Joshua Barone

Senior Staff Editor at The New York Times

Articles

The Best Classical Music of 2025, So Far

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Joshua Barone |Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim |Zachary Woolfe

‘Salome’Those looking for the full, lurid grandeur of Strauss’s “Salome” could find it this spring in a new production at the Metropolitan Opera. But in February, the scrappy company Heartbeat Opera pre-empted the Met with a thrillingly pared-down version, putting the audience just feet from the action and reducing a huge orchestra to two percussionists and an octet of clarinetists who played a total of 28 instruments, including a handful of saxophones.
At 85, Composer Annea Lockwood Is Far From Done Listening

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Joshua Barone

Lockwood, a composer who spins music from the sounds of the natural world, is sharing with and learning from a new generation of artists. Outside Annea Lockwood's house you could hear the sounds of a gentle breeze, rustling the leaves of her tree-lined driveway and swinging the wind chimes in her backyard. Every so often birds would interject with a bit of song over the rumble of a car down the road. "This neighborhood is a lovely, peaceful little place," Lockwood said one morning last month.
These Fans Love ‘Pride & Prejudice’ a Billion Times Over

3 weeks ago | myheraldreview.com | Joshua Barone

PASADENA, Calif. — “Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice announced over speakers, “please welcome world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet!”A roar erupted from hundreds of people dressed in their Regency-inspired finest: tailcoats and dresses with puffed shoulders, costume jewelry and ringlet-curled hair.
These Fans Love 'Pride & Prejudice' a Billion Times Over

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Joshua Barone |Roger Kisby

The soundtrack for Joe Wright's film adaptation of the Austen novel has long been a hit. At a 20th-anniversary ball, people got to hear it live. Jean-Yves Thibaudet toasts "Pride & Prejudice" fans in the Viennese Ballroom at the Langham Huntington. Credit...
The Inspirations Behind the Met Opera's 'Antony and Cleopatra'

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Joshua Barone

Julia Bullock as Cleopatra in John Adams's "Antony and Cleopatra" at the Metropolitan Opera. Credit... Video by BILL MORRISON The inspirations behind the staging of "Antony and Cleopatra," which imagines a world in which celebrities can be tantamount to gods. Julia Bullock as Cleopatra in John Adams's "Antony and Cleopatra" at the Metropolitan Opera. Credit...
The Opera Built From Pyramids, Old Hollywood and Beyoncé

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Joshua Barone

The Opera Built From Pyramids, Old Hollywood and BeyoncéOn the page, John Adams’s opera “Antony and Cleopatra” is a pretty straightforward adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. But on the stage, it is something else entirely. The production of “Antony and Cleopatra” that opens at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday is by Elkhanah Pulitzer, who turns …
The Classical Music Our Critics Can't Stop Thinking About

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Joshua Barone |Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim |Zachary Woolfe |Oussama Zahr

Watch and listen to five recent highlights, including Metropolitan Opera performances, the posthorn solo in Mahler's Third and music by Tomeka Reid. The New York Times's classical music and opera critics see and hear much more than they review. Here is what has hooked them recently. Leave your own favorites in the comments. Performed by Alexander Vinogradov at the Metropolitan Opera. For an opera lover seeking a bit of escapist fun, Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" seems like a safe bet.
An Operatic ‘Diamond on the Side of the Road’ Catches Light Again

1 month ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Joshua Barone

Share After the mayor issued a musical proclamation, and after Norway’s ambassador to the United States gave a speech about her country’s far-reaching history in the Midwest, Jennifer Teisinger, the executive director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, came out with a look of pleasant surprise, and more than a little pride.“How many orchestras,” she asked from the stage of Mary W.
'Giants of the Earth' Opera Returns at Last in South Dakota

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Joshua Barone

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra is making a fresh case for Douglas Moore's "Giants in the Earth," a Pulitzer Prize-winning but long obscure opera. After the mayor issued a musical proclamation, and after Norway's ambassador to the United States gave a speech about her country's far-reaching history in the Midwest, Jennifer Teisinger, the executive director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, came out with a look of pleasant surprise, and more than a little pride.
The Frick Needs a New Piano. Which Would You Choose?

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Joshua Barone |Amir Hamja

The pianist Jeremy Denk tests three Steinways that the Frick Collection is considering for its auditorium. Watch, listen and guess which the museum picked. The pianist Jeremy Denk tests three Steinways that the Frick Collection is considering for its auditorium. Watch, listen and guess which the museum picked. Credit... On a recent morning, the pianist Jeremy Denk got an early look at the renovated Frick Collection.