The U.S. war on Iran is being blamed by the Saudi Arabian government for its withdrawal from a $200 million deal with the Metropolitan Opera, reported to be in its worst financial shape ever. Announced last fall as the Met’s savior , the … » Read

The current contract for the musicians of the Boston Symphony expires at summer’s end. Given that management’s decision to fire Music Director Andris Nelsons was made, they affirm, without their substantive input, they have issued a … » Read

LONDON—The inaugural Southbank Centre Multitudes festival turned out to be one of London’s 2025 cultural highlights. The idea of pairing each of the venue’s resident orchestras with practitioners from other disciplines threw up … » Read

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) has renewed Rafael Payare’s contract as music director for five years following the conclusion of his current agreement in the spring of 2027.  OSM has also expanded Payare’s … » Read

An open letter signed by more than 1,000 musicians and cultural workers is calling for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna between May 12 and 16. Organized by the group "No Music for Genocide," the letter urges artists, … » Read

Michael Tilson Thomas, leading American conductor for over a half-century who headed orchestras in Buffalo, Miami, London, and San Francisco while also composing, died Wednesday. He was 81. Tilson Thomas had surgery for a brain tumor in 2021 and … » Read

Soprano Asmik Grigorian has fashioned a portrayal of Tchaikovsky’s Tatiana that is hers and hers alone. The Lithuanian singer, starring in the Met’s current Eugene Onegin , never falls into routine; her performance brings surprises … » Read

This year’s traditional New Year’s Day Concert by the Vienna Philharmonic has caused quite a stir . The Austrian ensemble has come under harsh criticism in some quarters for dramatically reworking Florence Price’s Rainbow Waltz … » Read

In his first, 2026-27 season as music director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchesters Berlin (DSO), Kazuki Yamada will lead six programs, beginning in October with Ives’s The Unanswered Question , Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Alice Sara … » Read

Following the appointments of Bin Yu Sanford and Weicong Zhang in January , the Manhattan School of Music has added Polish pianist Michal Biel to its Vocal Arts and Collaborative Piano faculty. Biel is a noted soloist as well as partner to the … » Read