Mark Swed, Music Critic

In Norway, Sweden and Denmark, the embrace of classical music can tend toward...




A new cast steps in for the final performances of L.A. Opera's traditional take on Verdi's opera. The...




He helped make some of Esa-Pekka Salonen's accomplishments possible....




At this forward-thinking campus in Oakland, the storied staff and student body...








It's an African excursion as the composer-performer builds layer upon layer of...




The soprano is extraordinary in György Kurtág's brilliant 'Kafka Fragments.'












In András Schiff's hands, the 16th Sonata dances between high comedy and drama.




The new venue's acoustics seem all right, so far, as the mezzo-soprano sings...




The sax player and the Brazilian chamber group explore the works of Darius...




America's voice finally tells his own story.




Too flashy. Too cold. Too young. Many critics said Salonen would be a bad fit....




Stewart Wallace's work based on Amy Tan's novel merges Asian techniques with...




The world did not end Wednesday morning after scientists near Geneva turned on the Large Hadron Collider,...




David Cronenberg and Howard Shore turn their film into a dreary, monotonous...




Filmmaker Woody Allen helps deliver great comic Puccini




The popular 40-year-old violinist from Indiana plays his solos big, powerful and...




The veteran minimalist's Violin Concerto finally comes out west.




William Bolcom's comic work, based on a Robert Altman film, is hitched to an...




Miguel Harth-Bedoya led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a likable and satisfying performance of...




Szymanowski's rarely performed work at Bard College in upstate New York has an...




A celebration of the uncommon, still-active Elliott Carter (at 99) ignites...




The instrument's aficionados gather for a festival where new works and methods...




At the Hollywood Bowl, 'Carmen' is overacted and imprecisely sung.




Tuesday night, for the 87th time, the Los Angeles Philharmonic opened its classical music series at the...




A concert honoring the L.A. Philharmonic music director and a shocking...




In a magical night, Partch the ensemble performs works by Partch the musician....




The L.A. Philharmonic has grown bolder, fans are flocking and the hall's sound...




On Feb. 1, 2007, the New York Philharmonic premiered Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Piano Concerto, his most...




The L.A. Phil turns to otherworldly pieces by Bartók and Stravinsky. And in...




AMSTERDAM -- There have been some things even the most dazed Dutch, hazy-headed from the legal hash and...




On its farewell tour, the trio plays its last concert in L.A. among friends.




As Dudamel unravels an exuberant program, soloist Leila Josefowicz matches him,...




The mission music of two centuries ago sounds fresh and pure California.




Newcomer Adrianne Pieczonka joins original tenor Neil Shicoff and veteran Juan...




Visiting Los Angeles, the German avant-gardist revisits several of his studies...




The math behind eighth blackbird’s program Tuesday night at the Orange County Performing...




Choreographer Mark Morris brings his once taboo-breaking, now classic...




Energy marks a significant night for the conductor in a program with works by...




The production is Southern California's first in 25 years and is an American...




With the celebrities gone and the galas over, the L.A. Phil can settle in to its highly hailed new home.




The polished steel exterior of the Walt Disney Concert Hall is already familiar. Inside, the paint is...




Sight and sound complement each other as the ensemble opens its season with works by the late Earle...




The Philharmonic's piece for children is entrancing, but the young audience is...




Édouard Lock's Montreal company rethinks Tchaikovsky with 'Amjad' at Royce Hall.




L.A. Philharmonic’s ‘Magic Flute’ is a no-nonsense powerhouse.




Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, this year's guiding force, embraces humanity...




Plácido Domingo and L.A. Opera have a winner with 'Luisa'




A polyglot festival reflects the nation's musical roots, which have much in...




Three Southland venues offer awe-inspiring pieces.




Kronos gives an epic West Coast premiere of Gorecki's second Third.




Jay Greenberg's talent is immense, but for the teen to grow, the music...




Swathed in a colorful past, the Ojai Festival is modest, informal and world-...




The conflict roiling inside of Leonard Bernstein found fervent, ecstatic release in each note of music he...




The artist's Combines aren't limited to canvas — they come alive in...