In May, four of the five guest conductors for the San Francisco Symphony are women, beginning with Xian Zhang, the Chinese American music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Following her in short order are Karina Canellakis, the New … » Read

The Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera have announced the formation and tour of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, comprised of recent refugees, Ukrainian members of European orchestras, and top musicians of Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, … » Read

Choosing exceptional women as its two Perspectives artists and single Creative Chair occupant, Carnegie Hall has declared itself in 2022-23 focused on “contributions made by women,” be they composers, conductors, or performers. … » Read

Last year, Boston Baroque announced a five-program, digital-only season for 2021-2022, a bold decision buoyed by its experience of streaming during the pandemic, which saw it picking up viewers and subscribers across five continents. In … » Read

In autumn, Richard Davidson-Houston will become the new managing director of Glyndebourne. He replaces Sarah Hopwood, who is retiring in October after 25 years in the post. As managing director, he will work closely with Stephen Langridge, the … » Read

Christoph Lieben-Seutter’ s contract as general and artistic director of Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle has been extended five years, through 2029; the extension comes two years ahead of the end of his current contract. … » Read

Thirteen months ago Mills College in Oakland, CA. announced that it would  cease enrolling new students due to declining enrollment and budget deficits. While a reprieve may be in the offing—Boston’s Northeastern University has … » Read

On April 23rd, the Metropolitan Opera staged a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor , the Donizetti masterpiece (one of them). Marilyn Horne, the great mezzo-soprano, once complained that reviewers spent most of their reviews on productions, not … » Read

Replacements, in these fragile times, are a fact of festival life. Artistic directors need a Plan B in case illness strikes—and so it was this month in Aix-en-Provence, France. The Easter Festival 2022, April 8-24, welcomed back a live … » Read

It was just one of a multitude of automobile ads on Canadian television, but it got Ken MacLeod’s goat. The commercial for Nissan Infiniti features close-ups of an SUV in the middle of a concert hall, where a youth orchestra is performing a … » Read