CHICAGO—Just as cellist Paul Wiancko sat down to play at Guarneri Hall, he locked eyes with an audience member in the front row, proudly wearing a Kronos T-shirt. “Mike, man,” he sighed, in mock exasperation, “wrong … » Read

German baritone Benjamin Appl is a protégé of another baritone, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, having met the esteemed singer in masterclasses at a Schubertiade in Austria three years before his death in 2012. Appl went on to study … » Read

Víkingur Ólafsson served notice, right off the bat, that he would be offering an idiosyncratic take on the Emperor Concerto. The Icelandic pianist, performing with the Philharmonia Orchestra at its October 9 Carnegie Hall concert, … » Read

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) has not been immune to industry challenges. Echoing the tough calls of other companies, General Director Lawrence Edelson cut last year’s Platée when it became clear the company wouldn’t be able to … » Read

Few musicians have left a legacy as substantial as that of Birgit Nilsson, nor done more than she to support their art form in practical and philanthropic ways. Since 1973, when the Swedish diva was at the height of her fame, the Birgit Nilsson … » Read

LONDON—British composer Thomas Adès has built a reputation in recent years as a savvy programmer and an insightful conductor. This October 19 Barbican Centre concert with the London Symphony Orchestra was a chance to hear his … » Read

LONDON—Scoring films is a 20th-century art, its form and function laid down in part by European emigrees, many of them Jewish, who sought sanctuary in the U.S. before, during, and after WWII. The man today who carries the torch once borne … » Read

NEW YORK (AP)—For a filmmaker once synonymous with slackerdom, Richard Linklater has proven to be one of the most prodigious and consistently excellent American filmmakers. A small but rich vein of the two dozen features he’s made … » Read

CHICAGO—Klaus Mäkelä doesn’t officially become the Chicago Symphony’s music director until fall 2027. On October 20 as “designate,” he opened the first set of three programs he will conduct this season at … » Read

LONDON—The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born out the desire of a group of U.K. musicians to manage their own destiny while learning from the finest period instrument gurus both at home and abroad. This October 12 performance of … » Read