Recent content from Rob Hubbard
Review: Violinist Daniel Hope offered romanticism and emotion in Schubert Club concert
Hope performed works by César Franck and Maurice Ravel, among others, with English pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra enlists a host of intriguing musicmakers for its 2024-25 season
Pianist Roman Rabinovich, cellist Abel Selaocoe, violist Tabea Zimmermann and flutist Jasmine Choi are just some of the soloists slated to perform with the SPCO.
Review: Concertmaster Erin Keefe delivers beautiful violin solo with the Minnesota Orchestra
The concert also featured works by Eleanor Alberga, Johannes Brahms and Robert Schumann.
Review: Soprano Golda Schultz proved a captivating storyteller with a magnificent voice
Her Schubert Club International Artist Series recital featured songs by Clara Schumann, Rebecca Clarke and Kathleen Tagg.
Minnesota Orchestra's 2024-25 season includes mandolinist Avi Avital, jazz master Wynton Marsalis
Soprano Julia Bullock, violinist Isabelle Faust and soprano Christine Goerke are also among the world-class musicians slated to perform with the orchestra next season.
Review: Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott performs mesmerizing, haunting program with the SPCO
The concert included the premiere of a new piano concerto by American composer Chris Rogerson and works by French composers Francis Poulenc and Ernest Chausson.
Review: Pianist Yuja Wang performs a spirited, satisfying program with the Minnesota Orchestra
The Chinese virtuoso performed works by Sergei Prokofiev, Arturo Márquez and Franz Schubert.
Review: Pianist Daniil Trifonov delivers exciting, emotionally powerful Chopin Society recital
The Russian virtuoso's interpretations of Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" and Peter Tchaikovsky's "In Church" were the concert's most outstanding performances.
Review: MN Opera's 'Trouble in Tahiti' and 'Service Provider' explore marital bliss gone wrong
Mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams offers standout performances in both one-acts.
Schubert Club announces 2024-25 International Artist Series and Music in the Park Series concerts
Jeremy Denk, Leonidas Kavakos and Emmanuel Pahud are among those slated to perform as part of the International Artist Series.
Minnesota Opera's 2024-25 season features 'The Barber of Seville,' 'The Snowy Day,' a recital series
The season opens Nov. 2 with "Romeo and Juliet."
Review: Cantus, Canadian Brass prove an 'unsuccessful pairing' in St. Paul concert
The sound dynamics were problematic when the two groups blended, with the brass quintet overpowering some voices.
Review: Osmo Vänskä returns for an ear-opening Minnesota Orchestra concert of new music
Guest bassist Nina Bernat proved exhilarating and lyrical on Giovanni Bottesini's second bass concerto.
National Lutheran Choir's artistic director wants the group's music to make audiences think
Jennaya Robison will lead the choir in a performance Sunday at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth.
Review: King's Singers delight with tightly woven harmonies in Bethlehem Music Series concert
The all-male group was in fine form especially on songs such as Amanda McBroom's "The Rose" and U2′s "MLK."
Shruthi Rajasekar performs her new work 'Parivaar' as part of the Schubert Club Mix
Rajasekar curated the concert series and has made it a celebration of Minnesota's vibrant South Asian artistic community and the many musicians who have guided her along the way.
Review: Richard Egarr leads SPCO in spirited, dramatic Baroque music concerts
The smile-inducing program featured works by J.S. Bach, Heinrich Biber and Georg Philipp Telemann.
Review: The SPCO performs a majestic Handel's 'Messiah'
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's version has long been the Twin Cities area's gold standard.
Review: Shorthanded Cantus offers Christmas concert of solemn reverence
The harmonies were a bit thinner and the spirit more solemn at Friday's midday concert, with three of the group's four tenors sidelined.
8 great holiday concerts by Twin Cities area classical groups
From a couple of different renditions of "Messiah" to choirs to "Amahl and the Night Visitors," there's something for everyone.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has a budget surplus for fiscal year 2022
Community donations have been key to the SPCO braving the pandemic.
Review: Harpist Bridget Kibbey showed what the instrument can do at St. Paul recital
At St. Paul's Ordway, she teamed with violinist Alexi Kenney for a rich performance.
Dianne Reeves performs with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in holiday concert at Orchestra Hall
Christmas music always reminds the Grammy-winning jazz vocalist of family and fellowship.
Review: Minnesota Opera's finely sung 'Rinaldo' opens the new Luminary Arts Center
The fun production features imaginative costumes and staging.
Bruce Coppock, former SPCO president, cellist and teacher, dies at 71
Bruce Coppock, a classical music visionary, retired in 2016.
Review: Joshua Bell leads SPCO in energetic, emotional concert of Mozart, Bruch and Bizet
The violinist was an artistic partner with the SPCO earlier in his career from 2004-2007.
Review: Osmo Vänskä leads Minnesota Orchestra in bright, bold and bracing Mahler's Third Symphony
This work will be the last that the conductor laureate records with the orchestra.
Violinist Joshua Bell reunites with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for a series of concerts
Earlier in his career, Bell worked as an artistic partner with the SPCO for three years.
Review: Mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter offers an intimate, emotional concert at the Ordway
Renowned fortepiano master Kristian Bezuidenhout accompanied the theatrically engaging von Otter.
Review: Thomas Søndergård leads Minnesota Orchestra in beautiful program of contrasting themes
Maurice Ravel's "Mother Goose" proved lush and delicate, while Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" was intense and aggressive.
Review: Sir Donald Runnicles conducts the Minnesota Orchestra in a powerful, emotional concert
The program included works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Alban Berg, Carlos Simon and Edward Elgar.
Review: Minnesota Opera's 'Edward Tulane' delights with evocative music, dazzling visuals and heart
The opera is based on Minneapolis author Kate DiCamillo's novel "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane."
Minnesota Opera's COVID-delayed 'Edward Tulane' to make its world premiere
The opera, based on Kate DiCamillo's book "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane," has lessons for young and old about perseverance and empathy.
Review: Pianist Conrad Tao performs with imagination, energy and sensitivity in his SPCO debut
The program featured C.P.E. Bach and Mozart concertos, among other selections.
Review: Minnesota Orchestra opens season with Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Marsalis' 12-year-old "Swing Symphony," a journey through the history of jazz, didn't seem all that new.
Double bassists perform 'Murmur in the Trees' in a grove at Caponi Art Park in Eagan
New music ensemble Zeitgeist will present composer Eve Beglarian's work created for 24 upright basses.
Composer Viet Cuong creates new works in the SPCO Sandbox Composer Residency program
He is the first of three composers slated to participate in the new program.
New music director Thomas Søndergård discusses his plans for the Minnesota Orchestra
He doesn't step into his new role until September 2023, but he will return to Minneapolis in October to conduct three concerts.
SPCO opens season performing Beethoven's Seventh Symphony
This was a performance that delivered one epiphany after another.
24 favorite books, movies and songs that depict Queen Elizabeth II
The long life of the monarch inspired dozens of songs, movies, TV shows and books. Our critics cite these favorites.
Review: Mixed Precipitation offers clever, satirical take on 'The Magic Flute'
The "pickup truck opera" intersperses Mozart's music with early '90s pop.
Review: Source Song Festival returns to Minneapolis after COVID-19 hiatus
Six women singers gave beautiful voice to the words of six poets in Monday's festival-opening performance.
Review: Minnesota Orchestra's 'Fantasia' is inspiring, crisp, but also uneven
Amid inspiring moments, there are some curious cartoon choices on display.
Minnesota Orchestra's next music director Thomas Søndergård meets his first audience
Musicians, Minnesota and the classical music world react to Danish conductor's new role.
Review: Minnesota Orchestra offers a joyous interpretation of Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Symphony
The late-night performance of Brahms' Clarinet Trio, with Osmo Vänskä on clarinet, proved a fitting postscript to the evening.
Summer sunsets, barking dogs, car alarms: The joys and pitfalls of outdoor opera
Twin Cities area performers share how weather, wildlife and realities of modern life can interrupt the show.
Vocal ensemble Cantus brings the heat in 'Ramas y Raices: Songs from Latin America'
Jazz pianist Nachito Herrera provides the showstoppers to the program of music from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Mexico.
Review: Minnesota Orchestra kicks off 'Summer at Orchestra Hall' with Simon and Beethoven
Pianist Jon Kimura Parker's imaginative interpretation of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto was the evening's highlight.
Pianist Jon Kimura Parker delights in the Minnesota Orchestra's summer festival concerts
He especially enjoys collaborations with other local arts groups and the summery, relaxed feel of the festival.
Classical concerts (many of them free) to check out around Minnesota this summer
Classical music lovers have plenty of concert options this summer, indoors and outdoors.
Latvian Song and Dance Festival in St. Paul celebrates music and culture
More than 8,000 are expected to attend festival events that also include film, theater, visual arts and children's activities.
The big gigs: 10 concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week
Concert highlights for June 16-22 include the Winstock and Afropunk fests, Femi Kuti, Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus and Pryes Block Party.
Review: In final concerts, Osmo Vänskä offers a farewell to be remembered
More than 300 musicians filled Orchestra Hall's stage for Mahler's intense, meditative Eighth Symphony.
SPCO closes its season premiering 'Sands of Time' by St. Paul-based composer PaviElle French
Beethoven's Fourth Symphony completes the program
The big gigs: 10 concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week
Concert highlights for June 8-14 include Eric Church, Rock the Garden, Kandace Springs, the Bach Roots Festival and New Kids on the Block.
Osmo Vänskä winds down his Minnesota Orchestra tenure with an emotional premiere
Review: Jaakko Kuusisto died before finishing his symphony, but brother Pekka completed it for this weekend's program.
'I have done my part': How Osmo Vänskä drew greatness out of Minnesota Orchestra
With ambition, energy and hard work, Osmo Vänskä shaped the Minnesota Orchestra into one of the world's finest. Now there's pride, too, as Vänskä makes his final bow.
The big gigs: 10 concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week
Concert highlights for June 2-8 include Cecile McLorin Salvant, Haim, Orville Peck, the start of the end for Osmo Vänskä and a long-overdue Fingerprints release party.
With a captivating program, Pekka Kuusisto bids farewell to St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
REVIEW: The adventurous violinist is closing out six years as artistic partner.
New Brighton soprano crowned at Met Opera will sing in intimate Minneapolis 'Traviata'
Out of the Box Opera has adapted the Verdi show for small audiences at a downtown hotel on Memorial Day weekend.
The big gigs: 10 concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week
Live music highlights for May 19-25 include Lucius, Valerie June, Dua Saleh, PaviElle French and Pekka Kuusisto with SPCO.
Bach's crowning work gets a triumphant performance at St. Paul's Ordway Concert Hall
Review: Bach Society marks its 90th birthday with the piece that started it all.
Conductor Xian Zhang conjures passion and power from Minnesota Orchestra
Review: Program showcased how the ensemble can adapt to a new presence on the podium.
SPCO enlists a host of intriguing musicmakers for its 2022-23 season
German violist Tabea Zimmermann and South African cellist Abel Selaocoe will join the orchestra as artistic partners.
The big gigs: 10 concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week
Concert highlights for May 12-18 include the Cactus Blossoms, Dijon, Roger McGuinn and Jacob Collier.
Bursting with color and rich with meaning, Minnesota Opera's 'Carmen' is an affair to remember
Review: In her first directing job, opera star Denyce Graves delivers a superlative staging.
