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Jacob Slattery

Jacob is a musician and raconteur based out of New York City. As a writer, he operates an online arts and culture blog with the goal of providing momentum for community-based arts projects in NYC. As an oboist, Jacob has performed internationally with orchestras from Vienna to Seoul. Born and raised in the lake-ridden, gopher empire of Minnesota, Jacob received a dual-degree in Music Performance and Marketing from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. His blog can be found here.

Author:Jacob Slattery

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Kissing her hair: Barbara Hannigan sings the Second Viennese School at Park Avenue Armory

By Jacob Slattery, 16 November 2017

Barbara Hannigan joined pianist Reinbert de Leeuw for a Second Viennese School recital at the Park Avenue Armory.

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Kissing her hair: Barbara Hannigan at Park Avenue Armory

By Jacob Slattery

Leif Ove Andsnes unleashes Nordic magic with the New York Philharmonic

By Jacob Slattery, 12 October 2017

Paavo Järvi joined artist-in-residence Leif Ove Andsnes and the musicians of the New York Philharmonic for Rachmaninov, Salonen and Sibelius.

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Leif Ove Andsnes unleashes Nordic magic

By Jacob Slattery

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Orchestrating the Dream Worlds of Studio Ghibli: A Short Flight Through the Music of Joe Hisaishi

By Jacob Slattery, 23 May 2017

As part of our film and game music month, we go deep into the work of Joe Hisaishi, the composer behind Studio Ghibli's best-loved scores.

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A Flight Through the Music of Joe Hisaishi

By Jacob Slattery

Capuçon bows a pugnacious Shostakovich with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

By Jacob Slattery, 07 April 2017

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, joined by cellist Gautier Capuçon, presented modern, post-war masterworks in their first of two nights in Stern Auditorium.

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Pugnacious Shostakovich at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery

The Gospel According to David Robertson and the St Louis Symphony Orchestra

By Jacob Slattery, 31 March 2017

A performance of John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary good enough to convert even the most conservative listener to the Church of New Music.

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The Gospel According to David Robertson

By Jacob Slattery

Yo-Yo Ma champions Salonen's new Cello Concerto with the New York Philharmonic

By Jacob Slattery, 16 March 2017

Maestro Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic gave the New York première of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Cello Concerto with soloist Yo-Yo Ma.

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Yo-Yo Ma champions Salonen in New York

By Jacob Slattery

Schubert + Staar + (Strauss x 2) = Vienna Philharmonic and Franz Welser-Möst at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery, 24 February 2017

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performed new(ish) music straight from its own bloodline (René Staar) under the direction of Maestro Franz Welser-Möst alongside works by Schubert, R. Strauss, and, inevitably, Strauss II in their first concert of 2017 at Carnegie Hall.

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The Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery

Dawning of the Raybaes: Eschenbach, Bamberg and Ray Chen at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery, 08 February 2017

Joining Maestro Christoph Eschenbach and the musicians of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra for a tour across the United States, Chen headlined a pops concert of Austro-German music, complete with a riveting interpretation of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and an sufficient performance of Mahler’s Fifth.

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Dawning of the Raybaes at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery

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Bye bye @OliveP: Remembering the legacy of Pauline Oliveros

By Jacob Slattery, 11 January 2017

Snapshots of Pauline Oliveros’ lifework as a musician, inimitable composer and feminist champion, who died in November 2016.

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Remembering the legacy of Pauline Oliveros

By Jacob Slattery

Happy birthday, Steve Reich! A Carnegie Hall birthday bash

By Jacob Slattery, 01 November 2016

Steve Reich turned 80 last month, and New Yorkers finally pencilled him, between the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade and the daunting presidential election, for big birthday bash at Carnegie Hall.

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Happy 80th Birthday, Steve Reich!

By Jacob Slattery

Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra: a “socks-on” kind of ensemble

By Jacob Slattery, 07 October 2016

Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and the musicians of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra are undoubtedly the most prominent ambassadors for Venezuelan orchestral music today, and they hit the stage on Friday for their second night at Carnegie Hall’s opening weekend.

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Dudamel and the Bolívars: a “socks-on” kind of ensemble

By Jacob Slattery

A ghost of an opera: David Lang’s disappointing the loser premieres at BAM

By Jacob Slattery, 07 September 2016

David Lang’s new opera the loser opened the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Wednesday night, but simply lacked theatricality.

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A ghost of an opera at BAM

By Jacob Slattery

Andreas Scholl, in battered armor, performs early English masters

By Jacob Slattery, 22 May 2016

Inhibited by a cold and unable to give a full 100%, Andreas Scholl pulled off a solid 99 in a recital of early English music with harpsichordist Tamar Halperin.

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Early English masters from Andreas Scholl

By Jacob Slattery

Alsop and Baltimore Symphony promote healing through music

By Jacob Slattery, 16 April 2016

Marin Alsop led the musicians of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Saturday evening in the New York première of Kevin Puts and James Bartolomeo’s The City and a valiantly led execution of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

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Alsop and Baltimore Symphony promote healing through music

By Jacob Slattery

Orpheus and Zuckerman perform an eclectic set at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery, 19 March 2016

The conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and violinist Pinchas Zuckerman, however, presented an evening of music loosely connected across several centuries, effectively pressing shuffle on the classical music jukebox.

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Orpheus and Zuckerman perform an eclectic set

By Jacob Slattery

The Messiaen Connection; or, How to Inspire "Egg-Makers" by Esa-Pekka Salonen and musicians of the New York Philharmonic

By Jacob Slattery, 07 March 2016

As part of the New York Philharmonic’s CONTACT new music series at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, Esa-Pekka Salonen drew connections among Olivier Messiaen, two of his students (Pierre Boulez and George Benjamin) and one outlier (Oliver Knussen).

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The Messiaen Connection: Salonen and members of the NY Phil

By Jacob Slattery

Prokofiev and chill: Gergiev and All-Star Pianists in concerto binge at BAM

By Jacob Slattery, 24 February 2016

Valery Gergiev led an athletic pilgrimage through composer-pianist Sergei Prokofiev’s five Piano Concerti, in numerical order, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

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Prokofiev and chill: a concerto binge in New York

By Jacob Slattery

Robert Ashley's opera-novel Quicksand perpetuates innovative legacy

By Jacob Slattery, 28 January 2016

In a posthumous premiere of his opera-novel Quicksand at The Kitchen in New York City, Ashley’s ingenuity was awakened by a troupe of artists who understand his work on a spiritual level.

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Robert Ashley's opera-novel Quicksand perpetuates innovative legacy

By Jacob Slattery

Hypnotic wonderment: Marina Abramović and Igor Levit’s Goldberg Variations at Park Avenue Armory

By Jacob Slattery, 07 December 2015

Marina Abramović revealed her new technique for listening to music in a concert at the Park Avenue Armory featuring a majestic performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations by pianist Igor Levit.

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Hypnotic wonderment: Goldberg Variations

By Jacob Slattery

Maestro Rattle cooks up a fresh Ninth with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Westminster at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery, 21 November 2015

If you are going to hear any performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the next decade, it should be from Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker.

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Maestro Rattle cooks up a fresh Ninth with the Berlin Phil

By Jacob Slattery

Escher Quartet guides dying Romantic era to birth of modernity in Zemlinsky Quartet cycle

By Jacob Slattery, 29 October 2015

Much like Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, Zemlinsky’s string quartets signifies the death of the Romantic world while laying the groundwork for the 20th century, but in contrast to Mahler’s cry of distress, Zemlinsky indulged in the new and eagerly descended into the future.

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Zemlinsky: from dying Romantic era to birth of modernity

By Jacob Slattery

Carnegie Hall Gala exhibits new Commissions Project, virtuoso Kissin and a locally-grown orchestra

By Jacob Slattery, 07 October 2015

Carnegie Hall opened its 125th anniversary season with the help of one of the world’s greatest living composers, one of the world’s greatest performers, and one of the world’s greatest orchestras.

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Carnegie Hall Gala exhibits new Commissions Project

By Jacob Slattery

Ensemble Musikfabrik parades new Partch instruments in slapstick tragedy

By Jacob Slattery, 23 July 2015

Under the direction of Heiner Goebbels, Ensemble Musikfabrik’s twenty-two multifaceted percussionist-vocalist-actor musicians executed an industrious performance of Partch’s magnum opus, The Delusion of the Fury.

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Musikfabrik parades new Partch instruments in slapstick tragedy

By Jacob Slattery

Marion Cotillard’s Joan of Arc descends the rabbit hole in Honegger’s surrealist oratorio

By Jacob Slattery, 10 June 2015

Academy Award-winning actor Marion Cotillard's portrayal of Honegger's Joan of Arc was curious, exultant, yet unflinching.

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Marion Cotillard’s Joan of Arc in Honegger’s surrealist oratorio

By Jacob Slattery

Demented coloratura and spiritual chant: John Zorn's Sacred Visions

By Jacob Slattery, 30 May 2015

John Zorn’s compositions presented at The Cloisters contained a bonanza of musical ideas, rolling in unnervingly peculiar waves and presented in clumps and clusters like audio versions of found art.

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Demented coloratura and spiritual chant

By Jacob Slattery

Meredith Monk's 50th composiversary at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery, 02 May 2015

Meredith Monk celebrated her 50th composiversary with a thoughtful look across her eclectic catalog of compositions, beginning with her first songs in the late 1960s to present compositions just gaining attention.

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Meredith Monk's 50th composiversary at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery

Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra “declassify” Janáček's Sinfonietta

By Jacob Slattery, 26 April 2015

Maestro Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra examined Leoš Janáček’s Sinfonietta as part of their "Classics Declassified" series with a performance that enhanced the concert experience through intellectual guidance.

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Botstein “declassifies” Janáček's Sinfonietta

By Jacob Slattery

Batiashvili and Leleux rediscover Bach in Escaich's new Double Concerto

By Jacob Slattery, 11 April 2015

Ms Batiashvili performed her final concert as the New York Philharmonic’s Artist-in-Residence alongside her companion and oboe virtuoso François Leleux in works by two distinguished organist-composers.

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Batiashvili and Leleux rediscover Bach in Escaich concerto

By Jacob Slattery

Luca Salsi replaces ailing Domingo in the Met's "Ernani"

By Jacob Slattery, 04 April 2015

Placido Domingo was "suffering from a bad cold" on Saturday afternoon, so baritone Luca Salsi, scheduled to sing Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor later that night, put on the costume and delivered a convincing last minute Don Carlo in Verdi's Ernani.

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Luca Salsi replaces ailing Domingo in the Met's "Ernani"

By Jacob Slattery

Stella di drammaticità: Joyce DiDonato stars in bel canto standards and rarities

By Jacob Slattery, 18 March 2015

Joyce DiDonato is joined by Lawrence Brownlee and Laura Claycomb for an entertaining program of bel canto repertoire.

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Stella di drammaticità: Joyce DiDonato

By Jacob Slattery

The Kronos Quartet premieres three works at Carnegie Hall

By Jacob Slattery, 07 March 2015

If the Kronos Quartet had their way, every new slice of contemporary music would be a string quartet. In the basement of Carnegie Hall, the Kronos Quartet premiered three new works and one newish work to celebrate the life of Kronos’ dear friend, Larry Neff.

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Kronos Quartet premieres in NYC

By Jacob Slattery

Maestro Daniele Gatti and the Vienna Philharmonic perform Brahms in New York

By Jacob Slattery, 28 February 2015

The Vienna Philharmonic, under the direction of Maestro Daniele Gatti, perform impressive accounts of Brahms’ Second and Fourth symphonies.

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Gatti and the Vienna Phil brings Brahms to NYC

By Jacob Slattery

Variations on an overtone series: Theatre of Voices stupefies with Stockhausen’s Stimmung

By Jacob Slattery, 21 February 2015

Composed for six amplified voices, Karlheinz Stockhausen’s seldom performed Stimmung evokes a meditative atmosphere through esoteric mysticism and complex serial methods of aleatoric construction.

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Theatre of Voices stupefies with Stockhausen’s Stimmung

By Jacob Slattery

“Hooray for Love!” Jessye Norman and Mark Markham perform love songs from the Great American Songbook

By Jacob Slattery, 14 February 2015

She made cynics swoon and skeptics burst: Jessye Norman, along with pianist Mark Markham, serenaded eager listeners with love songs from the Great American Songbook and 20th-century France.

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Jessye Norman in recital: “Hooray for Love!”

By Jacob Slattery

Celebrating the Wind Music of Carl Nielsen

By Jacob Slattery, 11 February 2015

An exploration of the wind music – concertos and chamber music – of Carl Nielsen.

Celebrating the Wind Music of Carl Nielsen

By Jacob Slattery

Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Scriabin transports Carnegie Hall to world of "supreme joy"

By Jacob Slattery, 30 January 2015

Riccardo Muti and the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra consecrated their weekend residency at Carnegie Hall on Friday night with two ocean-inspired works and a musical path toward becoming superhuman.

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Scriabin transports Carnegie Hall to world of "supreme joy"

By Jacob Slattery

Conflict Unresolved: Shchedrin's The Enchanted Wanderer

By Jacob Slattery, 14 January 2015

Shchedrin’s opera The Enchanted Wanderer is the complete opposite of shocking and director Alexei Stepanyuk’s staging alongside Valery Gergiev’s command over the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra revealed something of a translucid daydream.

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Conflict Unresolved: The Enchanted Wanderer

By Jacob Slattery

Forget the waltzes, New York City celebrates the New Year with jazz

By Jacob Slattery, 31 December 2014

The New York Philharmonic kicked off 2015 with the music of George Gershwin, led by British conductor Bramwell Tovey and joined by vocalists Norm Lewis and Dianne Reeves.

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New York City celebrates the New Year with jazz

By Jacob Slattery

A festive break from Messiah: Hindemith's The Long Christmas Dinner

By Jacob Slattery, 19 December 2014

A truly revolutionary music director, Leon Botstein programmed Hindemith's opera The Long Christmas Dinner alongside a full, staged version of Thorton Wilder's one-act play.

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Hindemith's opera a festive break from Messiah

By Jacob Slattery

Spry and proficient, Krzysztof Urbański debuts with the New York Philharmonic in all-Dvořák program

By Jacob Slattery, 06 December 2014

Opportunity planted the young Krzysztof Urbański on the Avery Fisher Hall podium in Dohnányi’s place, and occasion was right for his New York Philharmonic debut as he was joined by cellist Alisa Weilerstein for a satisfying night of Dvořák.

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Spry and proficient, Urbański debuts with the NY Phil

By Jacob Slattery

The John Adams Playlist in New York

By Jacob Slattery, 17 November 2014

In an innovative concert experience, John Adams curated a night of living composers to shine the spotlight on his favorite new works, answering the question: “Who’s on John Adams’ playlist?”

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The John Adams Playlist

By Jacob Slattery

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Scoring psychological portraits: Herrmann and Hitchcock

By Jacob Slattery, 17 November 2014

Herrmann’s core philosophy of scoring film music was not to provide music to accompany the action of the film, but rather to paint a psychological portrait or arouse a compelling atmosphere.

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Psychological portraits: Herrmann and Hitchcock

By Jacob Slattery

The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mahler and Zombification

By Jacob Slattery, 31 October 2014

In the spirit of Hallowe'en, Mahler’s Second Symphony focuses on the idea of Zombification; however, any mention of eating brains didn’t pass Mahler’s final edits.

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The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mahler and Zombification

By Jacob Slattery

Berlin Philharmonic launches Carnegie Hall Gala with vodka rather than Champagne

By Jacob Slattery, 01 October 2014

Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic kicked off their eight-day residency at Carnegie Hall with vodka instead of champagne.

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Berlin Phil launch New York residency in style

By Jacob Slattery

Hotel Elefant showcases music as a medium for 21st century storytelling

By Jacob Slattery, 14 September 2014

Combining seasoned chamber musicians, new works, and a cabaret-style venue, Hotel Elefant performed musical narratives ranging from horseback riding in Northern Iran to the public suicide of a Pennsylvanian State Treasurer.

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Hotel Elefant: Storytelling in Music

By Jacob Slattery