Alex Ross's Blog, page 8

March 20, 2025

The spirit of Casals 2: András Schiff

The great pianist's statement announcing the cancellation of future American concerts: "Some people might say, 'Just shut up and play.' I cannot, in good conscience, do that. We do not live in an ivory tower where the arts are untouched by society. Arts and politics, arts and society are inseparable. Therefore, as artists, we must react to the horrors and injustices of this world. Have we learned nothing from the course of history — as recently as Europe in the 1930s? Perhaps not. The American people have spoken – and we have heard them. Yes, indeed, there is a 'new sheriff in town.' Which has made it a very different 'town' — one that some of us no longer wish to visit. It is no longer obligatory. Thank you for your friendship and continued support. Let’s not give up hope for better times."

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Published on March 20, 2025 12:30

March 13, 2025

For Sofia Gubaidulina


The great Tatar-born composer died today at her home outside Hamburg, at the age of ninety-three. Her compositional voice, rigorous and sensuous in equal measure, spiritually noble to its core, never wavered in intensity, the 2019 orchestral piece Der Zorn Gottes serving as an apt valediction. I wrote about her Astraea improvisations for the New York Times in 1995 and the première of her Viola Concerto for The New Yorker in 1997.

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Published on March 13, 2025 08:28

March 11, 2025

A Laura Cetilia moment


Featured on Loadbang's new disc A Garden Adorned.

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Published on March 11, 2025 13:19

March 10, 2025

Yunchan Lim, Seong-Jin Cho

Testing Their Limits. The New Yorker, March 17, 2025.

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Published on March 10, 2025 09:49

March 3, 2025

A Noriko Baba moment


A survey of Baba's music is available on Kairos.

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Published on March 03, 2025 11:42

March 1, 2025

The spirit of Casals

A criminal authoritarian regime has seized power in this country, and Christian Tetzlaff has made the principled decision to cancel an upcoming American tour: “There seems to be a quietness or denial about what’s going on. I feel utter anger. I cannot go on with this feeling inside. I cannot just go and play a tour of beautiful concerts.”

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Published on March 01, 2025 08:45

February 24, 2025

A Lyatoshynsky moment

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Published on February 24, 2025 09:47

Edmond Dédé's Morgiane

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Dédé's score on display at the Folger Shakespeare Library.


A Belated Début. The New Yorker, March 3, 2025.

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Published on February 24, 2025 07:38

February 22, 2025

February 20, 2025

Coy euphemism of the day

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The New York Times desperately needs to find language commensurate with the seriousness of the situation.

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Published on February 20, 2025 08:44

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