No one would ever have accused German avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, who died in 2007 at the age of 79, of lacking ambition. Among his hundreds of pieces, he spent 25 years composing the seven-opera “Licht” (Light) cycle, one for each day of the week. Altogether the opus runs for 29 hours – longer, by…Read more “Mittwoch aus Licht” – cosmic music, plus helicopters!
classical music
When is too much too much? Met tests the limits with “Tristan und Isolde”
By Michael Roddy It was the opera coup of the year, perhaps the decade. The Metropolitan Opera, which is flailing under a mountain of debt and even looking to the Saudis for a bailout, enlisted Norwegian superstar soprano Lise Davidsen and American “baritenor” Michael Spyres for the title roles in Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde”…Read more When is too much too much? Met tests the limits with “Tristan und Isolde”
Classical music in the spotlight at Berlinale
The orphanage orchestra that plays a pop tune for the Pope in "Gloria" Classical music is often thought to have little place in today's arts and culture scene, but filmmakers at the Berlinale can't seem to get enough of it. Three films at this year's festival have classical music as central plot elements, and two…Read more Classical music in the spotlight at Berlinale
