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Jonas Kaufmann: The Artist Behind the Voice
FEATURE STORY
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Jonas Kaufmann: The Artist Behind the Voice

Kaufmann remains very much an active international performer, and the coming season offers American audiences an unusually apt opportunity to hear him. On October 8, 2026, he joins Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker for Carnegie Hall’s Opening Night Gala, an all-Italian evening framed by the overture to Verdi’s La forza del destino and Respighi’s Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome, with arias drawn from Cilea, Giordano and Leoncavallo.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
New York Resounds: The ASO Marks Twenty-Five Years Since 9/11 at Bryant Park
Music
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

New York Resounds: The ASO Marks Twenty-Five Years Since 9/11 at Bryant Park

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11, the American Symphony Orchestra and Leon Botstein turned Bryant Park into a place of sanctuary. Copland’s fanfare, Walker’s lament, Ives’s firemen’s parade, Haydn’s Mourning Symphony, and Mahler’s unfinished Adagio marked a journey from grief to gratitude, with luminous playing from concertmaster Cyrus Beroukhim and the ASO’s principals. Free, fearless, and profoundly humane, this is the orchestra New York deserves. Seek out the ASO’s 2026–27 season at Riverside Church and Carnegie Hall, and go.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Smoke Jazz Club presents the George Cables Quartet
Upcoming Picks
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Smoke Jazz Club presents the George Cables Quartet

Legendary pianist George Cables performs music from his most recent, acclaimed release, “The George Cables Songbook,” featuring his beloved compositions. Cables will be joined by his incredible quartet with saxophonist Craig Handy, bassist Essiet Okon Essiet, and drummer Jerome Jennings, with the very special addition of guest vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Samara Joy: The Bronx’s Silken Voice Ascends
FEATURE STORY
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Samara Joy: The Bronx’s Silken Voice Ascends

At 26, Bronx-born vocalist Samara Joy has gathered six GRAMMY Awards — Best New Artist among them — and an NAACP Image Award, while critics invoke Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae in the same breath. From gospel roots in Castle Hill to triumphs at Carnegie Hall and the Village Vanguard, her album Portrait crowned the 68th GRAMMYs. This fall, her septet tours North America before crossing to Europe’s great concert halls.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
ISLA: Conjures Cuba at the WP Theater
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

ISLA: Conjures Cuba at the WP Theater

ISLA is a bilingual miracle of shadow puppetry, live guitar, and three-part harmony — the true story of three sisters who fled Cuba on the 1969 Freedom Flights, told through their own recorded voices by Hit the Lights! at WP Theater. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and healing, it transforms one family’s escape into every family’s inheritance. Bring your mother, your children, and your memories. Go home and record your own family’s stories. Tickets are vanishing — go.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Once In a Lifetime, Again at the AMT Theater
Musical Theater
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Once In a Lifetime, Again at the AMT Theater

Once In a Lifetime, Again” is that rare festival discovery worth crossing town for: a tender, funny, rock-and-roll-hearted musical about grief, therapy, and the terrifying comedy of dating again after sixty-five. Cooper Grodin sings with aching honesty, Jenny Lee Stern is a comic chameleon, and Thursday Farrar grounds it all with reserved grace. It is the kind of festival discovery one hopes will have a life beyond its five-performance BBTF run.

 

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
When the Orchestra Fell in Love: The Symphonic Experience at Tilles Center
Dance
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

When the Orchestra Fell in Love: The Symphonic Experience at Tilles Center

Rarely does an afternoon of music leave you both heartbroken and hopeful. The Massapequa Philharmonic’s Romeo & Juliet did exactly that — Shakespeare, dance, and three immortal scores braided into one unforgettable experience. Do not let the story end here: discover the Philharmonic’s upcoming concerts, gather the people you love, and let this remarkable orchestra move you deeply again this season.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Women Who Rock You™ — Songs From Janis to Alanis & More
Cabaret
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Women Who Rock You™ — Songs From Janis to Alanis & More

On a dark Monday at City Winery, Mary Bridget Davies turned a concert into a séance. Moving from Melissa Etheridge to Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith to Sheryl Crow, she proved she can inhabit a ballad, a hard-rock anthem, or a blues with equal authority — honoring the women who clawed their way into a rock world built for men. The night doubled as a tribute to 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Ragovoy, whose “Don’t Compromise Me,” written for Joplin and never recorded by her, became its haunting center. She closed with Linda Perry’s “What’s Up.” The verdict: an A. Go.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Hot Combination at Birdland: Bryce Edwards and Mike Davis Resurrect the Jazz Age
Cabaret
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Hot Combination at Birdland: Bryce Edwards and Mike Davis Resurrect the Jazz Age

Bryce Edwards and Mike Davis have created something rare at Birdland. Their centennial tribute is part history, part dance party, and part love letter. With virtuosos onstage and a cache of nearly forgotten songs, Hot Combination shows that the Jazz Age still bubbles with humor, beauty, and youthful defiance. Don’t let the next one slip by. Check Birdland’s calendar, follow these artists, and step in. The 1920s are still roaring.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
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Jonas Kaufmann: The Artist Behind the Voice

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