Author: Michael Schell

Elena Dubinets, the current Artistic Director of London Philharmonic Orchestra, and a longtime and much-admired leader of the Pacific Northwest music community, will be the new Artistic Director of the…

Untuxed, a series of informal, intermission-less Friday-night concerts, returned to Seattle Symphony last night in the hands of its inaugurator, Ludovic Morlot, the Symphony’s former Music Director and current Conductor…

Michael Schell reviews the minimalist-informed avant-rock band Horse Lords at Seattle's Vera Project.

Michael Schell looks back at the impactful, and uneven, career of George Crumb as his last unrecorded work gets its premiere release.

As the pandemic recedes in our rearview mirrors, the flow of new albums of radical music has returned to its pre-COVID level, as has the year-end ritual of Best of……

If you’re up for seeing Maestro, Bradley Cooper’s much-heralded Leonard Bernstein biopic, then try to do it now, in a movie theater, before it gets remanded permanently to Netflix. The…

Michael Schell reconsiders the controversial legacy of composer Hanns Eisler for his 125th anniversary, with an in-depth look at his magnum opus: Deutsche Sinfonie.

On the passing of Harry Belafonte (1927–2023), Michael Schell looks back at his dark 1970 urban drama The Angel Levine, in which he co-stars with Zero Mostel.

Seattle Symphony has unveiled its 2023–24 season. The contemporary music offerings are something of a disappointment, but there are nevertheless several highlights to look forward to.

Taken collectively, this year’s list reveals the remarkable depth, breath and quality of what we call “new music”, but it also conveys a certain tentativeness—one that perhaps befits a crossroads…