Reviews

Birthdays and anniversaries—major milestones of any sort—are occasions for reflection. Glances backwards provide opportunities to assess origins; future plans build on current achievements, mixing pride and optimism in equal measure. […]

You think Herbert von Karajan’s 35-year reign at Berlin Philharmonic and Eugene Ormandy’s 44-year association with the Philadelphia Orchestra were impressive runs? Well, at a concert on Wednesday night, Clara […]

… The crushing greatness of Bach’s two extant Passion settings, which invariably make multiple appearances in the weeks before Easter, has often discouraged latter-day composers from treading the same ground. […]

Putting together a concert of works linked by an overall theme may seem a surefire way to lend coherence to a program. The risk is that in searching for pieces […]

Among ensembles that champion new music, many trumpet the wide diversity of the composers they perform. Yet there is much to be said for a group that builds long-term associations […]

Clara Longstreth, the music director of the estimable New Amsterdam Singers, has a knack for putting together engaging programs with a thematic hook. But as she notes on the chorus’s […]

The New Amsterdam Singers have explored music ranging from 15th-century sacred works to modern secular pieces in the 40 years since Clara Longstreth founded the group, and the choir’s performances […]

Highlights “Shakespeare in song is hardly an unexplored subject. Still, where else but at a New Amsterdam Singers concert would you have encountered rewarding Shakespeare settings by Jaakko Mantyjärvi, a Finnish […]