Many years ago, a relative of mine used the term "music-intense" in conversation to describe a musician we both knew. I think it's also an apt descriptor for BBC music broadcaster Stephen Johnson. His ...

You can listen to a recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4, but nothing matches the sheer visceral impact of hearing it ...

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts. The fragment of Shostakovich’s 1932 satiric opera, “Orango,” given its ...

After a Chicago Symphony rehearsal on Wednesday, a violinist strode towards me and two CSO representatives as we chatted in the aisle. She had something to say to the press, she declared. She had been ...

An apology or an act of defiance? Shostakovich composed his Fifth Symphony in 1937 after receiving an official reprimand from the Soviet Union, responding with one of the most powerful — and enigmatic ...

Saxophone 1: Josh Flores - Saxophone 2: Peyton Womock - Trumpet: Joro Levy - Violinist: Estiek02 - Tuba: Griffin Andrew ...

Beautiful music, especially of the Romantic persuasion, is easy on the ears. Almost everyone can listen to a pretty melody and intuitively appreciate it. Deliberately ugly music — and let’s not hazard ...

Can you draw a line through the brutal Siege of Leningrad, to the war in Ukraine, to a recent special performance of Shostakovich in South Dakota? The Mount Rushmore State is the setting for us to ...