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Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall is a classical music critic and cultural reporter. He has written for Bachtrack since 2019, and his byline has appeared in many national and international classical music publications. Based in Philadelphia, he regularly travels around the United States for musical events. In addition to his career in journalism, Cameron also teaches in the Theatre Arts program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a certified sommelier and avid home cook. His favorite composer is Mahler. Twitter: @CameronPKelsall.

Author:Cameron Kelsall

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Overcoming the pressures facing young musicians: Elliot Kempton

By Cameron Kelsall, 13 November 2025

Young viola player Elliot Kempton, member of the Fibonacci Quartet, talks about the LSO Conservatoire Scholarship scheme, which aims to alleviate the acute financial pressures facing young musicians today...

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Overcoming the pressures facing young musicians: Elliot Kempton

By Cameron Kelsall

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Raphaël Pichon crafts inventive Beethoven program with Orchestra of St Luke's

By Cameron Kelsall, 06 November 2025

The French conductor pairs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with several of the composer’s more obscure miniatures, performed alongside thematically related poetry.

*****

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Pichon crafts inventive Beethoven program with Orchestra of St Luke's

By Cameron Kelsall

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Esa-Pekka Salonen leads an Austrian feast at the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall, 18 October 2025

A delightful Mozart appetizer leads to a satisfying account of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony.

****1

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Salonen leads an Austrian feast at the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall

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An earthbound Missa Solemnis from the Boston Symphony Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall, 11 October 2025

In celebration of the 125th anniversary of Symphony Hall, Andris Nelsons returns to the work that opened the venue on 15th October 1900.

***11

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An earthbound Missa Solemnis from Boston Symphony Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall

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Brilliant Bartók and an Adams premiere from the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall, 04 October 2025

Yunchan Lim makes his long-awaited local debut in collaboration with his frequent partner Marin Alsop, the orchestra's newly minted Principal Guest Conductor.

***11

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Brilliant Bartók and an Adams premiere from the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall

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Contemporary works populate Philadelphia Orchestra's opening night

By Cameron Kelsall, 25 September 2025

Audiences drawn in by Yuja Wang's performance of the Ravel Piano Concerto are also treated to Julia Wolfe and Arturo Márquez.

****1

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Contemporary works populate Philadelphia Orchestra's opening night

By Cameron Kelsall

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A long, strange trip: Opera Philadelphia’s Il viaggio a Reims

By Cameron Kelsall, 19 September 2025

The intrepid company brings Damiano Michieletto’s well-traveled production of a Rossini rarity to the US for the first time.

***11

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A long, strange trip: Opera Philadelphia’s Il viaggio a Reims

By Cameron Kelsall

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As usual, Beethoven ushers out the Boston Symphony season at Tanglewood

By Cameron Kelsall, 24 August 2025

The season-ending performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony loses its intended conductor but remains enjoyable, if somewhat under-rehearsed.

***11

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As usual, Beethoven ushers out the BSO season at Tanglewood

By Cameron Kelsall

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A galactic adventure at Tanglewood: Kazuki Yamada and The Planets

By Cameron Kelsall, 23 August 2025

The guest conductor pairs Holst's perennial crowd pleaser with Poulenc's Gloria, a work deeply associated with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

****1

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A galactic adventure at Tanglewood: Kazuki Yamada and The Planets

By Cameron Kelsall

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Climate change and classic arias: Renée Fleming in Saratoga Springs

By Cameron Kelsall, 15 August 2025

Fleming's program, an outgrowth of her Grammy-winning album Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene, makes an urgent case for the preservation of the world's natural wonders.

***11

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Climate change and classic arias: Renée Fleming in Saratoga Springs

By Cameron Kelsall

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Heaven is a place on earth: Verdi's Requiem in Saratoga Springs

By Cameron Kelsall, 14 August 2025

Returning to the first work he officially conducted as the Philadelphia Orchestra's Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin offers a powerful study in contrasts, supported by a superb quartet of opera soloists.

*****

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Heaven is a place on earth: Verdi's Requiem in Saratoga Springs

By Cameron Kelsall

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The Philadelphia Orchestra brings William Grant Still to Saratoga

By Cameron Kelsall, 13 August 2025

Still's Second Symphony anchors a Saratoga program that also featured familiar hits by Stravinsky and Rachmaninov.

****1

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The Philadelphia Orchestra brings William Grant Still to Saratoga

By Cameron Kelsall

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Ravinia Festival opens with bombastic Gershwin, emotional Tchaikovsky

By Cameron Kelsall, 12 July 2025

Under Marin Alsop, the Chicago Symphony string players also offered a lyrical reading of Jessie Montgomery’s beguiling Strum.

***11

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Ravinia Festival opens with bombastic Gershwin, emotional Tchaikovsky

By Cameron Kelsall

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Joe Hisaishi thrills Studio Ghibli fans in Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall, 25 June 2025

The iconic composer-conductor paired two recent works with a suite from the beloved Spirited Away in a performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

***11

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Joe Hisaishi thrills Studio Ghibli fans in Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall

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Exciting debut elevates Met Queen of Spades

By Cameron Kelsall, 04 June 2025

Galina Cheplakova steps in for Sonya Yoncheva in the penultimate performance of this revival, winning over the audience with vocal clarity and dramatic commitment.

***11

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Exciting debut elevates Met Opera The Queen of Spades

By Cameron Kelsall

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Yannick’s debut, Stemme’s farewell: Tristan und Isolde in Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall, 01 June 2025

The Philadelphia Orchestra offers a musically and dramatically urgent performance of Wagner’s complete opera, buoyed by world-class soloists.

*****

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Yannick’s debut, Stemme’s farewell: Tristan und Isolde in Philly

By Cameron Kelsall

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The Philadelphia Orchestra discovers Florence Price once again

By Cameron Kelsall, 29 May 2025

Lara Downes and Yannick Nézet-Séguin offer the subscription debut of Price's Piano Concerto in One Movement, followed by the ultimate crowd pleaser, Beethoven's Ninth.

***11

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The Philadelphia Orchestra discovers Florence Price once again

By Cameron Kelsall

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Scenes from a marriage: The Brightness of Light at the NY Philharmonic

By Cameron Kelsall, 18 May 2025

Kevin Puts' song cycle inspired by the correspondence of Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz makes its long-awaited New York debut, featuring Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry.

***11

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Scenes from a marriage: The Brightness of Light at the NY Phil

By Cameron Kelsall

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Salonen brings Bryce Dessner's Violin Concerto to the LA Philharmonic

By Cameron Kelsall, 04 May 2025

Leading his former orchestra and soloist Pekka Kuusisto, Esa-Pekka Salonen bookends his San Francisco commission with two crowd-pleasers from the standard repertory.

****1

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Salonen brings Bryce Dessner's Violin Concerto to the LA Philharmonic

By Cameron Kelsall

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Mahler 6: Philadelphia Orchestra hammers home the point

By Cameron Kelsall, 10 April 2025

Yannick Nézet-Séguin presents the composer's "Tragic" Symphony without an ounce of fat on the bone, a relentless and exhilarating journey.

*****

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Mahler 6: Philadelphia Orchestra hammers home the point

By Cameron Kelsall

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Bartók concerto showcases one of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s best

By Cameron Kelsall, 05 April 2025

First Associate Concertmaster Juliette Kang dispatches the perilous demands of Bartók's Second Violin Concerto with practiced ease, on a program that also featured a complete Firebird.

***11

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Bartók concerto showcases one of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s best

By Cameron Kelsall

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Superb Schumann 2 anchors Szeps-Znaider’s NY Phil conducting debut

By Cameron Kelsall, 04 April 2025

Thomas Larcher’s Returning into darkness, a new work for cello and orchestra, is performed by its dedicatee, Alisa Weilerstein.

***11

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Superb Schumann 2 anchors Szeps-Znaider’s NY Phil conducting debut

By Cameron Kelsall

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Simmering Shostakovich and subpar Schumann at the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall, 28 March 2025

Stutzmann's program also features the Orchestra's premiere of Missy Mazzoli's arresting tone poem, Orpheus Undone.

****1

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Simmering Shostakovich and subpar Schumann from Stutzmann in Philly

By Cameron Kelsall

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Strauss and Shostakovich dominate Pittsburgh Symphony program

By Cameron Kelsall, 23 March 2025

Sheku Kanneh-Mason makes his local debut in Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto, followed by a fantasia on Arabella conceived by Music Director Manfred Honeck.

****1

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Strauss and Shostakovich dominate Pittsburgh Symphony program

By Cameron Kelsall

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Dazzlingly dexterous Ravel from Aimard and Vӓnskӓ in Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall, 07 March 2025

The Philadelphia Orchestra's concert also served as a tribute to Michael Tilson Thomas, who was to have conducted the performance before withdrawing for cancer treatment.

****1

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Dazzlingly dexterous Ravel from Aimard and Vӓnskӓ in Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall

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Exhilarating Mahler and George Walker from the LSO at Carnegie Hall

By Cameron Kelsall, 05 March 2025

Led by Sir Antonio Pappano, the London Symphony's first New York appearance in two decades also featured Janine Jansen in Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's "Symposium".

****1

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Exhilarating Mahler and Walker from the LSO at Carnegie Hall

By Cameron Kelsall

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Unexpected delights abound with Grimaud and the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall, 27 February 2025

Yannick Nézet-Séguin smartly surrounds a guaranteed crowd-pleaser – Brahms’ First Piano Concerto – with less familiar works by Julia Wolfe and Louise Farrenc.

*****

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Unexpected delights abound with Grimaud and the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall

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Bumpy love songs from Roderick Williams and Julius Drake at PCMS

By Cameron Kelsall, 12 February 2025

A fully produced performance of Brahms' Die schӧne Magelone in Philadelphia, complete with on-stage narrator and bespoke drawings, proved less than the sum of its parts.

**111

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Bumpy love songs from Roderick Williams and Julius Drake at PCMS

By Cameron Kelsall

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A voyage to The Planets with Daniele Rustioni and the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall, 01 February 2025

Gustav Holst's perennial audience favorite provides pure comfort food, paired here with Ravel and an organ rarity by Alfredo Casella.

****1

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The Planets with Daniele Rustioni and the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall

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Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, more alive than ever in Boston

By Cameron Kelsall, 30 January 2025

The composer's magnum opus, unjustly neglected in English-speaking countries, receives magnificent treatment from Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, anchored by David Butt Philip and Christine Goerke.

*****

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Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, more alive than ever in Boston

By Cameron Kelsall

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Yuja and the Americans: Philadelphia Orchestra plays Bonds and Still

By Cameron Kelsall, 17 January 2025

Yuja Wang's performance of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto may have been the main draw, but Yannick Nézet-Séguin paired the familiar centerpiece with two neglected works by 20th-century American composers.

****1

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Yuja and the Americans: Philadelphia Orchestra plays Bonds and Still

By Cameron Kelsall

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Mahler and Heggie: songs of love and loss from the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall, 11 January 2025

Yannick Nézet-Séguin pairs Mahler's weighty Ninth Symphony with Jake Heggie's Songs for Murdered Sisters, which considers the scourge of domestic violence against women.

***11

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Songs of love and loss from the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall

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Finding the complete piano player: Illia Ovcharenko

By Cameron Kelsall, 27 December 2024

The young Ukrainian pianist talks about winning the Honens International Piano Competition, his love for Ukrainian music, and being part of the Classeek Ambassador programme.

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Finding the complete piano player: Illia Ovcharenko

By Cameron Kelsall

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Barbara Hannigan beguiles in Philadelphia Chamber Music Society recital

By Cameron Kelsall, 10 December 2024

The Canadian soprano and her accomplished accompanist, Bertrand Chamayou, offer a thoughtful and eclectic program of Messiaen, Scriabin and John Zorn.

*****

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Barbara Hannigan beguiles in Philadelphia recital

By Cameron Kelsall

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Metropolitan Opera revives a cartoonish Frau ohne Schatten

By Cameron Kelsall, 29 November 2024

Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal's ode to humanity, returning after an eleven-year absence, suffers from generalized acting and inconsistent musical values.

**111

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Metropolitan Opera revives a cartoonish Frau ohne Schatten

By Cameron Kelsall

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Passion and precision from the Berlin Phil at Carnegie Hall

By Cameron Kelsall, 17 November 2024

Under the leadership of Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko, the Berliners produced a deep, muscular and forward sound that invigorated familiar music.

****1

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Passion and precision from the Berlin Phil at Carnegie Hall

By Cameron Kelsall

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Paul Lewis brings Schubert's late piano sonatas to Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall, 12 November 2024

The British pianist reveals new ideas in the most familiar of music in this recital program, which concludes a multi-year return to Schubert's keyboard literature.

****1

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Paul Lewis brings Schubert's late piano sonatas to Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall

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Requiem for a heavyweight: Riccardo Muti in Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall, 25 October 2024

After a 19-year absence, the legendary conductor returned to the podium of the Philadelphia Orchestra, leading an inconsistent performance of a signature work.

**111

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Requiem for a heavyweight: Riccardo Muti in Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall

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An American in Paris: the Philadelphia Orchestra plays Betsy Jolas

By Cameron Kelsall, 18 October 2024

Alongside works by Bernstein and Copland, conductor David Robertson and pianist Nicolas Hodges give the US premiere of Jolas's cheeky concerto bTunes.

***11

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An American in Paris: the Philadelphia Orchestra plays Betsy Jolas

By Cameron Kelsall

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Formidable Bruckner launches Philadelphia Orchestra season

By Cameron Kelsall, 27 September 2024

Yannick Nézet-Séguin brings surprising intimacy to Bruckner's Seventh Symphony, which contrasts his Romantic approach to Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto.

****1

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Formidable Bruckner launches Philadelphia Orchestra season

By Cameron Kelsall

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The Listeners: daring psychological thriller opens Opera Philadelphia season

By Cameron Kelsall, 25 September 2024

The new opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek draws on cult mindsets and conspiracy theories but smartly avoids sensationalism.

****1

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The Listeners: daring psychological thriller at Opera Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall

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Inside the mind of Peter Grimes: Issachah Savage

By Cameron Kelsall, 10 September 2024

The American tenor talks about taking on Britten’s most archetypical tragic, flawed character, in a new production premiering at Dutch National Opera.

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Inside the mind of Peter Grimes: Issachah Savage

By Cameron Kelsall

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Annandale-on-Hudson

Damning with faint praise: Berlioz at Bard

By Cameron Kelsall, 18 August 2024

As part of a festival considering the composer's oeuvre, Leon Botstein leads a concert performance of La Damnation de Faust lacking in French style.

**111

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Annandale-on-Hudson

Damning with faint praise: Berlioz at Bard

By Cameron Kelsall

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James Gaffigan leads a heavenly Mahler 4 at Tanglewood

By Cameron Kelsall, 11 August 2024

In his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Gaffigan threads the needle between innocence and irony in Mahler's great work, ably supported by soprano Elena Villalón.

****1

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James Gaffigan leads a heavenly Mahler 4 at Tanglewood

By Cameron Kelsall

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Exciting but inconsistent playing from the EUYO at Carnegie Hall

By Cameron Kelsall, 06 August 2024

Under Iván Fischer's direction, Mahler's First Symphony is notable more for bombastic passion than subtle artistry.

***11

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Exciting but inconsistent playing from the EUYO at Carnegie Hall

By Cameron Kelsall

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A dark, delicious take on Elizabeth Cree at Glimmerglass Festival

By Cameron Kelsall, 28 July 2024

Mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught anchors a fluid and appealingly staged new production of Kevin Puts' penny dreadful.

****1

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A dark, delicious take on Elizabeth Cree at Glimmerglass Festival

By Cameron Kelsall

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Tanglewood fellows impress in Strauss, Beethoven and Ives

By Cameron Kelsall, 21 July 2024

Andris Nelsons and Emanuel Ax find inspiration working with their young colleagues on an idyllic Sunday in the Berkshires.

****1

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Tanglewood fellows impress in Strauss, Beethoven and Ives

By Cameron Kelsall

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Gods at twilight: a fervently theatrical Götterdämmerung at Tanglewood

By Cameron Kelsall, 20 July 2024

A star-is-born performance from the young American bass David Leigh anchors a thrilling performance of the Ring cycle's dramatic conclusion.

****1

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A fervently theatrical Götterdämmerung at Tanglewood

By Cameron Kelsall

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Subpar Strauss from the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood

By Cameron Kelsall, 07 July 2024

Renée Fleming makes a worthy return to the Marschallin, but this all-Strauss program, led by Andris Nelsons, is more notable for its deficits.

**111

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Subpar Strauss from the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood

By Cameron Kelsall

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From Manhattan to Rome: musical journeys end Baltimore Symphony season

By Cameron Kelsall, 16 June 2024

Jonathan Heyward's first season as BSO Music Director closed with an exciting world premiere from composer-in-residence James Lee III, alongside audience favorites old and new.

***11

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Musical journeys end Baltimore Symphony season

By Cameron Kelsall