Author: Bryony Smith

Listening Room: Corinne Winters

For over a decade the American soprano Corinne Winters has been captivating opera audiences with an impressive array of leading roles, from Strauss to Janáček. She grew up in Maryland but only discovered opera in her final year at high school after a teacher spotted her extraordinary potential. That chance discovery set her on a path that has since taken her to the world’s great opera houses. 

Stories: Simone Dinnerstein

Concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein has established herself as one of the world’s most revelatory interpreters of JS Bach. Ahead of her program of music by him and Philip Glass at the Aspen Music Festival, she talks about the musical threads that link both composers, and the unique demands of performing at Aspen.

Listening Room: Daniel Hope

Violin soloist Daniel Hope is one of classical music’s greatest explorers. Never one to shy away from a challenge – musical or otherwise – he has built an eclectic and acclaimed discographyThis year he makes his debut as the artistic director of the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland. 

Stories: Etienne Gara

French-born, Hungarian-heritage violinist and educator Etienne Gara is the founder and artistic director of Delirium Musicum, an award-winning self-conducted chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles since 2018. Renowned for his innovative approach to classical music, he has performed as a soloist and chamber musician all over the world and has collaborated with the likes of Itzhak Perlman and Leonard Cohen. Here, he shares why curiosity is the key to the future of classical music and moving the world forward one delirious note at a time.  

Stories: Inon Barnatan

Concert pianist Inon Barnatan has become a familiar and much-loved presence at the Aspen Music Festival over the summer weeks. Here, he reflects on its enduring appeal, his longstanding partnership with the cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and life as a music director at his own festival in La Jolla, California, later this summer

Origins: Daniel Hope

Few artists in classical music are as energetic, versatile, or influential as the violinist Daniel Hope. He has built an eclectic and acclaimed discography spanning Irish folk music, American jazz, and the core classical repertoire. He is the new artistic director of the Menuhin Festival Gstaad in Switzerland.

Stories: Christopher Cerrone

This summer the Brooklyn-based composer will be releasing The Year of Silence, a new recording with the Louisville Orchestra and Teddy Abramsnarrated by Dashon Burton and based on a short story by Kevin Brockmeier that Christopher discovered in 2010.

Listening Room: Harry Christophers

The conductor Harry Christophers has been a familiar presence on both sides of the Atlantic for many decades. For 14 years he was the Artistic Director of Bostons Handel and Haydn Society while in the UK, he has remained at the helm of The Sixteen, a choral ensemble he founded in 1979.

Favorites: Errollyn Wallen

Errollyn Wallen is a renowned British composer. Her music has framed royal occasions, ceremonies and iconic events like the Last Night of the Proms. In 2024 she was the first person of color to be appointed as Master of The Kings Music, an honorary title that dates back to the early 17th century.

Stories: James Roe

James Roe is the president and executive director of New York’s Orchestra of St. Luke’s, where he has led an organizational transformation of programmatic scale. Previously, he was president and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony [Orchestra]Hwas first a professional oboist and performed with both of the orchestras he would go on to lead. Here, he discusses Bach: invention and innovation.

Stories: Steven Banks

As a performer and composer, saxophonist Steven Banks is striving to bring his instrument to the heart of the classical music world. Here he discusses his newly released contemporary classical music composition, Come As You Are.