Avant garde ain’t what it used to be. Forty-five years ago it was still possible to shock and outrage a concert audience. Could that ever happen today? Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Luciano Berio’s wildy

 Imperial Russia is often painted in the grim hues of Siberian exile and political repression, yet a glittering culture coalesced there during the 19th and early 20th centuries—one that continues to influence the arts and imagination

I am not alone in admitting that I can’t completely embrace the symphonies of Anton Bruckner. The surface sound of his music, its harmonies and gorgeous sonorities, is readily appreciated. It’s a grasp of structure and emotional narrative within his abstracted romanticism that has eluded me

 Frankly Music, Milwaukee’s top-level chamber music series, begins its new season with a program that features musicians of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO)...

Two little-known works by British composers comprised the last concert of the Frankly Music season, heard last week at Wisconsin Lutheran College. I wish other leaders in the community in various disciplines could speak as well as Frank Almond...

For a city of its size, Milwaukee has a decent amount of professional-level chamber music. One of our better series is Chamber Music Milwaukee (CMM). While it is primarily conceived to showcase music faculty at the University of Wisconsin...

I knew violinist Ilana Setapen was good. I had heard her in recital and in chamber music. But I didn’t realize how wonderfully and exceptionally good she is until hearing her play Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Milwaukee Symphony last Saturday night. Setapen is associate concertmaster of the orchestra. I would guess that there are few...