David Patrick Stearns is the classical music critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, a contributor to WRTI-FM in Philadelphia and a frequent contributor to Gramophone and Opera News magazine.
Newspapers: Philadelphia Inquirer classical music critic (2000 to the present) and USA Today music and theater critic (1983-2000).
Radio: WRTI-FM, contributor to Creatively Speaking with Jim Cotter (2009 to the present) and NPR Morning Edition, music commentator (1986-1989).
Magazines: Frequent contributions to Gramophone and Opera News.
Film: Screenwriter for two Lawrence Kraman documentaries, David Amram The First 80 Years (to be premiered in November) and The Face on the Barroom Floor (to be completed 2013).
Education: MA in musicology from New York University, BS in journalism from Southern Illinois University. Born in Sycamore, Illinois. Now living in Philadelphia.
Blogs:
David Patrick Stearns appears in the following:
Classical Music in 2020: It Wasn’t Bad After All
Thursday, December 17, 2020
A round-up of the most memorable classical moments … in a very unusual year.
Hildegard of Bingen: Saint, Activist, Feminist Icon — Always When We Need Her
Monday, November 02, 2020
Writer, composer, philosopher, sibyl, and woman of great knowledge, the medieval abbess has solidified herself as a 21st-century icon.
Historic Labels: An Enlightening Sonic Window to the Past
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Looking for a time-traveling adventure? Dive into the world of historic recordings.
Up on the Roof, Into the Woods, and Down in the Graveyards … Classical Music Lives
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
When where you play is just as important as what you play.
Hearing What We Wouldn’t Have Before: The Benefits of an Expanding World of Recordings
Wednesday, October 07, 2020
The proliferation of record labels and ease of distribution means some composers are finally getting their due.
Music Unframed and in the Great Outdoors: Keep Your Expectations Different
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Concert presenters are creating new ways to hear music safely in the wide-open spaces of New York City, allowing it to be experienced somewhere other than a computer screen.
Choices and Dead-Ends: A Music Writer’s Process
Monday, September 21, 2020
David Patrick Stearns follows up his Black conductors story with some insight into the research process.
Beyond High Concept, Beyond Algorithms: Classical Recording Artists Go “Off the Leash”
Friday, September 11, 2020
After decades of respectful, even beatific enshrinement, classical repertoire is being challenged, tested, and “tough loved” by its fondest champions.
Bach’s Goldberg Variations — and All of its Loopholes — Keep it Indestructible
Thursday, September 10, 2020
The Goldberg Variations is a masterpiece without consensus — in terms of what it is, who should play it and how it should be heard.
America’s Lost Generation of Black Conductors
Tuesday, September 01, 2020
The 1970s are hardly ancient history, but the decade seems like a distant world that had African American symphony and opera conductors in a few highly visible positions.
Beethoven’s 1808 Mega-Concert: Steer Clear of Any Time Machines but Seek Out the Re-Enactments
Friday, August 14, 2020
All of the music in this concert is by Beethoven, but is diverse enough that you’re tempted to diagnose him as having multiple personalities. And it’s four hours long.
The Ever-Changing World of Classical Performance — How Our New Reality Might Shape What We Hear
Thursday, August 06, 2020
When the air finally clears from the pandemic, the classical music world will feel completely different.
Shirley Graham Du Bois: Rediscovering a Lost Voice Through a Very Grand Opera
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
“This is the time to unleash my voice again.”
Satie’s Vexations: Visionary Creation? Or Musical Stalker?
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
Is Satie's Vexations an enigmatic work of genius or a musical prank?
Opera – What The Fuss is All About, and How to Make Sense of What You See
Thursday, July 02, 2020
For many inquiring minds, times of imposed idleness come with high-minded resolutions. Like wondering about opera, and finding out what all the fuss is about.
Transforming Music in Troubled Times
Thursday, June 11, 2020
David Patrick Stearns on #taketwoknees and how musicians bring new meaning to music in troubled times.
Four Years After Its Premiere, How Does Breaking the Waves Hold Up?
Thursday, May 28, 2020
In the wake of #metoo, this opera is a difficult watch.
Bernstein’s Mass on PBS: A Multi-Cultural Tour de Force? Or Should Jacqueline Onassis Have Asked For Her Money Back?
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
With PBS's upcoming broadcast of Leonard Bernstein's Mass, is it time to take a look at this divisive magnum opus?
Old Music, New Takes: How the Pandemic Rewrites Bach, Beethoven, and Sondheim (With Help from Meryl Streep, among Others)
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Music often seems to rewrite itself with a different manner, meaning, and cultural significance depending on the occasion — and never faster than right now.
The Met Opera is Hosting a Virtual Gala — Peter Gelb Answers Some of the Lingering Questions
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb spoke to us about his shuttered opera house, a virtual At-Home Gala, and some of the lingering questions surrounding it.
