Olivia Giovetti (sometimes Olivia Marlowe-Giovetti) is an American author, journalist, music critic and radio personality. She was known as the host of The New Canon, a weekly show as part of the programming for Q2 Music, an affiliate of WQXR-FM in New York. Giovetti has also appeared on-air for WQXR proper and writes for the station's website. Her work with The New Canon has made her a prominent figure within the contemporary classical scene in New York, bringing composers like David Lang, David T. Little, Steven Mackey, and John Luther Adams to wider audiences with interactive interviews. Her work with the station has been featured in notable media publications, including New York magazine,[1] NPR,[2][3] and Alex Ross's blog "The Rest is Noise."
In 2012, a blog post written by Giovetti that was critical of the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen and the company's general manager, Peter Gelb, was rescinded from WQXR's opera blog after Gelb personally complained to the station.[4] The incident was reported by The New York Times and later made the paper's front page when a similar story of Gelb's strained relationship to the press was reported.[5]
Giovetti was previously known for her work as the Classical and Opera editor for Time Out New York,[8][9] and has also written for The Washington Post, Gramophone, and Playbill. She was also a columnist for Classical Singer magazine.[10] In her writings, Giovetti has noted that her classical connections extend on her Italian side to ancestors that worked with Giuseppe Verdi.[10]