Rumors of the death of the piano in the U.K. have apparently been greatly exaggerated. “It is a great time to be in the piano business,” reported one piano shop owner;  Matt Ash, membership and retail lead at the Music Industries … » Read

Michael van der Aa’s 70-minute chamber opera Blank Out is a case study in form trumping content. Presented by Cal Performances in its West Coast premiere April 28-29 at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, the Dutch auteur’s work employs … » Read

Richard “Gus” Sebring has officially taken over as principal horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in which he has served as associate principal since 1982; he is also principal of the Boston Pops. He succeeds James Sommerville, who … » Read

Puccini’s La bohème is a staple of the opera world, and it takes a very bold director to tinker around with it. Enter Yuval Sharon, a 2017 MacArthur Genius Grant awardee and current artistic director of the Detroit Opera who in  … » Read

Tchaikovsky’s symphonic writing is some of the most beautiful in the classical canon. And a recent performance of his Symphony No. 5 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic suggests that it might also possess considerable erotic potency. On April … » Read

TORONTO (AP)—Gordon Lightfoot, the folk singer-songwriter known for “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown” and for songs that told tales of Canadian identity, died Monday. He was 84. Representative Victoria Lord … » Read

When he was 14, James Díaz started taking keyboard lessons thanks to the toss of a coin. His parents wanted to have one of their two sons receive training so as to be able to play in the local church. Díaz, born in 1990, would … » Read

If Julius Eastman’s music seems to re-invent itself with every hearing, it’s partly because the late composer encouraged performers to make his music their own, sometimes in highly interventionist ways. At the three-concert event … » Read

Kudos to the Cleveland Orchestra’s fundraisers. In March, the orchestra received $7 million from Jane Baker Nord, to create a special fund for educational concerts. Last week, the orchestra got $10 million from the Milton and Tamar Maltz … » Read

Jherrard Hardeman , 25, is to be the new assistant conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic under Andreas Delfs, as well as music director of the Rochestra Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He became assistant conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta last … » Read