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Andris Nelsons to Leave City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, So, What Next?
The Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons wants to concentrate on his new day job running the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but how long can he stay this focused? -
REVIEW: Katie Melua, Maria Friedman Head London’s Tribute to Lyricist Don Black
The stars turned out to celebrate the career of master lyricist Don Black, as his new show with Andrew Lloyd Webber is readied for its West End première.,, -
Looking at New York City Opera, in the Past Tense
New York City Opera has announced it will close; Classicalite take its measure... In a sad day for classical music in the United States, the resignation of Osmo Vänskä from the Minnesota Orchestra is joined by another calamity--the closure of New York City Opera. -
Osmo Vänskä Walks, It's All Over for Minnesota Orchestra
It's all over in Minnesota, at least as far as their distinguished Finnish conductor is concerned. The thing that many locals had dreaded has come to pass: Osmo Vänskä has resigned as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra... -
The Column: Met Opera Protests, Lots of Questions, But One Definite Answer
Anti-Putin protests at Met Opera raise many issues, but they crossed a line. So the opening night performance of the Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season has been disrupted by protesters, angry at President Putin of Russia's anti-homosexuality stance. -
Could New Minnesota Orchestra Contract Offer be Last Chance Saloon?
More from the turmoil at the Minnesota Orchestra. A press release has gone out announcing a fourth contract proposal for musicians from management. They--both sides presumably--will be earnestly hoping that this gets them back to work... -
The Mile High Club: Classical Musicians in Mid-Air Videos
It may come as a surprise to anyone who flies regularly and doesn't come across this sort of thing, but suddenly the skies seem to be full of music. Live, classical music... -
Classical Pianist Jeremy Denk Awarded $625,000 MacArthur Genius Grant
Alongside the similarly lauded jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer, classical pianist and writer Jeremy Denk wins this year's increased grant for his popularizing of the genre. -
Classicalite's Five Best: Richard Wagner Recordings
Wagner's epic operas are rather long for you to plough through all the available recordings looking for favorites, so don't worry, we've done it for you. -
Dallas Symphony Win New Terms, Lexington Philharmonic Agree Temporarily...Minnesota Orchestra Players Rumored to Go it Alone
Three perspectives on the current, sometimes tragic, woes hitting orchestras and their managements in North America: One has agreed new terms, another temporary terms, and the third, with agreement still not in sight, might perform on its -
The Column: Is Kickstarter Bad for Classical Music?
Many think online crowd-sourced funding the answer to our prayers. Or it could be a nail in the coffin. -
Critics' Circle Music Section Hands Out Gongs to Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Iestyn Davies and More
The Critics’ Circle is the oldest critics' organization in the world and, to date, counts more than 400 members who work in the media throughout the United Kingdom. -
Producer Jon M. Samuels on Sony's 41-CD Box Set 'Vladimir Horowitz--Live at Carnegie Hall' [AUDIO]
Anyone who thinks that putting together these enormous box sets of great artists of yesteryear is simply a matter of grabbing some old recordings, putting them in a shiny new box and bunging them out at an expensive (well, sometimes) -
Classicalite's Five Best: Rosh Hashanah Musical Works
Required listening to make the Jewish new year that bit more musical. A curious thing happened yesterday night in the middle of my family's traditional Rosh Hashanah dinner--Rosh Hashanah, as I'm sure you'll all remember from your Judaism classes, being the Jewish new year. -
In Remembrance: English Symphony Orchestra Marks Five Years Since Vernon Handley’s Death
Hard as it may seem after the many decades during which he bestrode the music world, September 10, 2013 marks exactly five years since conductor Vernon Handley died. His final band, the English Symphony Orchestra, have published... -
Classicalite's Five Best: Luciano Pavarotti Recordings
Essential recordings from the much-missed great Italian tenor, as Decca marks 50 years of his international career... -
Decca Invites Pavarotti Fans to Record Their Versions of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma"
"Nessun Dorma" indeed--"none shall sleep"--in many opera-loving households this month, as Luciano Pavarotti's record company, Decca, marks 50 years since the late, great Italian tenor's international debut with a remarkable online... -
"Fimasaurus," Yefim Bronfman's Very Own Cabernet/Merlot Blend from Napa's Kongsgaard Wine
In an enjoyable interview for Bloomberg, Yefim Bronfman--by any measure one of the most in-demand pianists on the planet--reveals an unusual accolade. "I have to brag about something that's much more important to me than anything... -
Beethoven’s 'Moonlight Sonata' No. 14, Op. 27...the Kobe Bryant, NBA 2013 Version
Kobe Bryant, superstar basketball player, apparently likes to relax with a bit of Beethoven--played, at least sometimes, by himself. He's even appeared in a Lenovo commercial tinkling the ivories in music by the composer, although... -
Gidon Kremer's Putin Protest Concert, "To Russia with Love," Nabs Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Emmanuel Pahud and Many Others
Gidon Kremer is proceeding apace with his protest concert against Putin's Russia. Or rather, as he puts it, a concert for Russia--which is putting a positive spin on what is clearly intended to send a forceful message about civil... -
The Column: Teresa Berganza’s Tongue-Lashing for Opera Directors, and Why She’s Less than Half-Right
Teresa Berganza, one of the truly great mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century and now in her late 70s, has given a controversial interview to 'Le Figaro.' In it she castigates today's opera directors, at least the ones who "respect... -
Memphis Symphony Orchestra's Martin Luther King Commission, Paul Brantley's 'The Rebirth of the Dream,' to Involve Local Schools
Music and schoolchildren will converge around Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech, thanks to an interesting-sounding project in Memphis, the place where King was assassinated in 1968. The Memphis Symphony... -
Classicalite's Five Best: Fashionable Classical Musicians [POLL]
To suggest that there's anything new in classical musicians jumping into the fashion and lifestyle world is just plain wrong. Ever since the lifestyle marketing era began, classical musicians have occasionally associated themselves with... -
Andrew Litton Named Music Director of Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton is to return home to a U.S. orchestra as music director for the first time since he left the Dallas Symphony in 2006. The new berth? The Colorado Symphony, where he has been artistic advisor while they decided on a new... -
British Bass Richard Angas Dies Suddenly, During Rehearsal for Britten's 'Peter Grimes'
Sad news from the opera world. Richard Angas, one of the leading British basses of his generation has died. Halfway through a rehearsal at English National Opera of Britten's Peter Grimes, he collapsed and was rushed to hospital... -
McDonalds Using Classical Music to Fight the Thugs
While it's always good to hear about people turning to classical music, we're not sure what to think about the news that a branch of McDonalds is to play the classics as a way of persuading local thugs to stay away. Talk about... -
Classicalite's Five Worst: Operatic Disasters
Something about the sheer heavens-defying scale of attempting to stage opera at all, about the fact that somehow it usually comes together and works against all the odds, means that the disasters are write similarly large. -
Classicalite's Five Best: Tenor Turns in Verdi Recordings
It's Verdi year, in case you hadn't noticed from all the people in the opera world rushing around shouting, "It's Verdi year!" Well, I am, but then I'm a die-hard Verdi nut. So. In honor of the big 2013 Verdi anniversary... -
EXCLUSIVE: Countertenor Iestyn Davies Responds to 'Independent on Sunday' Reviewer Lay-Offs
"Having an opinion is not enough." -- Iestyn Davies The recent revelation that the Independent on Sunday is shuttering its own arts coverage for a sourced digest of other critics has not just journalists worried. -
Violinist Gidon Kremer to Stage Protest Concert Aimed at Putin’s Russia
Protest concerts aren't exactly a new phenomenon in the classical world (Kremer apparently calls this a concert in support of Russians rather than a protest--which seems like semantics to us). Here are three from the past few years...
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