“I never wanted to play trombone,” declared Hillary Simms, the new trombonist of the American Brass Quintet. “I wanted to play trumpet because I loved the solo in the middle of Nat King Cole’s song … » Read

Peter Otto, longtime first associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra and acting concertmaster from 2018-2022, is to be the new concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony as of January, 2024. He succeeds Jun Iwasaki, who assumed the same job … » Read

Since 1833 C.F. Martin & Co has hand-built guitars and other stringed instruments in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, earning an international reputation for the quality of its instruments. A family-run, profit-sharing company, Martin … » Read

In a classic example of understatement, Felix Klieser, born without arms, calls his becoming a French horn player “a little miracle.” But his characterization has little to do with his physical condition. Instead, it tracks his need … » Read

Two queens; one throne; unfaithfulness; sacrilege. Such a combination can hardly miss on the opera stage. And in a rare revival of Saint- Saëns’s Henri VIII on July 23 at Bard College, it did not. The event was the school’s … » Read

On July 28, four months after its acquisition by Universal Music Group (UMG), Hyperion Records announced the first release to all streaming platforms of 200 selections from its catalogue of more than 2,000 recordings. “These first 200 … » Read

New Jersey’s Symphony in C, which identifies as a “training orchestra,” has a new music director who arrived earlier this month. She is Israeli-born conductor Noam Aviel, the first to hold the position since Stillian Kirov … » Read

For many classical music lovers, the music of Arnold Schoenberg exemplifies the chasm that evolved between composer and listener during the first half of the 20 th century. Born into a lower middle-class Jewish family in Vienna in 1874, … » Read

EAST SUSSEX—Based on Ovid, Handel’s Semele was written to an English libretto and originally given in concert form. But with its magical landscapes and fantastical effects, it’s hard not to see it as an opera masquerading in … » Read

On July 26 the U.S. District Court rejected the Philly Pops’ request that the Kimmel Center be ordered to allow its return to Verizon Hall for upcoming performances. In a pretrial hearing, Judge Mia Roberts Perez ruled that the Pops had … » Read