Articles by Chanda VanderHart

Brad Mehldau’s song cycle is a disappointment, the texts selected under the rubric of “desire” proving a major concern.

Despite an incapacitated Ying Fang miming the role of Susanna, the brilliant cast makes Barrie Kosky's new production worth the night out in Vienna. 

“Lima darf nicht Österreich werden!” Offenbach's operetta is set in Lima, but really it’s Vienna in director Nikolaus Habjan uproarious production. 

The French pianist steps in to join the American diva in the Musikverein for a program of French and German art song. 

There is magic aplenty in director Stefan Herheim’s bold recontextualization of Gian Carlo Menotti's holiday opera. 

They may seem like an odd pairing, but Wang and Kavakos defy the naysayers yet again, warming into a fascinating recital in Vienna.

Founded in 1988 by Claudio Abbado, Wien Modern is perfect for the contemporary-music curious, such as this complete traversal of George Crumb's masterpiece, housed in an art nouveau theater on Steinhof. 

In the Brahms Saal, Marc-André Hamelin juxtaposes three Russian composers with Schubert’s long misunderstood final piano sonata.

Herheim’s maiden voyage in his new capacity as Intendant confirms his ability to deftly negotiate a less-than-straightforward work with care and ambition and add his own voice enthusiastically to the mix.

An energized cast delivers in a visually eye-popping production as Monteverdi's opera appears at the Haus am Ring for the very first time. 

A more thoughtful and intentional artist is hard to come by today, and one who graces the Musikverein donning fabulous silver shoes on top of her pianistic gifts must be heaven-sent. 

The tenor and pianist pair Britten and Schubert in their Lieder recital on the stage of the Großer Saal. 

If in heaven there are indeed harps, then it would be hard to imagine a better angel to recruit than Anneleen Lenaerts, who performed Glière's concerto with her Philharmonic brothers and sisters in arms in the Musikverein. 

Pageantry abounds as the popular mezzo-soprano turns the Konzerthaus Wien into a sort of classical music, multisensory varieté.

Director Lotte De Beer's thoroughly realized, aesthetically rich and beautifully executed production of Janáček's masterpiece is anchored by strong performances from Nina Stemme and Svetlana Aksenova.

In much anticipated role (Kaufmann) and stage (Davidsen) debuts, this revival of Peter Grimes at the Staatsoper was much anticipated, despite a production that should be put out to sea without a paddle.

Kavakos’ restless approach was haunting, and during the cadenza he pared back his sound till it was nearly transparent, stopping breaths as we all leaned in. 

Kurt Weill's musical, with its focus on psychoanalysis, makes its Austrian premiere in the city of Sigmund Freud. 

Amartuvshin Enkhbat and María José Siri spar as father and daughter in Günter Krämer's tired production of Verdi's biblical epic. 

Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck’s Notturno is the rarity in an imaginative chamber recital dedicated to nocturnal music and transfiguration.