Mark Swed has been the classical music critic of the Los Angeles Times since 1996. Before that, he was a music critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and the Wall Street Journal and has written extensively for international publications. Swed is the author of the book-length text to the best-selling iPad app, “The Orchestra,†and is a former editor of the Musical Quarterly. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism, honored in 2021 and 2007.
Latest From This Author
The annual L.A. Phil “Noon to Midnight†new-music marathon this year includes Doug Aitken’s immersive “Lightscape,†which proves to be not exactly a crowd-pleaser.
Concerts by Wild Up at MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary and Brightwork newmusic at Monk Space help L.A. audiences come to terms with election results.
The L.A. arts community is already worried about slow planning for the cultural festival accompanying the 2028 L.A. Olympics. A festival in Austria shows just what can can be done with careful curation.
Independent Opera’s “The Stone Guest†is revelatory, L.A. Opera’s “Romeo and Juliet†is exhilarating and Pacific Opera Project’s super-rare production of “Don Bucefalo†proves a nutty delight.
Timur stars in David T. Little’s goth opera, “Black Lounge,†a CAP UCLA presentation that weirdly connects the composer with David Lynch, Antonin Artaud and William S. Burroughs.
The San Diego Symphony, one of the country’s rising orchestras, has renovated its formerly inhospitable concert hall with surprising success.
The L.A. Phil and Master Chorale open the new season with a celebration of the chorus’ 60th anniversary and a Spanish-language production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream†with actor Maria Valverde, Dudamel’s wife.
Davone Tines and Julia Bullock, leading singers of their generation, infuse theatricality into recitals centered on Paul Robeson and the Messiaen song cycle ‘Harawi.’
Los Angeles Opera opens its fall season with a production of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly†that sets the story on a 1930s Hollywood film set.
For Gustavo Dudamel, being back at the Hollywood Bowl means ‘Carmen,’ Marvel movie music, a young Korean piano star and Beethoven’s Ninth.