On November 4, the musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic, along with Valery Gergiev and pianist Denis Matsuev, arrived in Fukuoka, Japan, greeted at the airport with general good cheer and water-cannon salutes. Though Japan’s concert halls … » Read

In the midst of a viral pandemic and a cratering economy, asking voters to approve a tax dedicated to the support of the arts would seem a fool’s errand. Fortunately, no one told that to a group of Jersey City civic leaders. On Nov. 3, 64 … » Read

Joe Goetz is to succeed Ryan Lohr as music director of Classical MPR. He arrives November 16 after serving for six years as music director of WFIU, the public radio station associated with Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Lohr, meanwhile, … » Read

Late last summer the time seemed right for saxophonist/composer Hafez Modirzadeh to call for systemic change at the School of Music at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Inspired by the university president’s speech embracing a … » Read

MILAN--Switzerland emerged relatively unscathed from Europe's first wave of Covid-19 last spring. Now that a second wave is ripping through the continent, however, the nation is on the ropes, its health system reportedly close to the saturation … » Read

The Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is cancelling the remainder of its mainstage productions for the 2020–21 season. Live in-person performances will (hopefully) return in the fall of 2021. “We of course want to return to live opera on the … » Read

ROME—The Dec. 7 season premiere at Milan’s La Scala opera house, a gala event that is one of Italy’s cultural highlights, is being cancelled after a rash of coronavirus infections among musicians and chorus members. The … » Read

London’s Southbank Center, Europe’s largest arts complex, has said it is struggling to survive. It has laid off hundreds of employees, many of whom have, in the recent past, accused it of institutional racism. This week, the Center … » Read

The state of the classical music world in Western Europe—from shutdowns to reopenings—has been intensively documented since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The actions of nations in other regions of the world have come in for … » Read

Donald Runnicles, having recently added “Sir” to his name courtesy of last month’s Queen’s Birthday Honors, has renewed his contract as general music director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin through 2027. Runnicles is … » Read