Month: October 2026
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Founded in Salzburg in 2023, DYNAMIKfest brought its first American edition to Chicago this month. Directed by violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua, the festival is built around a residency model. Rather than flying in for a single engagement and leaving the next morning, guest artists spent nearly two weeks embedded in the community, giving masterclasses, leading outreach…
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When the last notes of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 died away at Orchestra Hall, nobody moved. Klaus Mäkelä, the conductor who will soon become the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 11th music director, held the silence—nearly a minute, maybe more—while 2,500 people sat suspended after 90 minutes of difficult, existential music. Beside me, my guest for the…
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Christian Van Horn’s Don Giovanni clings to a dining table as it sinks slowly into hell. After an evening of sexual pursuit, violence and evasion, the Don has run out of ways to escape the consequences of his actions. Only a supernatural act can stop a man no one else has been able to hold…
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For the second week of his residency in Chicago, Klaus Mäkelä’s focus was on Mahler, and on Symphony No.9 in D major. Since arriving on the international scene, Mäkelä has turned to Mahler often. Indeed, it was a performance of the Fifth Symphony in 2023 that helped cement the connection between Mäkelä and the Chicago…
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On September 28th, the Nashville Symphony suspended its 2026–27 season. A day later, the CEO who had been in the job since August stepped down. The whole thing unraveled over about 48 hours: staff furloughed, musicians sent home and a classical season that won’t happen. Mark Cantrell, the departing CEO, put it plainly in his…