The recent release of the “Michael Gielen Edition,” a set of 88 CDs capturing five decades of the Austrian maestro’s work, confirms his place as “one of the most stimulating conductors of the 20 th century,” opines a … » Read

In a surprise hire, the Metropolitan Opera has brought veteran and versatile New York Times reporter Daniel J. (Dan) Wakin on board as its senior director of communications, reporting to Met Assistant General Manager for Marketing and … » Read

With an endowment gift of $8 million, the Gilmore has established a new quadrennial award for jazz pianists that parallels the current one for classical artists (The Gilmore Artist Award), the most recipient of which was Igor Levit, in 2018. The … » Read

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has given Cincinnati Opera $1.3 million to develop new operas based on primarily Black stories written by Black composers and Black librettists. Monies will also support Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW) , the … » Read

It’s good to see labels determined to invest in expensive projects like contemporary opera and epic choral works. It’s also heartening to see a release devoting two hours to wide-ranging music by a rising star composer, in this case … » Read

Valentin Schwarz, whose new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen is set to debut at Bayreuth this summer after a two-year, pandemic-induced delay, likens the project to a modern Netflix series. “I want to tell a story about … » Read

As the musicians and management of the San Antonio Symphony met with a federal mediator on Feb. 14 to seek an end to a months-long strike , the ensemble’s Music Director Emeritus Sebastian Lang-Lessing spoke with Texas Public Radio about … » Read

Kate Rockett, who for six years has been director of artists and repertoire and executive producer for the Pentatone label, is to be the new general director of the Amsterdam-based Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. Trained as a trombonist at … » Read

LONDON--Ever since he burst onto the classical music scene in 2009 with Aheym , a commission for the Kronos Quartet, Cincinnati-born composer and guitarist Bryce Dessner has been earning respectful plaudits for his intricate yet approachable … » Read

Nearly eight decades after its composer was murdered in a Nazi concentration camp, the opera Grete Minde received its world premiere on Feb. 13 at the Theater Magdeburg in eastern Germany. Written by Eugen Engel, a self-taught composer who earned … » Read