SALZBURG—Markus Hinterhäuser, recently (and controversially) fired as Salzburg Festival artistic director , based this season’s program on Roland Barthes’s book, A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments , which explores … » Read

The opening of the 29 th season of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival (OICMF) coincided with the announcement that Aloysia Friedmann, the violinist and violist who founded the Festival in 1998 and has served as its artistic director ever … » Read

Theater-goers eager to get the biggest bang for their buck (or pound) are finding London’s West End a much better bargain than New York’s Great White Way. Since the pandemic, London’s theaters have bounced back far more … » Read

The Trump administration’s chaotic tariff policies are rife with damaging consequences. One of the most important among them is the threat posed to American music education and, by extension, the health of the music industry. The National … » Read

Despite the Sturm und Drang surrounding the Boston Symphony, the music-making during Andris Nelsons’s last 2026 weekend at Tanglewood did not disappoint. (He exits at the end of next season.) Nor did the audience’s evident commitment … » Read

SANTA FE—In Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman’s Lili Elbe , a marriage changes faster than either partner can comprehend. First staged at Theater St. Gallen in 2023, the opera is receiving its American premiere. James … » Read

CHICAGO—In the beginning (1904) it was Ravinia Park, a high-class amusement complex complete with dance hall and baseball diamond 20-some miles north of Chicago. In 1936 the Chicago Symphony Orchestra arrived for the first of what would … » Read

By Aug. 7 the beleaguered San Antonio Philharmonic was scheduled to pay a total of $232,000 to resolve three legal disputes. The largest of these payments—$215,000—goes to David Wood and Colette Holt. The couple sued the Philharmonic … » Read

LONDON–Back in April the BBC Proms happily launched its 2026 season featuring an extensive celebration of American music to mark 250 years, apparently undaunted by Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. … » Read

For her August 2nd performance as Violetta in La Traviata , Georgian soprano Ana Oniani [pictured] won the Verbier Festival Academy's  2026 Prix Yves Paternot as its most accomplished and promising young musician. The prize includes HF … » Read