Schwalbe and Partners Inc.

04/27/2025

A fantastic review for tenor Richard Pittsinger, currently performing with Boston Baroque as Lurcanio in Handel's Ariodante.

🎭 "But perhaps the most praiseworthy work came not from the leads but rather from the secondary romantic pair, Dalinda (Robin Johannsen) and Lurcanio (Richard Pittsinger). Both brought nuance to portrayals of characters that otherwise might have been somewhat one dimensional [...] Pittsinger embodied the beautiful qualities of the Baroque tenor voice, demonstrating both an agility and lightness in the upper register not typically heard in modern operatic tenors."

Full review: ⬇️
https://www.classical-scene.com/2025/04/25/pearlman-capstone/

Photo: Richard Pittsinger as Lurcanio and Megan Moore as Ariodante(Ken Yotosukura photo)

04/22/2025

Get to know baritone Hadleigh Adams! Hadleigh will be returning to his native country of New Zealand in May to perform in La Bohème.

Baritone Hadleigh Adams is returning home NZ Opera’s La Bohème.

04/16/2025

Congratulations to countertenor Nicholas Burns, who has made the finals of the Mathieu-Duguay Early Music Competition, 6th edition, of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival. The competition will take place July 20-26 in Lamèque, New Brunswick, Canada. Best wishes!

The Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival is proud to announce the 6th edition of the Mathieu-Duguay Early Music Competition, which will be held from July 24 to 26 as part of the Festival.

04/14/2025

A nice review for bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca, who recently performed Verdi's Requiem with the Grace Choral Society at Carnegie Hall.

🎭 "Lagasca was consistently excellent all evening, with a full, clear sound and plenty of projection. He also chose the perfect energy and mood for whatever he was singing, from ensemble passages to his solo in the Offertorio."

This is the Lenten season, always a good time for requiems in classical music. And while there are many fine ones to play, it is sometimes a tricky thing, adapting them to the concert hall.

04/04/2025

A lovely review of Ars Lyrica Houston's Theodora, featuring Richardson, Soprano as Theodora, and Douglas Williams as Valens.

🎭 "Bass-baritone Douglas Williams projected authority and swagger as Valens, the cruel Governor of Antioch who condemned the heroes to their fate. Ironically Handel gave one of the only upbeat arias in the oratorio to his villain, and Williams gave a sonorous and buoyant rendition of “Racks, gibbets, sword, and fire,” singing gleefully about methods of punishments for the unbending Christians."

🎭 "Richardson’s bright silvery tone sailed through the air like the skimming silver doves of her aria “O that I on wings could rise.” In her three duets, Richardson was always attuned to her partner, creating a rich palette of vocal colors through even the most difficult leaps in register. Richardson and [Cody] Bowers delivered one of the most heart-rending duets as they faced their executions, finding divine bliss in their sacrifice in “Streams of pleasure ever flowing.”

Handel’s Theodora was the least-performed oratorio during the composer’s lifetime, yet he considered it one of his most important and finest creations.

03/25/2025

Beautiful music to get you in the mood this Easter/Lenten season. Featuring Nicholas McGegan, conductor, Thomas Cooley, Tenor, and Nola Richardson, Soprano, this new recording releases April 11 and is available for pre-order through the link below.

San Francisco-based Cantata Collective continues its exploration of J.S. Bach’s major choral masterworks with a third in the ongoing series, pairing the composer’s Easter Oratorio and Magnificat. Released in time for Holy Week, both works are lavishly scored and feature some of Bach’s most fes...

03/18/2025

An in-depth look at Stephen Stubb's newest project with Boston Lyric Opera, Vivaldi's and Ruhl's The Seasons. 🍁🌿❄️☀️☔️

Creative artists in early music are hoping to attract new fans by offering more than old music in predictable formations. By design, they break from the status quo, with soap-bubble sets for Vivaldi and Bach in spoken English. Historically informed? 'It’s historically inspired, which is maybe more...

03/17/2025

Get to know Nicholas McGegan, conductor a little bit better! 😊

Conductor Nicholas McGegan answers The Classic Review's 10 questions. Where will he most likely find inspiration? How many hours does he study scores each day? And what are the classical music albums he couldn't live without?

03/14/2025

A thorough review of Nicholas McGegan, conductor's latest concert with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra!

🎭 "With Nicholas McGegan conducting, verve and style embraced us as our Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra players delivered works by Bach, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky. McGegan's mantra, "We should probe beneath the skin of music, strive for great performances," informed three works, each with a dance connection, and each infused with his insistence that "Music … is an emotional and exciting thing, not to be tempered by correctness." "

Read more ⬇

With Nicholas McGegan conducting, verve and style embraced us as our Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra players delivered works by Bach, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky.

03/13/2025

Encouraging news of collaboration from four of New York's public radio stations. Support your local station!

At a time when public radio stations are facing budget pressures and the potential loss of public funding, four New York City-area public radio stations are joining forces to form

03/11/2025

Wonderful words for several of our artists in this review of the recent Seraphic Fire Enlightenment Festival concert, including for conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley, Nola Richardson, Soprano, and tenor James Reese.

🎭 "Nola Richardson’s dark middle range traced the music’s classical gravity while her top notes gave full measure to Berenice’s troubled state. Quigley drew fiery playing from the strings, fully embellishing the work’s drama."

🎭 "An outstanding solo quartet, placed across the center of the chorus, made stellar contributions to Mozart’s work. Chelsea Helms’ high soprano, Amanda Crider’s rich mezzo, James Reese’s dulcet lyric tenor and Edmund Milly’s firm bass made the solo interjections distinctive and memorable."

Read more ⬇️

The second and final program of Seraphic Fire’s Enlightenment Festival was devoted to music of the Classical era and provided the choir’s finest concert of the season.

03/08/2025

A lovely review of Music of the Baroque's recent performance of Handel's Theodora, featuring Sherezade Panthaki, soprano in the title role.

🎭 "Sherezade Panthaki proved ideal casting as Theodora. A longtime MOB regular, her soprano has grown in heft and power while losing none of its luster and flexibility. Panthaki easily handled the coloratura demands and brought great poise and sincerity to her singing even in the scenario’s fitfully ludicrous moments. She was at her finest in the concluding duet and her two central arias, especially a moving and expressive “With darkness deep as is my woe.”"

For all its renown and inescapable omnipresence every December, Messiah is something of an outlier in George Frideric Handel’s output. Of the composer’s 29 oratorios, nearly all are inspired by stories from the Old Testament, like Solomon, Esther and Jephtha.

03/06/2025

Out this week! Get your copy March 7!

🎭 "Perkins leads a tight ensemble, pacing the drama effectively and blending instrumental timbres to illuminate Weldon’s subtle palate."

Read the Limelight review.

02/23/2025

A lovely review of Nicholas McGegan, conductor's recent album featuring Mozart's Horn Concertos!

🎭 "In Frank-Gemill and McGegan's hands, the second Concerto's Andante feels like bathing in moonlight on a warm summer's eve, and the third's middle movement Romance reminds me of a perfect smile that impels us to smile in return."

Mozart: Horn Concertos Alec Frank-Gemmill, B-flat horn; Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, cond. BIS-2635 (reviewed in native 24/96). 2024. Thore Brinkmann, prod.; Brinkmann, Håkan Ekman, engs. Performance ***** Sonics ****½

02/23/2025

A nice behind-the-scens look at the recording of the Academy of Ancient Music's upcoming album, Weldon's The Judgement of Paris, featuring the Cambridge Handel Opera and led by conductor Julian Perkins. Releasing March 7! 🎼

Listen to the new album: https://aam.co.uk/product/john-weldon-the-judgment-of-paris/Movement No. 11: Symphony for Juno~~~Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) and ...

02/19/2025

A wonderful review of AGAVE's Valentine's Day performance of their new program, Rum and Rebellion, which left the audience "spellbound". Some highlights:

🎭 "In Nunes Garcia’s “Te, Christe, solum novimus,” [Tenor Richard] Mobley executed flawless coloratura while showing off his dramatic chops in “Taedat animam meam” a setting of Job’s plea to God by Cuban composer Esteban Salas."
🎭 "While Mobley was clearly the star of the show, AGAVE proved more than able as accompanists and as a stellar instrumental group on its own."
🎭 "While primarily a string ensemble, AGAVE also includes Baroque guitarist Kevin Cooper, whose sensitive and dexterous playing brought a clear Spanish and Latin American flavor to the continuo."

Read more: ➡️

02/18/2025

Another great look at Edmond Edmond Dede's Morgiane! This video includes excerpts of the music, which debuted earlier this year in New Orleans and Washington, D.C.

"Morgiane" is believed to be the oldest existing opera written by a Black American, but it wasn't seen by audiences until 2025.