For the first time, the Banff International String Quartet Competition has awarded its first prize to two ensembles: The Marmen String Quartet, from London, and the Viano String Quartet, from Los Angeles. Ten quartets competed in the week-long … » Read

The Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (SISIVC) is now accepting applications for the third edition of the event, slated to take place in Shanghai on August 4-25, 2020. Stern’s son, conductor David Stern, and violinist … » Read

Not every headline about Guatemala these days involves immigration and Trump. The country drew attention this past week when Adriana Gonzalez, a 27-year-old soprano from Guatemala City, became one of two winners of Plácido Domingo's … » Read

Michael Tilson Thomas joins Sally Field, the group Earth Wind & Fire, Linda Ronstadt, and Sesame Street as a recipient of the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors.  "The Kennedy Center Honors celebrates icons who, through their artistry, have left … » Read

The final round of the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition on June 25 featured the sort of mix up that is a competition organizer’s worst nightmare. Pianist Tianxu An, who in the words of one observer “seemed imperturbable in the first … » Read

Top winners in each of the six categories of the Tchaikovsky competition have been chosen. The grand prize winner will be announced June 29. Woodwinds First Prize and Gold Medal: Matvey Demin (Russia, flute) Out of 48 live contenders Brass First … » Read

Ukrainian baritone Andrei Kymach, 31, has won the biennial BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition; he gets £20,000, an elaborate trophy, and the launch lad for a potentially huge career. The prize has been won in the past by the likes … » Read

The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) has added two new honorary members—opera director Sir David Pountney and composer Alexander Goehr—to its roster of musical illuminati. Carl Maria von Weber was the first to receive such … » Read

The Siemens Opera Contest has been won by 21-year-old Russian soprano Liubov Medvedeva; she competed over the weekend against ten other singers at the Opéra Garnier in Paris. She takes home 10,000 euros Judges for the event were Jean-Yves … » Read

Government funding for culture has long been far greater in Europe than in the U.S. But the economic downturn of 2008 led many Western European nations to make sharp reductions for the arts—austerity cuts that in many instances have yet to … » Read