Simon Rattle kicks off his third season as music director of the London Symphony Orchestra in a blaze of contemporary British music. The opening concert, on Sept. 14, starts with the world premiere of Antisphere by Emily Howard, commissioned for … » Read

Arts Council England published its annual report yesterday [Aug. 22], painting as positive a picture as possible in uncertain times. But hidden on page 63 is a stark warning: “A reduction in our Grant-in-Aid income from 2020 would result in … » Read

The Pittsburgh Opera has been on a roll. Attendance grew by 13 percent during the past season, bringing total participation up to 67,500. Dr. Donald Fischer, newly elected to a three-year term as chairman of the board, is eager to build on the … » Read

It might take more than practice, practice, practice to get to Carnegie Hall. A new study concludes that natural talent plays a bigger role in differentiating between good and excellent violinists. The study sought to reassess a similar 1993 … » Read

Representatives from 52 major orchestras have gathered in Park City, Utah, for the three-day annual meeting of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM). They have a lot on their menu. Foremost, perhaps, is the need to … » Read

The Baltimore Symphony musicians yesterday said they would not go back to work in September without a new contract, despite management’s indication earlier in the summer that the lockout would end as of Sept. 9 . In a statement, they … » Read

Writing an opinion piece for The Washington Post , Olivia Giovetti, identified as “a classical music writer based in New York,” proposes that “to really save opera—and classical music in general—we have to let it … » Read

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is to celebrate its 70 th anniversary with an eight-concert U.K. tour under Yan Pascal Tortelier. The orchestra made its Britain debut at the BBC Proms five years ago but has never toured the U.K. before. The … » Read

The U.K. government should cover additional costs that musicians incur in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM). A press release states that a no-deal Brexit would cause “major disruption to … » Read

The Philadelphia Orchestra is to present a four-day celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), playing all nine symphonies and splicing them with newly commissioned works. The new works are … » Read