I've been hearing this music since the cradle, yet, when played right, it never fails to surprise me with its gems of tenderness. This evening, there were no such surprises. Pretty and attractive music, to be sure, but it's not the same thing as opening up the treasures of your heart.

While many conservatives whine "I want my country back," they forget that America's strength has always been built on the backs of immigrants (like their very own ancestors). People from every corner of the globe have looked to America as "the land of opportunity."

In the election season hoopla, we can sometimes lose sight of why we care. It's good that we have music to remind us.

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of West Side Story, which debuted at the Winter Garden Theater in New York in 1957. A “Rom...

Leonard Bernstein's legacy is more vital than ever in a time when the arts face a threat greater than a lack of public funding: a lack of public interest.

Most creative talents have a professional bag of tricks they like to employ in the course of creating art. From alliteration to asymmetry, from pointilism to pizzicato, these gimmicks help startle an audience and add to an artist's personal style.

The League of American Orchestra's biennial conductors' preview showcase is designed like the talent evaluation combine that pro football teams hold every year.

Steve Sherman's photos offer Lenny, glowing celebrity, lunging into space behind his baton, accepting yet another award. Look again, though, and these pictures start to haunt you.

The arts are in a parlous state, but contrary to popular belief, it isn't the fault of unions or the absence of arts education in our schools. The arts are in trouble because there is simply not enough excellent art being created.

No president, apart from John F. Kennedy, cited accomplishment in the arts as one of the highest aspirations of a nation. We must return to being a country that truly relishes the arts at their highest level of accomplishment.

Top: Poster for "A Quiet Place." Bottom: Facade of the David H. Koch Theater Photos by Allan M. Jalon       I heard his deepl...