The University of Southern Maine has received a $10 million donation—its largest ever—to build a home for its school of music on its Portland campus. The gift, from local philanthropist D. Suzi Osher, combined with an earlier one of … » Read

Nigel Kennedy has walked away from a concert at Royal Albert Hall, citing Classical FM’s decision to prevent him from performing a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. “This is musical segregation,” the 64-year-old violinist told The … » Read

The Grand Canal in Venice has been the waterway for myriad vessels for well over a millennium. But Sept. 17 was the first time that a gigantic violin carrying a string quartet playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons made the journey. Noah’s … » Read

Toledo Opera has named not one but two artistic directors to succeed James Meena, who left as general director and principal conductor last year to take the same post with Opera Carolina, in Charlotte, NC. Toledo’s James Norman, employed by … » Read

CHICAGO—Opera is probably the most gender-fluid performing art. Yes, Sarah Bernhardt played Hamlet in 1899, and a few years ago Glenda Jackson tackled King Lear. Male swans fill the stage in choreographer Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake . … » Read

Robert Schumann’s death in a German asylum in 1856 was neither the first nor last incidence of psychiatric illness in his family. His father likely had a nervous breakdown, his mother suffered from depression, and his sister Emilie … » Read

As previously reported , the San Antonio Symphony’s historic financial issues show no signs of abating; the musicians have been performing live since last February (this is Texas, after all) under contract terms renegotiated for 2020-21 … » Read

A labor standoff between the Music Center at Strathmore and the union representing its ticket sellers has led the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) to move concerts scheduled on Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 from the suburban Washington venue to the … » Read

Debra Lew Harder, a classical music host and producer for Temple University’s WRTI-FM in Philadelphia, as well as a concert pianist and a medical doctor, is to be the new host of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts, starting when the … » Read

CHICAGO—After 18 months of no live performances Friday night’s opening of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2021-22 season would have been a gala event in its own right. But Verdi’s Macbeth held even more resonance. It was the … » Read