In an unusual turn of events, the Polar Music Prize this year is awarded to three entities: a pop artist, classical artist, and a foundation dedicated to bringing arts education to underserved children around the world. Each receives one million … » Read

Dmitri Shostakovich’s winning streak at the Grammy awards continues. Sunday in Los Angeles, at the pre-telecast award ceremony, the Boston Symphony Orchestra won for Best Orchestral Album with Andris Nelsons conducting the composers Fourth … » Read

Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan, also a conductor of some note, has been awarded the 2020 Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Denmark’s highest musical honor. Hannigan is especially known for her commitment to new music, having premiered … » Read

Juilliard cellist Sterling Elliott [pictured], 19, has won the senior division of the 22 nd annual Sphinx competition for young Black and Latinx string players, which concluded over the weekend in Detroit. He takes home $50,000, plus $5,000 for … » Read

British composer Rebecca Saunders has been announced as the winner of the 2019 international Ernst von Siemens prize of 250,000 euros. She is the first woman composer to be so designated. Established in 1972 by the grandson of the industrial … » Read

Within 24 hours of each other, Opera America and the League of American Orchestras announced new grant monies for projects that emphasize diversity and inclusion. The League has received $2.1 million from the Mellon Foundation to launch … » Read

The U.K.’s 2019 New Year’s Honor List represented a bit of a dry spell for the performing arts after last year’s list contained dozens from that world. Two of the most distinguished honorees are Christian Blackshaw, the first … » Read

It’s not clear that the 16 th International Tchaikovsky Competition, scheduled for June 17-29, will take place. Moscow Conservatory Rector Alexander Sokolove last week expressed concern that, although the monies had been allocated for the … » Read

Lincoln Center has announced its Emerging Artist Awards, a kind of broadened version of the Center’s Martin E. Segal Awards, which originated in 1986. Each of the ten winners is chosen by a Center constituent and each receives $7,500 for … » Read

“We live in a society that is hostile towards classical music and serious art in general….So it is wonderful to have such organizations as Musical America that still have a voice in the modern day and may help listeners navigate the … » Read