classical

A televised selection process that raised concerns about the competence of two judges has yielded an unremarkable pack of six semis: English/ Swedish violinist Maya Broman Crawford-Phillips (17), currently studying at the Yehudi Menuhin School […]

The head of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theatres and of Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Competition has been appointed president of a new L. N. Tolstoy International Peace Prize. Not the Nobel Peace Prize. It’s the Russian-aggression model. […]

We have received a message from the orchestra to applicants, making it clear that their racial and ethnic identity will be taken into consideration when selecting those who are suitable to play in the orchestra. […]

Dear Alma, I flew to Europe for a concertmaster audition at a major international orchestra.  Half a dozen of us waited our turn.  To my astonishment, two were called forward and left. We were told […]

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has been ordered to pay €168,431.96 to its former artistic director and principal conductor Brian Schembri. Schembri was fired seven years ago after a disagreement with the orchestra management. He had […]

From my monthly essay in The Critic: Stars have been falling out of opera like apples in late summer. Jonas Kaufmann, a serial drop-out, now has a second career as a festival manager. Anna Netrebko […]

From the Lebrecht Album of the Week: There’s more content in this compilation than a weary reviewer has a right to expect. Coming off the back of a pointless set of Shostakovich symphonies, this chunky […]

Message from Teatro San Carlo, in Napoli: Jonas Kaufmann / Ludovic Tézier Concert Postponed. The kind public is advised that, due to the artist Jonas Kaufmann’s unavailability due to Covid-19, the Jonas Kauffmann / Ludovic […]

The International Vocal Competition (IVC) is a classical singing competition that has attracted singers from all over the world to ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands since 1954. Once a small singing competition aimed at singers from the […]

The earliest known electronic instrument is something of an intellectual cult. So it’s quite a surprise to find it being played at the Central Ohio Symphony. And this is just the beginning. The world premiere […]