leon Botstein and The Orchestra Now. Recorded at Bard College’s Fisher Center, the album reflects a network of long-standing artistic relationships and a shared belief in the concerto as a living, evolving form…
This holiday season, KUOW – Seattle’s public radio station – is offering listeners something gentler than the daily news cycle: a steady stream of seasonal classical music.
Through a new partnership with Classical KING, the Seattle-based classical music broadcaster, the KUOW appnow features Classical Christmas, the organization’s annual holiday stream. The stream appears as an additional listening option, separate from the station’s live radio broadcast.
Rather than create its own seasonal programming, KUOW has collaborated with an organization long associated with classical music in the region to create a digital-only offering that expands KUOW’s role beyond broadcast journalism.
“We are delighted to partner with KUOW,” said Michelle Maestas Simonsen, Classical KING’s Chief Engagement and Content Officer. “This seasonal collaboration is a reminder of what becomes possible when organizations with shared values work together. Whether someone wants a break from the news or simply loves holiday music, Classical Christmas is here for them.”
Classical Christmas is available throughout the holiday season in the KUOW app, where it can be streamed alongside KUOW’s regular live and on-demand programming. The stream is also accessible via Classical KING’s own app, website, and Alexa skills.
Rachell Ellen Wong and MOTS co-director James Garlick
Music on the Strait is giving itsfirst-ever concert on period instrumentson Sunday 14 December in Sequim on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. This looks to be a lovely program, featuring Baroque violinist Rachell Ellen Wong, harpsichordist David Belkovski, and their Twelfth Night Ensemble in music by Telemann, Purcell, Vivaldi, Corelli, Johann Friedrich Fasch, and Francesco Durante.
The performance is Sun 12/14 at 4pm at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sequim:
Tickets starting at $5 with our Pay What Makes You Happy pricing
Telemann | Sonata No 4 in A Minor Henry Purcell | Suite from Amphitryon Antonio Vivaldi | Violin Concerto in E Minor, RV 278 Archangelo Corelli | Concerto grosso in G minor “Christmas Concerto” Johann Friedrich Fasch | Sonata No 5 in D Minor Francesco Durante | Concerto for 2 Violins, Viola, and continuo in G Minor Antonio Vivaldi | Sonata No. 12 in D Minor, RV 63, “La Follia”
Hiroka Yamashita and Ilse Eerens in Toshio Hosokawa’s Natasha; photo: Rikimaru Hotta
The New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT) presents Toshio Hosokawa‘s new opera Natasha, conducted by Kazushi Ono and directed by Christian Räth, via global streaming. Premiered in August 2025, the production drew wide acclaim and was named a finalist in the World Premiere category of the International Opera Awards 2025.
From Friday, 12 December 2025 at 7:00 p.m. (CET) to Friday, 12 June 2026 at 12:00 p.m. (CET), audiences can experience Natasha for free on OperaVision and NNTT Stream. Running time: Approx. 2 hours 35 minutes.
Natasha is the first opera by Hosokawa to be staged at the NNTT since Matsukaze in 2018, as well as his second opera to be premiered by Ono Kazushi.
“Reconsidering the relationship between humans and nature, Hosokawa Toshio’s music is a kind of prayer or requiem. Especially after the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, his works address humans’ repetitive history of destruction, drawing particular attention to nature’s fearsomeness and to the human arrogance of forgetting the awe nature deserves. Globally acclaimed author Tawada Yoko, who writes novels in both Japanese and German that examine the world from a German base and highlight themes of national borders and languages, is working on the libretto for the new work. The story focuses on an encounter between Natasha, a wandering immigrant driven out of her hometown, and a young man named Arato, as well as a Mephistopheles-like figure who shows and leads the pair through various scenes of human hells. Multilingual with Japanese, German and Ukrainian languages, the opera compares and contrasts the origins of modern civilization and humanity. The groans of the endangered earth resonate deeply throughout this opera that depicts destruction and hope with multiculturalism as the key to finding a path forward.
Hosokawa’s music resonates with meditative power—at once ritualistic and deeply human—evoking the cries of a wounded planet while offering a glimpse of hope.”
Creative Team Libretto by Yoko Tawada Composed by Toshio Hosokawa Conductor: Kazushi Ono Production: Christian Räth Set Design: Christian Räth, Daniel Unger Costume Design: Mattie Ullrich Lighting Design: Rick Fisher Video Design: Clemens Walter Electronic Sound Design: Sumihisa Arima Choreographer: Catherine Galasso Cast Natasha — Ilse Eerens Arato — Hiroka Yamashita Mephistos Enkel — Christian Miedl Frau A — Mari Moriya Frau B — Akiko Tomihira Businessman A — Tang Jun Bo Businessman B — Timothy Harris Saxophonist — Masanori Oishi Electric Guitarist — Gaku Yamada Chorus Master — Kyohei Tomihira Chorus — New National Theatre Chorus Orchestra — Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Leila Josefowicz reflects on her long relationship with Thomas Adès’s violin concerto, now out in her live recording with the Minnesota Orchestra and Thomas Søndergård. My interview for The Strad:
Leila Josefowicz has made contemporary music central to her career, performing new scores with the same conviction others reserve for the classics. Over the past two decades, she has built lasting partnerships with composers who expand the violin’s expressive language, and has inspired concertos from composers ranging from John Adams and Esa-Pekka Salonen to Luca Francesconi…
UPDATE: The concert on December 4 will be livestreamed here at 7.30pm EST.
The Juilliard String Quartet gives its first New York performance with new violinist Leonard Fu on Thursday. I interviewed him for The Strad about joining the storied ensemble and about the program they will perform:
As the Juilliard Quartet makes its New York debut in its new formation, newly appointed second violinist Leonard Fu reflects on tradition, renewal and shaping the ensemble’s evolving voice… continue
Tickets starting at $5 with our Pay What Makes You Happy pricing
free Livestream on the MOTS website at 
MEMETERIA by Thomas May 