Peter Danish

Thomas Guggeis, the young German conductor making his Met debut, is Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Berlin and the designated Generalmusikdirektor of the Oper Frankfurt; pretty impressive for one who has yet to hit his 30th birthday!   His Met debut was justly anticipated, as across Europe he is known as something of a Wagner and Strauss specialist.   His performance was well-paced and well-colored and energetic.  The score provides for enormous surges of energy and power, and the orchestra was certainly up to the task, but Guggeis’ rendition while quite good, was perhaps a tad lacking in thrills – the magnificent Wagner bombast was a little timid and the quieter passages were lovely but just a bit bland.   With time and more experience with this orchestra, one can safely expect some exceptional performances in the future.

What did our critic think of POPCORN FALLS at Penguin Rep?

THE NYACK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL begins this weekend!

What did our critic think of MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CONDUCTS THE NY PHILHARMONIC at David Geffen Hall? Sunday's performance at the NY Philharmonic was nothing short of a lovefest. From the moment MTT entered the auditorium until after his last standing ovation, curtain call - well over two hours later.

What did our critic think of THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC AT CARNEGIE HALL at Carnegie Hall? As I sat in Carnegie Hall on Sunday afternoon, awaiting Christian Thielemann and his mighty Vienna Philharmonic's final performance of a three-concert visit, I waxed nostalgic and drifted back to my very first hearing of the day's featured piece: Bruckner 8th. In 1989, I saw (for the only time live) Herbert Von Karajan with this same Vienna Philharmonic deliver a blistering performance of the piece.

NEWARK, NJ: January 27, 2023 - The New Jersey Symphony is thrilled to announce its 101st season highlighting Music Director Xian Zhang's ambitious vision to explore the musical heritage of the American orchestral works.

What did our critic think of NJ SYMPHONY MAHLER 3RD at NJPAC? NJ Symphony musical director, Xian Zhang has stated often that the Mahler 3rd is her favorite work of all time. This was evident from the instant she bounded up onto the platform until the time she stepped down some 99 minutes later. During the time in between, she led her orchestra through a titanic performance of the epic Mahler 3rd.

What did our critic think of PARLANDO ENSEMBLE: HEROINES AND HERETICS at Merkin Hall;?

Avalona: a new 'immersive' musical to hold workshop concerts.

Upon entering it seemed like the entire audience had their phones out snapping pictures of the new space - the banter was almost uniformly positive. All in all, it is a vastly more attractive space than the old one. Some folks even shed tears as they gazed around.

The Moipei Triplets Triumphant Return To Birdland!

Mezzo delivers powerful evening of song highlighting African American composers. On a spectacularly beautiful evening, in a spectacularly beautiful venue (Caramoor's Spanish Pavillion) the birds were singing brightly, children were running around playfully (some continued to do so right through the recital!) and J'Nai Bridges showed clearly why she is the 'it girl' of opera in 2022.

What do Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson all have in common? Each of these legends once graced the stage of Palisades Amusement Park! Now a spectacular new musical is in the works celebrating the glory days of 'America's Amusement Park' and some very big names have already thrown their support behind the show. For over one hundred years, Palisades Amusement Park was the most popular amusement park in the entire world! It was immortalized in numerous movies and was the title of a #1 Billboard hit from Freddie Boom-Boom Cannon. Now the producers are inviting fans who love Palisades Amusement Park to be a part of the action!

Puccini's 'La Boheme,' returned for its second run of the season this week and cast and conductor delivered the goods. There's nothing to say that has not already been said about La Boheme as an opera and the famous Zeffirelli production, so we won't dwell on it.

Maestro Yiannis Hadjiloizou and the Cyprus National Symphony perform for Pope Francis.

Pope Francis arrives in Cyprus December 2, 2021, in what is a historic event. The visit will last till December 4th, when the Pope is scheduled to visit Athens, Greece. This is the second time that a Leader of the Vatican State visits Cyprus.

Astor Piazzolla: Tango Nuevo. A Special Centennial Concert by Yiannis Hadjiloizou, Musical and Artistic Director of the Athens Philharmonic.

That said, any review of the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, (for readers who have been on Mars for the last half century: 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,' 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' 'Song and Dance', 'Aspects of Love', 'Evita,' 'The Phantom of the Opera,' 'Sunset Boulevard,' and 'School of Rock') must struggle with the dilemma of not what to include - but rather what to leave out.

World-renowned pianist and composer Jeffrey Biegel to premiere of a brand-new work by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas

The Hart Island Suite honors a family member and all one million souls who rest on Hart Island, NYC's public cemetery, Bronx, NY, and now includes victims of COVID-19, embracing their loved ones. Hart Island sits in the Long Island Sound, east of City Island.