A Great Composer responds to the pandemic. Fanny Mendelssohn in 1831

by Liane Curtis | Apr 4, 2021

This blog post of May 17, 2020 was one of our most popular of last year, and as we passed the one-year anniversary of the shutdowns and quarantines in response to Covid-19, it is worthwhile to recall Fanny Mendelssohn’s response to the frightening pandemic of...

Considering the 2020 BBC Proms

by sarah | Jul 8, 2020

By Sarah Baer This year marks the 125th anniversary of the BBC Proms, and in true British fashion, the organizers have kept calm and figured out a way to carry on even during a pandemic.  Though the Proms will be very different than in years past – with...

Follow up to the 2020-2021 Repertoire Report

by sarah | May 12, 2020

We went back to the numbers – and looked back over the past three seasons – to see how the most prestigious ensembles in the United States are shaping their programming in terms of inclusion and diversity.  There has been significant pressure in recent...

2020-2021 Season: By the Numbers

by sarah | May 6, 2020

By Sarah Baer Even amid all of the chaos and uncertainty – and cancelled seasons – due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensembles are planning for the future.  All major ensembles have released their 2020-2021 season announcements, so we have once again read...

Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Andante for Strings — and a problematic publisher

by Liane Curtis | Feb 15, 2020

Welcome to our Guest-blogger, Ian Sewell, a PhD Student in Music Theory at Columbia University. We thank him for sharing his experience about one of the 20th-century’s best- known works — and the difficulty in making an accurate and scholarly edition of...

Joshua Kosman’s Tribute to The Women’s Philharmonic

by Liane Curtis | Dec 30, 2019

Joshua Kosman is my favorite music critic. His energy, devotion, precision in focusing on the important issues as well as having a perspective on “the big picture” mean that I never tire of reading his work. I often ponder how fortunate the Bay Area of...