Song recitals are traditionally rather staid affairs, with stiffly attired singers tucked into the curved embrace of a concert grand piano performing music that only connoisseurs can enjoy. But this need not be the case, suggests Thomas Guthrie, … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO --Harriet’s Spirit , a 50-minute opera rooted in the legacy of the Black abolitionist Harriet Tubman, received its first professional performances on November 13 and 14 at the Bayview Opera House, an Opera Parallèle … » Read

Mark Elder, music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, U.K., since 2000, is to be the principal guest conductor of the Bergen (NO) Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) as of August 2022. His three-year contract obligates him to three or … » Read

Violinist and pedagogue Daniel Kurganov is an outlier in a world in which professional musicians master their craft well before they are ten years old. The 35-year-old Russian-born violinist, who grew up in Chicago, did not take up his chosen … » Read

Alistair Spalding, artistic director of Sadler’s Wells, one of the first U.K. arts organizations to tour internationally post-Brexit, describes the experience as a “nightmare…. For most of the pandemic we couldn’t tour … » Read

Anthony ("Tony") Tommasini will step down at year’s end after 22 years as the chief classical music critic of The New York Times , one of the most powerful positions in the international classical music realm. The announcement was made … » Read

When Robert Spano departs the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) at the end of the season and heads to Fort Worth, he will leave an enviable record as one of the country’s leading proponents of new music. “Under Robert Spano,” … » Read

Admirers of Baroque opera don’t have much to choose from in New York, which makes Juilliard Opera’s excursions into the repertory highly valued. Productions in recent years have included Cavalli’s  La Calisto  and … » Read

The Cleveland Orchestra, which returned to live performances for the first time since March 2020 on October 14, had to cancel all but one of its concerts this past weekend when one of its musicians tested positive for COVID-19. Orchestra members … » Read

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Hundreds of violins, violas and double basses sounded at Venezuela’s military academy Saturday, then woodwinds, brass and percussion gradually joined in — and thousands of musicians, mostly children and … » Read