For decades, Michael Tilson Thomas appeared ageless, possessed of what one interviewer characterizes as “a mercurially boyish grace and elegance.” In 2022, the news that he had contracted an aggressive form of brain cancer offered a … » Read

For music fans, streaming services like Spotify offer the “universal jukebox,” a means of having music at one’s beck and call, usually for a small monthly subscription fee. While concerns about the ethics of Spotify’s … » Read

For some aficionados, the introduction of technology to enhance the experience of classical music appears threatening, a transformation that will somehow devalue the art form. For the renowned violinist and educator Cho-Liang [Jimmy] Lin (Musical … » Read

The Moab Music Festival, coming up on its 33 rd anniversary of indoor/outdoor concerts amid Utah’s red rocks, has announced the exit of cofounding directors Michael Barrett and Leslie Tomkins and the arrival of violinist Tessa Lark as the … » Read

Tom Johnson, a composer whose Village Voice columns between 1971 and 1983 documented the emergence of American minimalism, died on Dec. 31 at his home in Paris. He was 85. After earning B.A. and M.M. degrees from Yale University, the Colorado … » Read

The slums in the Kenyan cities of Nairobi and Mombasa are among the world’s worst, filled with tens of thousands suffering from hunger, domestic violence, crime, and, in some instances, the toxic environmental conditions created by nearby … » Read

Launching a new performing arts organization in the post-pandemic world is not for the faint of heart, but Tekla Cunningham seems unfazed by the prospect. A charismatic violin virtuoso, artistic director, and educator who is a leading figure in … » Read

The Met’s new production of Aida , seen at its New Year’s Eve premiere, registered as an admission of defeat in the face of Verdi’s dramatic conventions. If director Michael Mayer had had any insights into the workings of the … » Read

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky  has signed with Intermusica for management. The Canadian soprano is a headliner at the world’s major opera houses. This season she returns to the Met as Tosca, a role she later sings with Deutsche Oper … » Read

Those concerned about the oft-ballyhooed death of classical music took heart from a 2022 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra study that found people under 35 are actually more likely to listen to classical music than their parents. The following year, … » Read