International solo cellist, Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir has made a name for herself as one of classical music’s most innovative performers. Born in Iceland and raised in the States, she now divides her time between the two countries.
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.
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 discography. This year he makes his debut as the artistic director of the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland.
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.
Jon Batiste was bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022. He has eight Grammy Awards and won an Oscar for Best Original Score for his work on the Pixar film Soul in 2021. As part of his Batiste Piano Series, he releases Black Mozart, Monk Meditations, and Monk Movements this summer.
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
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.
This summer the Brooklyn-based composer will be releasing The Year of Silence, a new recording with the Louisville Orchestra and Teddy Abrams, narrated by Dashon Burton and based on a short story by Kevin Brockmeier that Christopher discovered in 2010.
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 Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society while in the UK, he has remained at the helm of The Sixteen, a choral ensemble he founded in 1979.
Ahead of a series of six concerts entitled FRAGMENTS, which pairs each Bach cello suite with newly commissioned work, American cellist Alisa Weilerstein recounts how the Aspen Music Festival has shaped her career.
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 King’s Music, an honorary title that dates back to the early 17th century.
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]. He was first a professional oboist and performed with both of the orchestras he would go on to lead. Here, he discusses Bach: invention and innovation.
Edward Gardner is principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet.
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.
Norwegian piano virtuoso Leif Ove Andsnes began his international concert career in his 20s. He has since performed all over the world while notching up an impressive discography that encompasses solo, chamber, and concerto repertoire. This spring he will release a disc of piano works by fellow Norwegian, Geirr Tveitt.