Russian-born pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy is retiring from public performance. The 82-year-old maestro first gained public notice at the 1955 International Chopin  Piano Competition in Warsaw, where he won the silver medal. He … » Read

Susanna Mälkki, Musical America’s 2017 Conductor of the Year , has joined a rather elite group of maestros: Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Chilean-Italian conductor Paolo Bortolameolli. The four are the sole clients of Fidelio … » Read

Barry Tuckwell, foremost French horn virtuoso of the 20 th century, founding music director of the Maryland Symphony and the Tasmanian Symphony in his native Australia, died on January 16 in a hospital in Melbourne. He was 88 and suffered from … » Read

Plácido Domingo appeared last night at the Berlin Staatsoper in Traviata , but some were not happy about it and protested outside the hall. He is still scheduled to sing there next Tuesday as well. There have been calls from Pro Quote … » Read

Daniel Harding, just on the heels of a guest podium appearance with the New York Philharmonic, will take a year’s sabbatical from conducting to focus on his other career, as a pilot. (He earned his license about four years ago.) The music … » Read

Cellist István Várdai is to be the artistic director of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra (FLCO), a new concept for an ensemble whose history has seen its leaders either within the group and/or with visiting soloists, a stellar … » Read

Alan Gilbert, erstwhile music director of the New York Philharmonic, is going back to Stockholm. The former and now laureate music director of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic is to be the music director of the Royal Swedish opera, as of spring … » Read

In its first signings since the new team was in place, Colbert Artists Management has added Canadian-American violinist Timothy Chooi for North American representation. Chooi, winner of the 2018 Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition, … » Read

The Los Angeles Philharmonic will get to keep its firebrand of a maestro for yet another five years, having secured his services through the 2025-26 season. He will have been at the artistic helm of the Phil for 17 seasons, starting in 2009-10 as … » Read

The drama in the personal lives of today’s opera divas doesn’t hold a candle to that of Lydia Locke, an American soprano of the early 20 th century whose biography includes seven marriages, two dead husbands, and a stolen baby. Born … » Read