Upcoming Tours
Kroměříž
Czech Republic - Gardens and Music (June 15-24, 2023)
The grandeur of empire is still evident in Czechia’s magnificent estates. We will visit the royal gardens in Prague, as well as others in Buchlovice, Kroměříž, Litomyšli and Konopiště . A highlight of the trip will be our stay in the elegant spa town of Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) with its parks, romantic colonnades, charming pavilions, pleasant cafes and luxurious hotels. The musical highlights will include Antonín Dvořák’s opera Armida at Prague's National Theatre, where it premiered in 1904. The tour will be accompanied by Charles Day, the former Horticultural Interpreter at Wave Hill in the Bronx, NY, and a well-known consultant for private and public gardens, museums, and estates.
Performance Reviews
New York, NY
Baritone Benjamin Appl explores the mysteries of the dark in his Carnegie Hall debut
Carefully curated program and superb musicianship make for memorable evening of song.
New York, NY
Met’s new “Zauberflöte” more muddled than magical
Thomas Oliemans's Papageno steals the show in Simon Burney's dark take on Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.
New York, NY
Eric Moe’s The Artwork of the Future at Fresh Squeezed Opera pits humans against robots
Will humans and their art be around in 300 years?
 (003).jpeg)
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Opera presents two contemporary works that dare to speak the truth
Philip Venables’s Denis & Katya and Daniel Bernard Roumain’s We Shall Not Be Moved are modern-day updates on the verismo tradition.
New York, NY
Nathalie Stutzmann leads a luxury cast in Ivo van Hove’s stark, powerful Met production of Don Giovanni
Ben Bliss's Don Ottavio is audience's favorite.
New York, NY
Tiburtina Ensemble delivers rich homage to Hildegard in NY debut
Final concert of Music for 1800's 48th season.
New York, NY
‘Waiting for the Barbarians’: New sounds celebrate Greek poet C.P. Cavafy
A week-long festival, 'Archive of Desire,' explores legacy of an ultramodern poet.
New York, NY
Gilbert & Sullivan have their day with a marvelous “Iolanthe” from MasterVoices
Tony-winner Ted Sperling leads Broadway stars and rising young singers in a delicious G&S romp.
New York, NY
Stile Antico celebrates William Byrd with supreme artistry in New York
Luminous performances of music by Byrd, Morley, Philips and Tomkins.
New York, NY
Meade brings sumptuous vocalism to Met’s “Aida”
This run may be the last chance to see Sonja Frisell’s monumental production. Don't let it pass you by.
All of my reviews for Seen and Heard International can be found here
Recordings Reviews
Ventura, CA
Requiem for the Enslaved
Carlos Simon and Marco Pavé offer a searing, transcendent memorial to past sins and hopes.
Goshen, NY
Aaron Jay Kernis's Elegy (For Those We Lost)
Elegy (For Those We Lost) is dedicated to the families of those who have died from COVID-19. Aaron Jay Kernis originally composed the piece for solo piano, but arranged it for harp and trumpet was made at the request of the Grammy-nominated harpist Yolanda Kondonassis.
Berlin
Vince Mendoza's Freedom Over Everything
To the Edge of Longing for soprano and orchestra is one of the most stunning musical creations inspired by these troubled times.
Lawrence, Kansas
dwb (driving while black)
Of the three recorded versions of Susan Kander and Roberta Gumbel's dwb (driving while black), this recording is the purest one.
Chicago
Archetypes
In their new release, Grammy Award-winning Third Coast Percussion joins with celebrated Brazilian guitarist Sérgio Assad and his daughter - vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Clarice Assad - to portray in music twelve of these universal characters that defy time and place.
Paris
The Freischütz Project
Conductor Laurence Equilbey is the first to present Carl Maria von Weber’s opera using the principles and original instruments of historically informed performance with a stellar cast.
New York
Brooklyn-based ensemble and songwriting collective Founders releases Songs for the End of Time
Ben Russell and Brandon Ridenour, members of the new music ensemble Founders, radical rework of Olivier Messiean’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps is faithful to both the spirit and the austere beauty of the original.
Warsaw
The songs of René de Boisdeffre - A nineteenth-century master of melody
Acte Préalable’s recording of reveals that at his best, René de Boisdeffre could fashion a song to rival those of his greatest contemporaries, including Fauré.
France
Contralto - Nathalie Stutzmann / Orfeo 55
Stutzmann’s last recording with Orfeo 55, the chamber orchestra which she founded and performed with as soloist and conductor simultaneously, celebrates the legacy of the great Baroque contraltos and the music that they inspired.
New York
Once and Again
Once and Again, the most recent recording of Edward Smaldone's music, features a sampling of his smaller-scaled works, including two for voice and instruments.
About
I got the travel bug from my parents. As a boy I had crisscrossed the US with them and my younger brother on the classic American Road Trip to California. At 16, I went to Europe for the first time. The destination was Germany, a country that I have returned to many times. In addition to business and personal travel, I have lived in Switzerland, Singapore and China. So far, it’s been a wonderful life of travelling the world and experiencing its wonders..
A musician for most of my life, first a trumpet player and then a singer, I have a degree in music from the University of Pittsburgh. In 2013, I began reviewing for Seen and Heard International and have posted reviews from the US, Europe and Asia. In addition, I regularly contribute program notes to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and have had music and travel articles published in the Global Times, Shanghai Daily, MusicWeb International, Broad Street Review and other publications.
Although I am thrilled to have press privileges in many of the world’s great concert halls and opera houses, it is the offerings in the more out-of-the way places that excite me the most. There one still finds great music, often at its national, indigenous best, in theaters, whether ancient or modern, that are as grand and beautiful as any in the world. More importantly, these venues not only preserve the past, they embrace the new, keeping classical music current and vital. That is the world that I invite you to explore with me on my tours.
Contact
Field marked with (*) is required