The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) has received $3.5 million from Carl Kanter, retired senior VP and co-general counsel of Merck-Medco Managed Care. The school, which sees the gift as a “major milestone” toward its goal of $30M in … » Read

Pending ratification, scheduled for Wednesday, the Philadelphia Orchestra musicians have signed a new three-year contract, which moves base salary from the current $176,280 to $200,008 by its end. While the agreement was not a cliff hanger, the … » Read

The Mothers of Kherson , a new opera by Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets and American librettist George Brant, will have its premiere on Oct. 16 at the Teatr Wielki–Polish National Opera in Warsaw. Based on the true story of Ukrainian … » Read

With the appearance of yesterday’s NY Times Magazine article, the secret of the heaven-on-earth paradise of Tippet Rise is out. But if a first-time visitor’s account was self-revelatory, for those of us lucky enough to go for a second … » Read

Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena has retired at age 61 due to the rapid progression of Alzheimer’s disease, first diagnosed in March of 2025. He last conducted on August 12, when he led the Basque National Orchestra at the San Sebastián … » Read

Having successfully bankrupted Kennedy Center, Donald Trump now says he'll be the one to save it, IF his name goes on the building. Monies allotted by Congress in 2025 for repairs to the Center have gone who knows where since Trump took it over … » Read

As it turns out, opening-night patrons at the War Memorial Opera House had dressed in their finest for no reason. Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, set to launch the 104 th San Francisco Opera season on September 12, was cancelled, just as the … » Read

While the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO) decision to eliminate three senior positions is an indication of the orchestra’s continued financial challenges, the nature of their functions raises troubling questions about the … » Read

For the past 18 years conductor and composer Robert Ames has led the London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO), an ensemble he co-founded. As he steps down from organization, he writes in The Guardian that he finds himself “increasingly angry at … » Read

NEW YORK (AP) — Pretty much everyone on stage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York must audition — even the snake who will briefly take center stage in an upcoming adaptation of a Mozart classic. In charge of deciding who gets the … » Read