SAN FRANCISCO—When Esa-Pekka Salonen’s symphonic poem Nyx had a poorly played premiere in Paris in 2011, the experience was so dispiriting to the composer that he considered giving up music to grow organic potatoes in Finland. Or so … » Read

Italian conductor Diego Ceretta, 26, is the new chief conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT). He succeeds Daniele Rustioni, who stepped down in 2020 and  now takes the title of emeritus. Ceretta initially studied violin, graduating … » Read

By the second half of the 18 th -century in Great Britain, increasingly vocal critics opposed slavery and the trade in human beings. But British society continued to betray racist sentiments, and Blacks were well-advised to couch their critiques … » Read

The Scottish government has come to the rescue of the “Big Noise” project —the country’s El Sistema initiative—with £1.5 million of funding to save children’s orchestras across the cities of Aberdeen, … » Read

British conductor Daniel Harding is to be the next music director of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, starting in October of 2024. He succeeds Antonio Pappano, in the job since 2005 and currently in his final … » Read

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in November 2020, when Vienna was shut down and people were allowed outside mainly to walk their dogs, conductor Christian Thielemann was stopped by a police officer in the Heldenplatz. “What … » Read

The Covid pandemic’s impact on the classical music world was both collective and individual. Orchestras, opera companies, and other performing arts organizations lost millions of dollars of revenue and artists unable to perform faced often … » Read

On Nov. 4, the San Diego Symphony will return to the newly renovated Copley Symphony Hall at Jacobs Music Center after a more than  three-year absence due to both the pandemic and a $125 million renovation. The 2023-24 season will be the … » Read

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Wayne Shorter , an influential jazz innovator whose lyrical, complex jazz compositions and pioneering saxophone playing sounded through more than half a century of American music, has died. He was 89. Shorter died Thursday … » Read

The Colorado Symphony Orchestra (CSO), which celebrates its centennial during the 2023-24 season, has announced that as of May 8, Mark Cantrell will be the ensemble’s new chief executive officer. He succeeds Jerome H. Kern, who retired as … » Read