classical

Voltaire and Candide Francois-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) was better known under his nom de plume of Voltaire.  He was born 330 years ago this week on Nov 21 1694. He was an historian and philosopher of […]

The Cleveland Orchestra today published its results for year ending June 30, 2024. Both total revenues and total expenses stood at $66 million, up 7.7 percent on 2022-23. The Orchestra’s endowment increased by $29 million […]

The classical guitar world is in mourning for Valérie Duchâteau, who died today of cancer. In addition to her international career, Valérie was joint director of Guitare Classique magazine with her husband, Jean-Jacques Voisin. She […]

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili has cancelled her three concerts with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia on 28/29/30 November with Daniel Harding conducting. Her replacement in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.2 will be the Hungarian Kristóf […]

A social media activist has circulated a video of Albrecht Mayer, solo oboist of the Berliner Philharmoniker, teaching a class at Ann Arbor Michigan with the use of touch,  which is no longer considered acceptable […]

Zachary Woolfe, chief music critic of the New York Times, has written a detailed, damning review of Klaus Mäkelä’s Carnegie Hall concerts with the Concertgebouw orchestra. Mäkelä is 28. He is head of major orchestras […]

A PR informs us this morning that the Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson has passed ‘the remarkable landmark of one billion’ streams of his varied programmes. His video of the Goldberg Variations alone has reached over […]

From Tim Sawyier on Chicago Classical Review: … In addition to the awkward clapping that punctuated the Stravinsky concerto on Thursday, there were also jangling cellphones during transparent moments, a young man texting from the […]

The celebrated Heldentenor and German TV presenter turned 87 last week. He told an interviewer that he will not face the end of life as a nursing case. ‘I have a very good and nice […]

Friends have reported the sudden passing of Pavel (Pasha) Karmanov, an eclectic Moscow composer who also played in a rock group. The group’s name, Vezhlivy Otkaz, means polite refusal, signifying mild dissent. Pasha was 55. […]