On Friday, the Bayreuth Festival announced that Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen has Covid, and so has had to withdraw from conducting the new production of The Ring , scheduled to open July 31. Cornelius Meister, 42, general music director of … » Read

With Russia and Ukraine in the news on a daily basis, their respective artists have been especially visible on the competitions circuit, not least at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition , where a Russian and a Ukrainian took second … » Read

LONDON--Anna Netrebko’s latest  shameful shenanigans aside, blackface in opera seems thankfully to be a thing of the past. Fortunately, such is the depth and power of Verdi’s Otello that in recent years we’ve had ample … » Read

For the first time in 45 years, a new musician will assume the principal cello chair for the San Francisco Symphony. Rainer Eudeikis, who joined the Atlanta Symphony in 2019, starts with SFS in September. He succeeds the late Michael Grebanier, … » Read

The ascendant American soprano Angel Blue has withdrawn from her planned debut at the Arena di Verona in the festival’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata . Her action was in response to the Arena’s recent production of Aida , in … » Read

Gustavo Gimeno, music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as of this season , is to be the next music director of Teatro Real starting fall 2025. At that time, he will step down as music director of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, … » Read

The six finalists in the third Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition will be competing online rather than in live performances. The cause—ongoing concerns about the pandemic—has already wreaked havoc with the event, … » Read

The Houston Chamber Choir (HCC), founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Robert Simpson, has named its first executive director in Brian Miller, most recently the chorus manager for the Houston Symphony. The HCC, winner of a 2020 Grammy award for … » Read

On July 19 the Maene-Viñoly Concert Grand Piano will make its public debut at the Verbier Festival in a performance by pianist Kirill Gerstein. The first-of-its-kind instrument is the creation of the piano maker Chris Maene and the … » Read

Austin’s KMFA 89.5, which defines itself as an independent radio station focusing on classical programming, some of it locally produced, has announced the departure of Ann Hume Wilson as president and general manager as of the end of the … » Read