Between two full -length ballets — “Romeo et Juliette” and “The Nutcracker” — Pacific Northwest Ballet is offering a a set of 20h-century works, two dating from the latter half of the 20th century and another two from the past couple of years. The company has committed itself to new works, adding one piece after…

When Shostakovich wrote his final symphony, the Fifteenth in 1971, arguably the composer didn’t have much new to say with the form. Closer to the end of his life, Shostakovich would write masterpieces like the Viola Sonata and Fifteenth String Quartet; pieces unique for their economy and breadth of expression. Still, in his final symphony,…

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All Souls Day is an ancient feast day in the Roman Catholic Church in which those on earth pray for the faithful suffering in Purgatory. The Mass for the Dead has been part of All Souls Day since the 14th century. The texts were written to offer "expressions of consolation" for the present and hope…

Earlier this week, I got the chance to sit down with John Hollenbeck.  Hollenbeck and his group, the Claudia Quintet came to town to perform in the Ear Shot Jazz Festival.  Even though he was playing as part of a jazz festival, Hollenbeck’s music can’t be easily described as jazz nor can it be categorized…

If you live in Bellingham be sure to head over to the Mount Baker Theater to hear the Whatcom Symphony and guest violinist Sarah Chang play Brahms’s Violin Concerto.  Chang’s performance in Washington follows her recent CD release of the same concerto on the EMI label.  The Brahms is reason enough to go, but the…

A critical brouhaha is developing over Sumi Hahn’s review of Lang Lang and the Seattle Symphony.  In the classical music world that means five comments or so.  Sumi and I have different opinions of the concert; she didn’t like Lang Lang’s performance, while I did.  Nevertheless, what seems to be bothering folks the most is…

Just a quick reminder, Chamber vs. Chamber happens tomorrow.  Come if you can, it should be great – great performances and great conversation.  Information and links below from the original post earlier this week.

I have been on an American maestro kick the last few weeks.  You Tube is a great resource for obsessions like this.  Here is one of my favorite finds, Leopold Stokowski conducting Debussy’s L’après-midi d’un faune with the London Symphony.  When you get past Leopold Stokowski’s eccentricities he was a conductor who revolutionized classical music…