Email Author Michael Downes

2010 Stories by Michael Downes

• The San Francisco Symphony

  published March 24, 2010

  Director Michael Tilson Thomas has been marketing the San Francisco Symphony as one would a pop star: He's wooed critics, promoted records, and... More >>

• 'Master Class with William Christie'

  published March 24, 2010

  William Christie's success as a conductor should be attributed to his basic musical philosophy—that when reviving a long-dead form, divining... More >>

• 'Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera Festival'

  published March 16, 2010

  BAM staged its first opera during the Civil War, and has since withstood fire, flood, and near-bankruptcy to emerge as the cultural hub of Kings... More >>

• Kronos Quartet

  published March 9, 2010

  If versatility is a strong measure of talent, the Kronos Quartet might just be the finest string quartet in America. For each of these four nights... More >>

• 'Boston Baroque Presents Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610'

  published March 2, 2010

  Venice was the center of musical innovation during the Renaissance, and as principal conductor at St. Mark's Basilica, Monteverdi was at the heart... More >>

• Max Raabe Palast Orchester

  published March 2, 2010

  For Carnegie Hall, Max Raabe will undoubtedly be decked in his finest formal wear and sweetest pomade. His Palast Orchester brilliantly channels... More >>

• 'Juilliard Annual Student Composers Recital'

  published February 23, 2010

  Anyone with the chops to survive Juilliard can earn at least a living wage regurgitating the pieces they mastered for repertory class, but a few... More >>

• Mariinsky Orchestra

  published February 16, 2010

  The first time Hector Belioz saw Romeo and Juliet, he didn't understand a word that was said. But the French composer was so moved that he... More >>

• 'Seeking Mendelssohn Presents the Shanghai Quartet'

  published January 19, 2010

  In 1850, Richard Wagner wrote, "Our antipathy against the Jewish nature and all its inability to have intercourse with us is intensified to a... More >>

• 'James Levine Master Class'

  published January 19, 2010

  James Levine is the classical world's most valuable franchise—the conductor directs the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Boston Symphony... More >>

• Anthony McGill & Friends

  published January 5, 2010

  Anthony McGill, the clarinetist who introduced the "Simple Gifts" theme at the inauguration of Barack Obama, leads pianist Caroline Stoessinger... More >>