Following report continues  Leipzig Bach Festival coverage, from July 9. With all the change St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) has seen since Bach worked (and was buried) there, I was curious to know what it was like to perform there. … » Read

Brant Taylor walked onto the stage of the Ravinia Festival’s Hunter Pavilion to rehearse for the first time since a $70 million gut renovation and noticed a huge difference. “I found that in the previous iteration of the shell, I was … » Read

One of the many casualties of the war in Gaza has been the branch of Palestine’s Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. Founded in 1993, it once had well-equipped offices in Gaza City, three pianos and storerooms full of instruments … » Read

A $1.75 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has breathed new life into the effort to restore and preserve the National Opera House, a 1890s-era Queen Anne-style manor in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh. In 1941, Mary Cardwell … » Read

The Glimmerglass Festival, which opens its season on July 10 with Oklahoma!, has already announced its 2027 iteration, which promises 30 mainstage performances running in repertoire July 12 to August 22, 2027. Stephen Sondheim’s Into the … » Read

Philip Glass’s new symphony finally had its premiere on July 5 at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Karen Kamensek conducting. The work, formally known as Symphony No.15 Lincoln , was commissioned by the National Symphony … » Read

As discussed in Part I , the newly christened Highmark Mann Center boasts of renewal, but also displays its lineage with pride. Staff is young, enthusiastic, and clearly committed; there’s a palpable sense of belonging, everywhere: A chance … » Read

The Palais Garnier, home to the Paris Opera, has been forced to extend its shutdown for renovations, initially planned from 2027 to 2029, by three years to 2032. The cause—the longer time necessary to eliminate lead contamination in the … » Read

From its founding in 2015 until 2022, the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) played an outsized role in providing financial support for the Malta Philharmonic, Malta’s national orchestra. The source of that … » Read

In a savvy and welcome stroke, the Washington National Opera has launched a “National Friends of the WNO” membership organization to capitalize on the groundswell of support, both financial and otherwise, it has garnered since leaving … » Read