About
New York Classical Review was launched September 1, 2013 by Lawrence A. Johnson.
Editor
Lawrence A. Johnson
Lawrence A. Johnson is the former classical music critic of the Miami Herald, and, prior to that, classical music writer at the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He was a freelance critic for the Chicago Tribune throughout the 1990s, covering classical music as well as rock and theater, and wrote regularly for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Opera News, Opera and The New Criterion.
Johnson moved back to his hometown of Chicago in 2009 to launch Chicago Classical Review. In addition to continuing to serve as lead critic of CCR, he is also editor of New York Classical Review and all the other Classical Review sites. In 2014 Johnson launched the American Music Project, a nonprofit foundation committed to advocating for American classical music of the past through grants and selectively commissioning new works from American composers.
Regular Contributors
George Grella
George Grella is a musician, composer, and independent scholar. Along with writing for New York Classical Review, he contributes to The Wire magazine, Downbeat, Music & Literature, NewMusicBox, WQXR, and other publications.
His performing experience includes playing jazz, classical and improvised music at CBGB, the original Knitting Factory, and Weill Recital Hall. As a composer, he has produced chamber music, opera, electronic music and has created music for dance and cartoons. He serves as music editor at the Brooklyn Rail, and is the author of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, the first jazz title in the 33 1/3 series from Bloomsbury.
Rick Perdian
Rick Perdian is a singer who turned lawyer. In a previous life, an international career in law and insurance took him to Switzerland, Singapore, and China.
He began reviewing classical music performances in 2013 when he moved to Singapore. Since then he has covered concerts and opera in Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States. He contributes regularly to New York Classical Review. Seen and Heard International, and Classical Voice North America. He has also written program notes for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his writing, Perdian leads music-themed group tours to places such as the Czech Republic, Egypt, Italy and beyond.
David Wright
David Wright has been a reviewer for The Classical Review since 2011, based first in Boston, then in New York. He has written program notes for Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series and Mostly Mozart Festival since 1982.
From 1993 to 1995, he was the program editor and annotator of the New York Philharmonic, where his program notes received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence. He has also written program notes for Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Opera. He has contributed to or edited several reference books, and written regularly for the New York Times, Stagebill, Chamber Music, and other publications.
