The BBC Concert Orchestra has appointed Finnish conductor Anna-Maria Helsing as its new principal guest conductor. Unlike the recent crop of podium women, Helsing has honed her craft over a significant period of time, having made her debut at the … » Read

Columbia Artists has signed several string players of late. Most recent is Philippe Quint [pictured] for general management; Quint is a New Yorker of Russian origin with a Juilliard pedigree and 18 recordings to his credit. He has performed with … » Read

ASHGABAT (Turkmenistan)--Reclusive Turkmenistan staged its first foreign opera on Tuesday, nearly 19 years after the Central Asian country's founding president banned the art form as "incompatible with Turkmen mentality." A state theater in the … » Read

Apart from the Best Orchestral Performance nominations, the names among the 2020 Classical Grammy award contenders, announced this morning, are not limited to the Usual Suspects. The awards will be broadcast by CBS on January 26, although … » Read

It is not unheard of for the singer of King Marke to win highest honors in a performance of Tristan und Isolde  It happened in 1981 when Matti Salminen made his Metropolitan Opera debut in James Levine’s first performance of the opera … » Read

MILAN-- Alexander Pereira doesn’t start his new job as superintendent of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino until December 16, but on Monday, he held a press conference unveiling his ambitious first program for it, along with a significant hike in … » Read

LONDON—It’s fourth time lucky in English National Opera’s Orpheus season. In the operas of Gluck , Offenbach , and Birtwistle a trio of unsatisfactory stagings diverted attention from some fine all-round musicianship, so it has … » Read

The Turtle Bay Music School, Manhattan’s mainstay community music school for 94 years, is closing. The school sold its midtown four-story home at 242 E. 52nd St. last year for about $11 million and moved to a commercial condo building … » Read

Chicago has a long and intimate relationship with Prokofiev. He made his  Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut as conductor composer, and soloist early as 1918, and Chicago was the first American city to hear music from his new ballet Romeo and … » Read

The Young Concert Artists International auditions concluded last Sunday in Merkin Concert Hall, with four winners—two pianists, a string quartet, and a saxophone player—chosen from a field of 150 applicants from 17 countries. Each of … » Read