John Rockwell

The Music Critics Association of North America has announced that its 2023 Award for BEST NEW OPERA—a major recognition for an opera introduced in North America during the previous calendar year—goes to composer Nicole Lizée and librettist Nicolas Billon for R.U.R. A TORRENT OF LIGHT, a Tapestry Opera production in collaboration with OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design) University. 

Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones - the first opera by a Black composer ever performed by the Met is now on stage. What did the critics think? Read all the reviews...

The Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) is pleased to announce that its 2021 Award for BEST NEW OPERA—a major recognition given annually by an Awards Committee of distinguished music critics—goes to composers Du Yun and Raven Chacon and librettists Aja Couchois Duncan and Douglas Kearney for SWEET LAND.

The Music Critics Association of North America has announced that its 2020 Award for Best New Opera has been given to composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist Tazewell Thompson for BLUE.

Composer and performer Rosanne Cash will receive the prestigious Edward MacDowell Medal, but the public celebration a?" with the Medalist in attendance a?" will have to wait a year.

A groundbreaking initiative for sustainable classical music journalism that provides a a?oebenefit to our industry a?? most especially to our readershipa?? (The Boston Globe), the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism announces its fifth biennial symposium at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM). Taking place October 15a?"19 at SFCM's new Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for Performing Arts, a comprehensive arts hub created through a transformative $46.4 million gift in 2018, the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism will welcome three distinguished faculty journalists to its roster of industry-leading professionals: Janice Page, The Washington Post arts editor; Steve Smith, National Sawdust director of publications; and Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times classical music editor.

Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) announces that its 3rd Annual Award for Best New Opera has been given to composer and sound artist Ellen Reid and librettist Roxie Perkins for p r i s m.

The National Philharmonic rings in the new year-and continues its celebration of the great Leonard Bernstein's Centennial-with two of Bernstein's favorite composers in "Infamous Brahms" Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019 at 3 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore's Concert Hall. International pianist Haochen Zhang, who won the gold medal for the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition at the age of 19, will join Philharmonic Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski in performing Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor. Both Zhang and Gajewski are former child prodigies. Zhang has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity. During the weekend's concerts, the National Philharmonic will also celebrate Maestro Gajewski's 60th birthday. There will be a pre-concert lecture on Saturday, from 6:45-7:15 p.m., and Sunday, from 1:45-2:15 p.m. Ticket prices are $34-$88 and are free for young people age 7-17. Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. For more information or to purchase tickets, visitwww.nationalphilharmonic.org or call 301.581.5100.

The National Philharmonic rings in the new year-and continues its celebration of the great Leonard Bernstein's Centennial-with two of Bernstein's favorite composers in "Infamous Brahms" Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019 at 3 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore's Concert Hall. International pianist Haochen Zhang, who won the gold medal for the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition at the age of 19, will join Philharmonic Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski in performing Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) today announces the winners of the 2018 Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. Jennifer Gersten, a DMA candidate at Stony Brook University, was chosen by a panel of leading national music critics to receive the $10,000 Rubin Prize in Music Criticism for demonstrating outstanding promise in music criticism. Brin Solomon, an MFA candidate at New York University, was selected as runner-up and received a $1,000 award. As part of the Rubin Institute's mission to advance and maintain qualitative discourse on music, the two cash prizes are intended to support further endeavors in the field of music criticism.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) today announces the fourth biennial gathering of the Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, a groundbreaking initiative for educational and financial support that identifies and engages emerging young writers in the art of classical music criticism and creates a sustainable funding model for professional journalists at news organizations across the United States. Taking place October 25-29 at SFCM and surrounding Civic Center venues, the Rubin Institute will, for the first time in its history, include jazz in its lineup of world-class concerts. Award-winning author, critic, essayist, and producer Gary Giddins will join the cadre of industry-leading journalists as guest critic.

The Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) is pleased to announce that its second annual award for Best New Opera has been given to composer David Hertzberg for The Wake World, which received its premiere on September 18, 2017, commissioned by Opera Philadelphia in a co-presentation with The Barnes Foundation. The award was created to honor musical and theatrical excellence in a fully staged opera that received its world premiere in North America during the preceding calendar year. The inaugural award went to  Breaking the Waves, composed by Missy Mazzoli with libretto by Royce Vavrek.

The Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) is pleased to announce that its inaugural Award for Best New Opera has been given to composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek for Breaking the Waves, which received its premiere on September 22, 2016 by Opera Philadelphia in conjunction with Beth Morrison Projects. The award was created to honor musical and theatrical excellence in a fully-staged opera that received its world premiere in North America during the preceding calendar year.

In August 1960, the choreographer Anna Halprin taught an experimental workshop attended by Simone Forti and Yvonne Rainer on her dance deck on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais, north of San Francisco.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) today announces the winners of the 2016 Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. Lucy Caplan, a PhD candidate at Yale University, was chosen by a panel of prominent national music critics to receive the $10,000 Rubin Prize in Music Criticism for demonstrating outstanding promise in music criticism. The Rubin Prize is intended to support further study in the field of music criticism and is disbursed over a two-year period. The Institute, as part of its mission to initiate public discourse on the topic of music criticism, also invited audience members to critique a concert by the San Francisco Symphony. John Masko of Rhode Island, a graduate student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, was selected by the panel as the recipient of the $1,000 Everyone's a Critic Audience Review Prize.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) proudly announces the third biennial gathering of the groundbreaking Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, taking place October 20-24. The first program of its kind to focus on the art of classical music criticism, the Rubin Institute brings together leading music critics, renowned musicians, and aspiring young writers for an intensive week of keynote addresses by critics, public performances, discussion panels, and critical reviews. The Institute will culminate with the awarding of the $10,000 Rubin Prize in Music Criticism to one of the university-level writers for demonstrating exceptional promise in music criticism, and the $1,000 Everyone's a Critic Audience Review Prize for the best review by an audience member of a concert performed during the Institute.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) today announces the details of its 2016-17 season. Continuing the trend set in recent years by SFCM's intrepid approach to programming and curricular focus, this season offers events devoted to interlinking themes that stretch from academics to performance. The fall semester covers music, politics, and social justice, investigating aspects of social and political change in musical commentary from Beethoven's political influences to nineteenth-century French opera to the activism of Lou Harrison. The spring semester concentrates on folk elements and regional traditions in music and literature throughout the repertoire. These domains are explored in the contexts of history, theory, the humanities, and performance.

The Marsh San Francisco is thrilled to present world-renowned cellist Joan Jeanrenaud, a 20-year member of the Kronos Quartet, and award-winning performer/writer Charlie Varon in a collaborative theatre piece entitled SECOND TIME AROUND, A Duet for Cello and Storyteller. The iPhone generation meets the Greatest Generation in this story of the longing for human connection and continuity. SECOND TIME AROUND, developed with and directed by David Ford, plays March 5 - April 17, 2016 (press opening March 19, 2016). Scroll down for a sneak peek at the stars!

The Marsh San Francisco is thrilled to present world-renowned cellist Joan Jeanrenaud, a 20-year member of the Kronos Quartet, and award-winning performer/writer Charlie Varon in a collaborative theatre piece entitled SECOND TIME AROUND, A Duet for Cello and Storyteller.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival presents the highly-anticipated world premiere of Daniil Simkin's INTENSIO, featuring the remarkable talent of eight American Ballet Theatre (ABT) stars and guest artist Céline Cassone of Les Ballet Jazz de Montréal in the intimate Ted Shawn Theatre, today, July 22, through July 26.