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

Lincoln Center’s indoor stages have been mostly dark since the start of the pandemic but there are signs of life stirring on the tenth floor of the Rose Building above the Juilliard School. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center next … » Read

Composer Jake Heggie, of Dead Man Walking, Moby-Dick fame, has a new podcast that takes a deep dive into the world of opera singing. Although he conceived Sing LOUDER in the summer of 2019, well before the coronavirus was on anyone’s radar, … » Read

Even for musicians under contract, the pandemic has caused major income adjustments, reflective of the amount of performances their employer has been allowed to present under law. At the San Francisco Symphony, where that number is zero, apart … » Read