Here are my picks to remember 2022 in music. Nixon in China according to TANG Jianping How about a different narrative of Nixon in China, probably from a Chinese perspective? Beijing-based composer TANG Jianping’s opera Premier ZHOU (2019) got its

Once you get away from the maudlin 19th-century songs such as Auld Lang Syne, that sing farewell to the old year, there’s a world of other traditions for the new year. Many involve street or home parties, fireworks, special foods,

For Maestro Xu Zhong, 2022 has been an incredibly busy and fruitful year. With the Covid-19 pandemic still paralyzing much of the world, Xu has launched a number of initiatives to assure that music and the arts have not been

The Cello Concerto of Antonín Dvořák Op. 104 is considered by most cellists as the ultimate masterpiece that displays the depth, emotion, versatility, and range of our beloved instrument. Composed for the cellist Hanuš Wihan during Dvořák’s term as Director

What is your best way of getting in the mood for Christmas? One of my all-time favorite activities is to watch hours upon hours of Christmas movies. I understand that traditions and tastes are different from person to person, and

Starting with a bow to the great master, Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) opened his 1858 Oratorio de Noël (Christmas Oratorio) with an organ prelude ‘in the style of J.S. Bach’. Written in 1858, the work was recognized in its time for

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Serenade No. 13 in G major, K. 524 “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” In the wonderful and whacky world of musical nicknames, there is nothing more famous than “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This “Little Night Music”

Why is it that some composers are placed on a pedestal, high above their peers; that one might consider Beethoven, Mozart, or Bach, for instance, to be above? And furthermore, why does it provoke such strong reactions when one dares