BERLIN -- This week's almost coincidental openings of both the Salzburg and Bayreuth festivals have not only all cultural central Europe in a tizzy, but also the international jet set that can afford the astronomical ticket prices that so … » Read

In Defense of Classical Music in Brazil To the Editor: After reading your report about the difficulties involved in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra tour of South America [ MusicalAmerica.com linked to an article published in the Post-Gazette, … » Read

LONDON -- A revealing interview with artistic director Valery Gergiev in the Guardian explores the reasons behind the Kirov Opera’s recent disastrous visit to Covent Garden. Even after the close of the all-Verdi run of six operas and the Requiem, … » Read

[The following was released to the U.S. and European media yesterday afternoon and received by MusicalAmerica.com from the Detroit Symphony offices this morning.] Maestro Neeme Järvi was admitted to the hospital July 9th in Tallinn, Estonia with … » Read

DENTON, Texas (AP) -- Charles Yates was visiting a library in composer Giacomo Puccini's hometown when he stumbled onto something that set his heart racing. Amid the record of Puccini's life and works, Yates found an unpublished manuscript for a … » Read

HONG KONG – Onetime Hong Kong Sinfonietta director Henry Yu has been arrested for stealing $6.2 million from the orchestra and for falsifying accounting records, according to Hong Kong iMail. “Between July 1993 and April 1999, Yu issued a number … » Read

ATHENS -- While Beijing celebrates landing the 2008 Olympics, the city that started it all is busy preparing for the 2004 Games, which will have their share of cultural action, too. Athens is off to a good start. For while its culture is most … » Read

An article in the Webzine “The Idler” muses on the subject of who will succeed Bill Ivey as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Two names get the most attention: Roy Goodman, the Republican State Senator from New York, and Tony … » Read

BERLIN -- This fair season of the year, with most larger central European cities' resident operatic and orchestral opulence furloughed for summer vacation, a phenomenon occurs that Christiane Peitz of the Berlin Tagesspiegel recently dubbed … » Read

NEW YORK (AP) -- Did you hear about the little old lady who tried to sell six "Producers" tickets to folks in line at the half-price ticket booth in Times Square? She claimed she had bought them for her family but their New York vacation was … » Read