Eight and a half years ago, Valery Gergiev conducted an all-male concert in the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra to celebrate its reconquest by Putin forces on behalf of the chemical mass-murderer Bashir al-Assad. This […]
Low on the heels of the deep philosopher Gustavo Dudamel, the Zurich conductor Paavo Järvi tells New York Times readers what it is he does for a living: In our modern world, where attention spans […]
From the Lebrecht Album of the Week: Where has my week gone? Much of it was spent plundering a coffin of one of the most captivating violinists that ever lived. David Oistrakh, Odessa born (thus […]
From our agony aunt: Dear Alma, How do auditions for a major orchestra like the New York Philharmonic work? I submitted a resume and put in my request for a preferred live preliminary audition dates. […]
Could you make it up? Imagine, you’re an opera company putting on a family show, The Pirates of Penzance Then some sensitive soul says: but it’s got rude words and it’s a bit pushy-shovy. I […]
The Portuguese artist Maria João Pires announced her retirement in 2018, only to bounce back the following year for selected engagements. This year, turning 80, she is offering a holiday gift recital of Mozart and […]
In the week of the conductor’s 95th birthday, a website has been inaugurated to provide access to his life’s work. Ultimately, it promises, this will be the Nikipedia. Click here. The post Nikolaus Harnoncourt archive […]
The old intriguer’s opera La scuola de’ gelosi – ‘with a plot mirroring Mozart’s Così fan tutte’ – will receive its US premiere in LA next month. The world premiere was at the Teatro San […]
The Royal Northern Sinfonia has put on Michael Tippett’s oratorio in a performance involving amateur musicians and singers from across the North East of England. The idea is to underline the universality and topicality of […]
Two British orchestras are following an identical method of crisis resolution. The Monteverdi orchestras and chorus got rid of their founder, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, after failing to reach agreement on issues of anger management. […]
