Opera Review

Distress at Sea, and Offstage

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

The New York Times

Alan Opie portrayed Leon Klinghoffer in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of “The Death of Klinghoffer” on Monday.

Hundreds assembled near Lincoln Center Plaza on Monday to protest the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “The Death of Klinghoffer,” a raw, penetrating work by John Adams.

Life Is a Cabaret Convention, Especially for Young Men

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

There were fewer chanteuses onstage at this year’s New York Cabaret Convention than in the past, and a lot more male performers.

Stephen Paulus, right, and his son Greg in 2011.

Stephen Paulus, Classical Composer Rich in Lyricism, Dies at 65

By WILLIAM YARDLEY

Mr. Paulus’s warmly received musical output was prodigious, including 13 operas and some 400 choral works.

Paul Craft, Witty Country Music Songwriter, Dies at 76

By BILL FRISKICS-WARREN

Mr. Craft’s hits included “Brother Jukebox” and “Dropkick Me, Jesus.”

Music Review

Sweet Harmony of Heaven, Dissonant Bustle of Earth

By ZACHARY WOOLFE

Juilliard415 and the Yale Schola Cantorum joined for a little-performed Mass by Jan Dismas Zelenka on Sunday.

Opera Review

A Lively Mind, Soon Before Death

By VIVIEN SCHWEITZER

Elliott Sharp’s “Port Bou,” a one-man opera about Walter Benjamin, looks at the philosopher as he ended his life.

Music Review

An Evolving Alignment of Medium and Message

By DAVID ALLEN

In a Carnegie Hall concert, Maurizio Pollini’s programming choices showed a change in emphasis and message.

October 22, 2014

Kate Bush Thanks Fans After Her Run of Shows Concludes

Ms. Bush wrote a grateful message to her fans after completing 22 sold-out performances in London.

October 22, 2014

Pairing Composers and Orchestras, With an Eye on Younger Audiences

A program administered by the League of American Orchestras with New Music USA brings 12 composers and 12 orchestras together.

October 21, 2014

Celebrating 50 Years of Peter, Paul and Mary — Give or Take

A new album, book and PBS documentary will look back at the group’s long history.

Go to Blog »

Music Review

The South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim.

One Song Can Contain Multitudes

By BEN RATLIFF

Abdullah Ibrahim, who just turned 80, performs in Carnegie Hall’s Ubuntu: Music and Arts of South Africa festival.

Protests Greet Metropolitan Opera’s Premiere of ‘Klinghoffer’

By MICHAEL COOPER

The Metropolitan Opera’s first performance of “The Death of Klinghoffer” was disrupted twice, but both protesters were ushered out.

The scene at a recent Sofar Sounds concert featuring Karen O, which took place in a TriBeCa apartment.

Tiny Concerts at Coffee Tables Near You

By MELENA RYZIK

Sofar Sounds artists performing in private homes are joining a global network for the annual CMJ music festival this week.

Have You Attended a Secret Concert or Performance by a Musician?

New Music

Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox and Kiesza Release New Albums

By JON PARELES, STEPHEN HOLDEN and JON CARAMANICA

New albums from Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox and Kiesza recall an array of musical styles, old and new.

Music Review

Leon Botstein conducted the American Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday at Carnegie Hall.

For Strauss, Tough Love Was a Good Thing

By ZACHARY WOOLFE

The American Symphony Orchestra performed “Marriage Actually,” a program of Strauss works inspired by conjugal life, on Wednesday at Carnegie Hall.

Music Review

Yale in New York: John Adams leading players from the Yale School of Music on Sunday at Avery Fisher Hall.

For John Adams, a Day of Music, Not Protests

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

The composer John Adams conducted players from Yale and the Brentano String Quartet in a program that included his “Absolute Jest,” inspired by Beethoven.

Music Review

The Emerson String Quartet performing at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday.

At Relative Ease, While Taking Command

By JAMES R. OESTREICH

Joined by the pianist Yefim Bronfman, the Emerson String Quartet performed a program last Tuesday featuring works by Beethoven, Purcell, Britten and Schumann.

Critic’s Notebook

Amélie Grould, left, and Stéphane Garin, with sound waves on a screen at rear, in Ryoji Ikeda’s 65-minute multimedia piece “superposition” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art over the weekend.

Putting Cold Data in the Service of Language and Music

By BEN RATLIFF

Ryoji Ikeda’s “superposition” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art used images from computer processing to suggest the beauty and the limitations of technology.

Music Review

A Broken Heart and Nostalgia

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

Joyce Breach, a beloved longtime fixture on New York’s cabaret circuit, is a quintessential keeper of the flame of an intimate nightclub tradition.

Riff

Streaming Music Has Left Me Adrift

By DAN BROOKS

Now that nearly every song is as easy to find as any other, what are we music snobs to do?

Classical

The Peoples’ Symphony Concerts will feature a recital by Peter Serkin.

Mozart and More

By ZACHARY WOOLFE

When the Peoples’ Symphony Concerts began over a century ago, tickets cost just 5 cents each. Now they’re up to $14.

Playlist

Anaiah Lei of the Bots performing at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April. “Pink Palms” is the band’s new album.

Statements of Isolation, in Songs That Soon Drift Away

By JON PARELES

Kindness, Vök, the Bots, Natalie Mering, and Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck release new music.

Press Play

Noteworthy New Music

Exclusive: New music by Ani DiFranco and Black Milk

This is the world premiere of “Allergic to Water” by Ani DiFranco and “If There’s A Hell Below” by Black Milk.

Listen Now »

New York Times Popcast

A veteran obscurantist: Scott Walker, whose album “Soused,” a collaboration with Sunn O))), is due out Oct. 20.

ArtsBeat

Popcast: The Myth of Scott Walker

By BEN RATLIFF

Ben Ratliff and Jon Caramanica discuss Scott Walker and Sunn O)))’s “Soused.”

FKA twigs performing in London this week.

ArtsBeat

Popcast: Tinashe, FKA Twigs and the Semantics of R&B

By BEN RATLIFF

Ben Ratliff and Jon Caramanica discuss the singers Tinashe and FKA twigs, and whether they point toward a new conception of R&B.

Taylor Swift performs onstage at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 19, 2014.

Swift’s New Single Soars to No. 1 on iTunes

By BEN SISARIO

The new Taylor Swift single, “Out of the Woods,” was released at midnight and quickly reached No. 1 on the iTunes chart.

ArtsBeat

In Performance: Rachel Dratch of ‘Tail! Spin!’

By ERIK PIEPENBURG

The “Saturday Night Live” alumna in a scene from the comedy about political sex scandals.

Classical Playlists

The pianist Igor Levit performing at Park Avenue Armory in March.

ArtsBeat

Classical Playlist: Bach, Haydn, Seattle Symphony and More

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Times critics share what they’ve been listening to lately.

Interactive Feature

Fall Arts Preview - Times 100

How to wade through the crush of culture coming your way this season? Here’s a guide to 100 events that have us especially excited, in order of appearance.