Simon Rattle has been an unrelenting critic of Brexit from the moment Great Britain voted to leave the European Union. He has characterized it as a “terrible mistake” that has turned the U.K. into a  "self-built cultural jail," … » Read

Every three years since 1976 Cremona has hosted the Ente Triennale Internazionale Strumenti Ad Arco (International Triennial Body of Stringed Instruments), the world’s premiere violin making competition. Master luthiers from around the … » Read

Norway’s Bergen International Festival, a four- to five-day multi-genre annual event, has “terminated the contract” of its director of nine years, Anders Beyer. The move signals his immediate resignation, although he will … » Read

LOS ANGELES – “Breathe easy” reads the Los Angeles Opera’s program book. The reference is to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s new air filtration system, which earned the first UL “healthy building” rating … » Read

The Leeds International Piano Competition capped its triennial edition September 18 by awarding first prize to Alim Beisembayev, a 23-year-old pianist from Kazakhstan. He wins £25,000, recitals at Wigmore Hall and the Southbank Centre, … » Read

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has named Natasha Baldwin to the newly created position of Executive VP, Classics and Screen. The London-based Baldwin will be responsible for leading the company’s global classical and screen … » Read

As of Sept. 1, 2022,  dramaturg, curator, and theater manager Matthias Pees will become the new director of Berliner Festspiele. He succeeds Thomas Oberender, in the position since 2012 and leaving at his own request. The 51-year-old Pees, a … » Read

Riccardo Muti will remain music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, extending a contract that was to end this season one year, to the end of 2022-23. Beyond that, the 80-year-old maestro’s relationship with the CSO is … » Read

Paul Crewes will step down as artistic director of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, in Beverly Hills, CA, as of the end of this year. He will stay on in an advisory capacity through the 2021-22 season. “It’s … » Read

In his review of the Ojai Music Festival, Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed sees very little lost in its move this year from June to September, necessitated by the pandemic and, as he puts it, “The damn Delta variant.” Otherwise, the … » Read