SAN FRANCISCO--Melody was in full bloom at Davies Symphony Hall on May 5, in the first of three San Francisco Symphony concerts led by guest conductor Xian Zhang. Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) alone would have been … » Read

Plato Karayanis, whose 23 years as general director of the Dallas Opera proved transformative, died on April 29 at his Santa Fe home. He was 93. Born in Pittsburgh to Greek immigrants, Karayanis studied voice at Carnegie Mellon University and … » Read

Any new offering from composer Osvaldo Golijov is welcome after his years of silence, during which he worked on any number of projects although reportedly not to his satisfaction. Small wonder, given the success of the brilliant musical fusions … » Read

On the occasion of Michael Tilson Thomas’s final concert as artistic director, the New World Symphony (NWS) this evening announced a $30 million endowment gift from the Arison Arts Foundation in honor of MTT. Going forward, the New World … » Read

LONDON--The Britten Sinfonia’s May 4 concert at London’s Barbican Centre rather cleverly managed to celebrate the 150 th anniversary of the birth of British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams without recourse to a single note of his … » Read

Jeremy Frank is to be the next chorus director of the LA Opera Chorus, stepping into the role long held by Grant Gershon, who announced last fall that he would be making his exit at the end of the season. The transition should be painless, since … » Read

Pianist Beatrice Rana is the recipient of Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize at the New York Philharmonic, only the second artist to receive the award (the first was Benjamin Grosvenor, in 2016). The Rome-based Rana, 29, makes her … » Read

A Stradivarius violin, thought to have been played on the 1939 Wizard of Oz soundtrack,  is expected to fetch as much as $20 million at a Tarsio online auction on June 9. The instrument belonged to Toscha Seidel, who paid $24,000 when he … » Read

Pianist Orli Shaham has joined Colbert Artists for representation as a soloist and chamber musician. Shaham is on the Juilliard college and pre-college piano and chamber-music faculties. She is also co-host of NPR’s From the Top , and is … » Read

The pandemic turned the classical music world on its head. With concert halls and theaters closed, performance groups turned to streaming to share their wares. While the stay-at-home experience lacked the social interaction that many … » Read