CHICAGO—With Chicago bona fides across the bill, the Grant Park Music Festival’s July 31 concert may well have been hometown pride night. Neither conductor Kedrick Armstrong nor violinist Gabriela Lara was born in Chicago: Armstrong … » Read

SANTA CRUZ, CA—With “We, the Dreamers” as the 2026 Cabrillo Festival’s overall theme, and “On Freedom” as the title of its July 31 season opener, one could expect some kind of statement pertaining to the … » Read

To celebrate its 150 th anniversary, the Bayreuth Festival turned to AI to generate a new staging of Wagner’s tetralogy. The result, concludes Flora Willson in The Guardian , had “something for everyone to dislike.” The … » Read

LONDON—The music on the two halves of this July 27 BBC Prom at the Royal Albert Hall may have had absolutely nothing in common but each had its own charms. It was also a chance for Londoners to hear the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra … » Read

LONDON—With the 2026 BBC Proms season well and truly underway, it was nice to see a genuinely savvy piece of programming at this July 23 concert from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under its LA-born Principal Conductor Ryan Bancroft. … » Read

The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra has seen some bumpy times since Nicholas McGegan ended his illustrious 35-year tenure as music director in 2020.His successor, Richard Egarr, lasted only four seasons, announcing his resignation (effective after … » Read

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.—After six seasons, Marin Alsop, 69, steps down next month as the chief conductor of Ravinia, the Chicago Symphony’s summer home. But with titles across five countries and six orchestras, she’s keeping busy. … » Read

You seldom hear mid-work applause at New York Philharmonic or Carnegie Hall orchestral concerts. But at the July 24 David Geffen Hall performance by the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center—titled “Elegant Impressions,” with Eun … » Read

The second half of this year’s Festival d’Aix-en-Provence maintained the standards of the opening week, albeit with a healthy dose of directorial controversy and two significant last-minute substitutions. With nine performances, … » Read

The following completes the coverage of the 2026 Glimmerglass productions scheduled for the mainstage. See also Part I, including a photo of Oklahoma! adapted to a high school auditorium. Madama Butterfly Francesca Zambello’s 2014 … » Read