The phenomenal saxophonist and composer Benny Golson died this weekend in Manhattan. He played himself in the Steven Spielberg movie The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks. His compositions include “I Remember Clifford”, “Blues March”, “Stablemates”, “Whisper […]
The Bolshoi press service has announced the death of baritone Vladislav Verestnikov, one of its long-serving stalwarts. Originally from Kharkiv, he was married to fellow-Ukrainian soprano Lyudmila Sergienko. The post Bolshoi star dies, 77 appeared […]
The press statement is unusually succinct: ‘Local 161-710, American Federation of Musicians announced today that the musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) have unanimously voted to authorize a strike against their employer, the John […]
Until the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed ion November 1918, the port of Trieste on the Adriatic was its only outlet to the sea. Now, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra has re-established a post-imperial residency. Italy’s ambassador to […]
The Cleveland Institute of Music is doing all it can to stop unhappy staffers from joining a union. It’s getting heated out there. First up is board member Bonnie Cook: Next, here’s a round-robin letter […]
The Stuttgart Opera House opened its season unusually with a film premiere. It’s a biopic by Joachim Lang of the brilliant dancer and choreographer John Cranko, who left the Royal Ballet in London after being […]
A hostile reception was expected for Lotte de Beer’s new Carmen at the Volksoper, where the audience is treated to a frumpish heroine dressed head-to-toe in black and having little by way of the familiar […]
The longest-lasting, best-known marriage in the Italian performing arts was between the ballerina Carla Fracci and the stage director Beppe Menegatti. They met in 1954 at La Scala, where he was Luchino Visconti’s assistant, and […]
The winner at the piano section of the 2024 George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest last night was Roman Lopatynskyi from Kyiv. The runners-up were both Russian: Tatiana Dorokhova and Evgeny Konnov. When the war […]
In a staggering admission of senior ineptitude, English National Orchestra has hired a headhunter to find its next music director. Choosing a chief conductor usually arises from discussions between the artistic director, the board and […]
