There was once a dismissive, even hostile, attitude toward period instruments and scholarship-based approaches to technique and interpretation. Most of those complaints now seem like dated artifacts of the late 20th c., or were a reaction (let’s be honest) to unrefined instruments and wobbly playing. But that’s now all behind us, right?

Ambition, regicide, fratricide, false accusations, betrayal, conspiracies, love, honor — and that’s just Act 1 of Leonardo Vinci’s ‘Artaserse,’ a 1730 opera seria with a sensational libretto by Metastasio. Chicago’s Haymarket Opera Co.’s production was a popular and critical hit on stage in 2025. Now, with the same cast, it’s a compelling new recording.

From Tom Kelly’s Musings column: ‘I can’t wait to see what early music will be programmed, and in what context, to commemorate America’s 250th… We must engage with cultural history more than ever — and we pick which slice of that history suits our ensemble and community.’

A rewarding new biography on Henry Purcell brings the composer’s life and times into one slender volume. At the book’s center is an up-to-date dictionary — accessible to non-specialists — that mentions well-known collaborators and a range of musicians, political events, performance practices, relevant musical terms, and more.