France’s cultural workers are pushing back hard against the government’s continued shutdown of all performance spaces until at least Jan. 7 in an effort to arrest the spread of Covid-19. In June French theaters, cinemas, and other … » Read

By almost every measure, 2020 was not a very good year. For author and New Yorker critic Alex Ross, the past 12 months were “catastrophic” for the performing arts, lending “the annual ritual of cobbling together a list of … » Read

At its annual meeting last week, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra announced several major achievements in fiscal 2020, not least of them coming through the COVID-19 pandemic with a budget surplus—the eighth in as many years. Keeping in mind … » Read

A 250th birthday celebration is a big deal. Only a miniscule number of figures from history merit a worldwide outpouring after so much time. So what is it about Beethoven that elicits such a personal reaction from masses of people? Even during an … » Read

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs has announced over $47.1million in grants to 1,032 cultural groups in fiscal 2020. Recipients range from the Brooklyn Steppers to the Metropolitan Opera, from under $9,000 to over $100,000. In its … » Read

Music historian, writer, and activist Robert Jackson Wood has made a compelling case that the classical music industry will never successfully address its historical lack of diversity unless it also grapples with the matter of economic class. … » Read

Julia Fischer, among the world’s top violinists, today divides her time between international concert appearances (pre- and post-Covid) and teaching at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts in her hometown. In a thoughtful … » Read

It was beginning to look as if Roberto Alagna’s aspirations to sing Lohengrin might be jinxed. He was scheduled to take the role at the 2018 Bayreuth Festival but canceled reportedly because overwork prevented him from spending enough time … » Read

NEW YORK (AP) — Ann Reinking, the Tony Award-winning choreographer, actress, and Bob Fosse collaborator who helped spread a cool, muscular hybrid of jazz and burlesque movement to Broadway and beyond, has died. She was 71. Reinking died … » Read

Americans for the Arts (AFTA), the nation’s top lobbying group on behalf of arts and culture, has come under fire from former employees and its own advisory council for failing to address issues ranging from lack of diversity to sexual … » Read