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
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.
Nov. 15, 2024
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.
Nov. 9, 2024
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.
Nov. 7, 2024
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.
Oct. 22, 2024
The San Diego Symphony, one of the country’s rising orchestras, has renovated its formerly inhospitable concert hall with surprising success.
Oct. 19, 2024
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.
Oct. 12, 2024
Davone Tines and Julia Bullock, leading singers of their generation, infuse theatricality into recitals centered on Paul Robeson and the Messiaen song cycle ‘Harawi.’
Oct. 9, 2024
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.
Sept. 25, 2024
For Gustavo Dudamel, being back at the Hollywood Bowl means ‘Carmen,’ Marvel movie music, a young Korean piano star and Beethoven’s Ninth.
Sept. 10, 2024
In an interview from Salzburg, Gustavo Dudamel talks about what Los Angeles means to him and addresses the perception that he’s no longer focused on the city that launched his career.
Sept. 3, 2024