WNYC

Arts Highlights 2011: Arts Critics Weigh In

by Steve Smith
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Steve Smith, Classical Music Critic at Time Out New York "I think it’s going to be a tremendously exciting year. One of the big stories of 2010 was the way that contemporary classical music and adventurous pop music were growing closer together, and that's the subject of a festival that's going to happen at Merkin Hall  starting January 17, it’s called the Ecstatic Music Festival. That kind of vitality, you see it going throughout the season. I'm personally excited about "Nixon in China," the opera by John Adams finally coming to the Metropolitan Opera on February 2. And a couple of festivals worth watching in February: Eighth Blackbird, the innovative chamber group is doing a festival called Tune-In at the Park Avenue Armory, and Lincoln Center is doing another interesting festival in February called Tully Scope, which is a really eclectic mix of old and new music all taking place around Alice Tully Hall. That's just the tip of the iceberg, but that's the stuff on my calendar so far."