Diary of Musical Thoughts

Every year, the Vienna Philharmonic presents a New Year's Day concert of light music based around Strauss-family waltzes and polkas.  Th...

I used to obsess over my year-end lists, but now, I don't miss them in the least.  Non-listmaking friends and online acquaintances used ...

I don't know why I have never written about this album before, seeing as it influenced my buying habits for years afterward.  If memory...

Of course it’s an advertisement for his upcoming world tour, and yes, he surely got a boatload of money from Netflix for doing it. But set t...

In 1991, Milli Vanilli became the first and still only act to be stripped of a Best New Artist Grammy.  Now, more than three decades later, ...

Hard to believe that this album is nearly 30 years old.  At the time, it felt wholly out of place.  Although released on Warp, "Advance...

 It's always nice to see a list that covers a subject that hasn't been overdone.  Other than Percy Grainger's "Country Gar...

Twelve years ago, I saw Shlomo Artzi in concert for the first time and was blown away.  At the time I wrote that "I'm not sure I...

Kelefa Sanneh hit a home run with his excellent piece in the New Yorke r , covering the decline of music criticism from acerbic, witty truth...

I have taken to Sinopoli's recordings as somewhat of a guilty pleasure.  His style certainly isn't for everyone.   Most people value...