Post-identity music: Schell’s picks for 2024
It’s been a somber year, with wars, conflicts, and intractable cultural and political divisions weighing on the lives and thoughts of many, including those with an investment in Western art…
Elena Dubinets to Concertgebouw
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, and Shostakovich, return to Seattle Symphony
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…
Horse Lords in Seattle
Michael Schell reviews the minimalist-informed avant-rock band Horse Lords at Seattle's Vera Project.
George Crumb in retrospect
Michael Schell looks back at the impactful, and uneven, career of George Crumb as his last unrecorded work gets its premiere release.
Music and openness: Schell’s picks for 2022–23
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……
Bernstein as performance: Bradley Cooper’s Maestro
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…
Eisler at 125
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.
Harry Belafonte and The Angel Levine
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 announces 2023–24 season
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.