For all but the top echelon of professional opera singers, creating a sustainable career poses a challenge so daunting that many quit just as their vocal prowess peaks. They simply cannot afford to continue. “We just have to start telling … » Read

CHICAGO—Klaus Mäkelä closed his three-week fall visit to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in spectacular fashion, giving the orchestra and its downtown home, Chicago Symphony Center, a kind of musical road test. The repertoire for … » Read

The Solti International Conducting Competition, the first organized by Müpa Budapest, an international arts center and presenter, awarded no first prize at the finals last weekend, with second prize going to Drummado Wijnhamer of the … » Read

The 21 st edition of the Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition concluded in Gütersloh, Germany, on Oct. 9 with Armenian soprano Arpi Sinanyan and Chinese baritone Jiazhou Wang each taking home a top prize of €15,000. Wang also … » Read

The Houston Symphony and its musicians have agreed on a new four-year contract, negotiations having been underway for several months with an effective start date of October 5. In comments by both musicians and management, much is made of the … » Read

The Berlin Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko [pictured] stepped away from their usual territory for the gala October 8 opening of the Carnegie Hall season. Instead of a sampling of Germanic classics, they offered an all-Italian … » Read

Rick Canny [pictured], manager of the Burbank, California-based music management company Favor the Artist, is the new artistic director for The Kennedy Center. His predecessor came and left within two weeks in January. Canny has been a consultant … » Read

Armenian soprano Marianna Hovanisyan  has joined Intermusica for worldwide general management. An alumna of Jette Parker Artists’ Program at the Royal Ballet & Opera, Covent Garden, she appears there this season as Pamina in  … » Read

The Philadelphia Orchestra has added four musicians in the 2026–27 season. Violist Laura Fuller  [left] arrives after nine years as a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. After studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music, she … » Read

British composer Rebecca Saunders is the recipient of the Wihuri Sibelius Prize, a triennial award that is one of  classical music’s most prestigious and lucrative international honors. The 59-year-old composer, who lives in Berlin, … » Read