The visceral intensity of a competition performance leaves its mark on the audience as well as the contestants. You could sense the collective adrenaline skyrocketing during the final round of the Concours musical international de Montréal … » Read

Russian conductor Daniel Raiskin is to be the next principal conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, effective from the 2020/21 season. He succeeds James Judd, in the job since 2017-18. Raiskin is in his first season as music director of … » Read

Stephen Sondheim has been presented with an honorary fellowship by the UK’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). The legendary music theater composer and lyricist, now 89, accepted the honor at an exclusive November 14 event hosted by the … » Read

After a piano rehearsal, two orchestra sessions and one concert performance together, soprano Christine Goerke gushed with praise for Gianandrea Noseda. “He doesn’t just use his hands and his arms. He conducts with his entire … » Read

Cristian Macelaru is having quite a year. Last week, the Orchestre National de France made the surprise announcement that he would succeed Emmanuel Krivine as its chief conductor in the fall of 2021. Currently in his first season as music … » Read

Ernest H. Harrison, a doctoral candidate in choral conducting at USC, is the new music director and conductor of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA). He succeeds interim Gavin Thrasher, now head of New York’s GMC; Thrasher in … » Read

Longtime Metropolitan Opera Artistic Administrator Jonathan Friend [pictured] will leave his job at the end of the current season. He’s to be succeeded by Michael Heaston, the former executive director of the Met’s Lindemann Young … » Read

A tragic fall down a flight of stairs has claimed the life of oboist Janice Thomson, 62; the incident occurred Sunday night in a University of Miami concert hall, just prior to a performance by the Greater Miami Symphonic Band (GMSB). Thomson was … » Read

During Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) lockout last summer, Marin Alsop, the ensemble’s music director, was notably silent. At a meeting on Nov. 12 in Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, she broke her silence. This was a state-mandated gathering of … » Read

Chances are good that András Schiff [pictured] will not be reappearing with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) any time soon. The pianist’s recent performances were to feature him playing with and conducting the … » Read