LOS ANGELES – “Breathe easy” reads the Los Angeles Opera’s program book. The reference is to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s new air filtration system, which earned the first UL “healthy building” rating … » Read

The Leeds International Piano Competition capped its triennial edition September 18 by awarding first prize to Alim Beisembayev, a 23-year-old pianist from Kazakhstan. He wins £25,000, recitals at Wigmore Hall and the Southbank Centre, … » Read

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has named Natasha Baldwin to the newly created position of Executive VP, Classics and Screen. The London-based Baldwin will be responsible for leading the company’s global classical and screen … » Read

As of Sept. 1, 2022,  dramaturg, curator, and theater manager Matthias Pees will become the new director of Berliner Festspiele. He succeeds Thomas Oberender, in the position since 2012 and leaving at his own request. The 51-year-old Pees, a … » Read

Riccardo Muti will remain music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, extending a contract that was to end this season one year, to the end of 2022-23. Beyond that, the 80-year-old maestro’s relationship with the CSO is … » Read

Paul Crewes will step down as artistic director of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, in Beverly Hills, CA, as of the end of this year. He will stay on in an advisory capacity through the 2021-22 season. “It’s … » Read

In his review of the Ojai Music Festival, Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed sees very little lost in its move this year from June to September, necessitated by the pandemic and, as he puts it, “The damn Delta variant.” Otherwise, the … » Read

In announcing its 50 th -anniversary season, which opens in March 2022 with a number of new productions, the Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) also launched the public phase of its $15mn fundraising campaign. To date it has raised $12.7mn in cash and … » Read

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A month after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the music is starting to go quiet. The last time that the militant group ruled the country, in the late 1990s, it outright banned music. So far this time, the … » Read

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the League of American Orchestras’ Catalyst Fund $2.1mn to advance efforts to develop and strengthen equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) practices in American orchestras. The grant comes on the … » Read