Death of a Former International Pianist, 84
Western Kentucky University announced the passing of Sylvia Kersenbaum, its piano professor since 1976, at age 84. Born in Buenos Aires, Kersenbaum built an international performing career, appearing with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Bayerische Staatskapelle and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. She notably performed the complete set of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas twice, a rare feat for any pianist. Her death marks the end of a distinguished tenure that shaped generations of musicians at Bowling Green.
DG Signs New Orchestra … in Asia
Deutsche Grammophon has signed the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for its debut album, a condensed rendition of Wagner’s Ring titled The Ring – An Orchestral Adventure. Conducted by designated music director Tarmo Peltokoski and arranged by Dutch composer Henk de Vlieger, the project was recorded in June 2025 at the Hong...
A Graduation Recital that Will Sell Out in Minutes
South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim, the recent Van Cliburn champion, will headline his graduation recital at the New England Conservatory on April 25. The program consists of three Scriabin sonatas, and despite tickets not going on sale for another three weeks,...
Berlin Phil to Play Street Music in Salzburg
The Berlin Philharmonic will stage ten free chamber‑music concerts in Salzburg between March 31 and April 6, bringing performances to a retirement home, a hospice, a museum and public squares. Volkswagen, the orchestra’s new mobility partner, will handle transportation of musicians and...
English National Opera Fails to Recruit CEO
The English National Opera (ENO) announced the appointment of Paul Reeve, MBE, as interim chief executive after months of an unsuccessful search for a permanent CEO. Reeve, a former Covent Garden employee and ex‑head of the charity IntoFilm, will start...
Pianist Yunchan Turns to Schubert Songs
South Korean virtuoso pianist Yunchan Lim has announced a May tour across his home country, marking his biennial return to domestic stages. Unlike previous programs, the tour will focus exclusively on works by Franz Schubert and Alexander Scriabin, featuring piano...
The Salzburg Crisis: An Idiot’s Guide
The Salzburg Festival faces leadership turmoil as artistic director Markus Hinterhäuser missed a deadline to extend his contract, prompting the board to claim his term has expired. Hinterhäuser, who has led the festival for a decade and is praised for...
Two Organs Thunder Out in This Week’s Concert
The Oakland Symphony will stage a dual‑organ concert at the historic Paramount theater on March 27, featuring Saint‑Saëns’ famed Organ Symphony and a newly highlighted Hammond B3 concerto by Brian Raphael Nabors. Conducted by music director Kedrick Armstrong, the program...
Ten Tips for Building a Concert Audience
Rosie Millard outlines ten practical rules for orchestras to grow concert attendance, drawing on her experience at Paris’s Philharmonie. The tips emphasize strategic marketing, dynamic pricing, diverse programming, and an inviting venue atmosphere. Millard argues that a holistic approach—combining digital...
Boston Trustees: We Can Explain (but We Won’t)
The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Board announced that Maestro Andris Nelsons will leave after the 2027 Tanglewood season. In a lengthy letter, trustees blamed declining attendance, rising operating costs and a $100 million draw on reserves for the decision, rather than artistic...
Lucia without the Mad Scene? It’s the Naples Version
At Naples' Teatro San Carlo, soprano Rosa Feola experienced an allergic reaction that forced her to miss the pivotal mad scene in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. The production proceeded without a cover singer, leaving the central role vacant and prompting vocal...
Parisian Surreal Cult Novel as Opera: L’Écume Des Jours
Boris Vian’s surrealist novel L’Écume des jours has been transformed into an opera by Soviet composer Edison Denisov, now staged by Opera de Lille—the first French production since its 1986 premiere. Lebanese‑Polish conductor Bassem Akiki and French‑Polish director Anna Smolar...
An International Soloist Gives up Her Career at 42
International violinist Alina Pogostkina, the first German to win the Sibelius Competition, announced she is retiring from her solo career at age 42 after two decades of global touring. The 42‑year‑old, who has performed on the world’s major stages for...
Composer Unsuk Chin Is Awarded $400,000
South Korean composer Unsuk Chin has been awarded the music and opera category of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards in Madrid. The prize carries a €400,000 award, equivalent to about $400,000. The citation praised her for developing a...
Conductor, 13, Is Engaged by Major Orchestra
Thirteen‑year‑old Arijus Šereckis, a protégé of Finnish conducting legend Jorma Panula, has been engaged for the upcoming season of Denmark’s Odense Symphony Orchestra. The young maestro comes from a musical family—his father plays trumpet in Kuopio City Orchestra and his...
St Paul Recruits British Artistic Partner
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra announced that acclaimed violinist Alina Ibragimova will join its roster of Artistic Partners starting summer 2026. Ibragimova becomes the sixth partner alongside British baroque specialist Richard Egarr, pianist Richard Goode, cellist Abel Selaocoe, conductor Gábor...
Fake News: Yo-Yo Ma’s $10 Million Netflix Deal
A recent article claimed Yo‑Yo Ma signed a $10 million Netflix deal for a seven‑episode scripted series slated for 2026. The story was later retracted, with the outlet confirming it was a hoax generated by AI‑driven rumor sites. No official announcement...
What the French Are Sleeping with This Week
The latest SNEP classical album chart shows Sofiane Pamart dominating half of the top ten positions, underscoring his crossover appeal in France’s classical market. Pamart, a part‑time rapper turned piano composer, blends minimalist Einaudi‑style melodies with urban sensibilities, drawing a...
Just In: Netrebko to Make Munich Return
The Bavarian State Opera unveiled its 2026-27 season, featuring ten new productions such as John Adams’ *Doctor Atomic*, Britten’s *Death in Venice*, and the concluding two parts of Wagner’s Ring cycle. In a notable shift, the house announced that soprano...
Classical Label Starts Snoring
Deutsche Grammophon is leveraging World Sleep Day to launch a sleep‑themed music series, featuring new releases from Roger Eno, Snorri Hallgrímsson, Víkingur Ólafsson and Cameron Segal. The label also streams an eight‑hour live video of Max Richter’s ambient masterpiece SLEEP,...
Ruth Leon Recommends…. Art that Made Us – The Revolution of the Dead
Ruth Leon highlights a BBC documentary that reexamines the Black Death’s aftermath as a catalyst for a century of artistic and literary renewal. The film weaves insights from historians, curators, and contemporary creators, showing how plague‑scarred survivors reshaped English literature,...
Standout Singers of the Week
The Lebrecht Album of the Week spotlights Polish countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski, who balances a thriving opera career with street break‑dancing. His new Erato release strings together baroque staples—from Purcell to Bach—with off‑menu arias and an eight‑minute intermezzo by Fux,...
First Review: A Korngold Opera Premieres in NY
Mannes Opera presented the United States premiere of Erich Korngold’s long‑awaited opera The Silent Serenade at New York’s Gerald Lynch Theater. The production, directed by Emma Griffin, blends Korngold’s Hollywood film‑scoring sensibility with Viennese waltz flourishes, creating a lively, propulsive...
Dear Alma, My Principal Makes Me Complicit in His Abuse
A one‑year orchestra musician reports that her principal conductor openly objectifies female players and forces her to endorse his sexist remarks, creating a hostile work environment. She feels trapped because the job is crucial for her career and fears retaliation...
Berlin Philharmonic Has New 2nd Flute
Lorenzo Massina, a 23‑year‑old graduate of the Berlin Philharmonic’s Karajan‑Akademie, has won the audition for the orchestra’s second flute and piccolo chair. The Italian‑trained musician previously studied in Milan and now faces a probationary period before securing a permanent seat....
The Ins and Outs of Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta, born in Bombay to the founder of India’s first symphony, rose from Vienna studies alongside Claudio Abbado to early posts in Liverpool and Montreal. He later led the Los Angeles Philharmonic, gaining worldwide attention for his energetic conducting...
London Orchestra Mourns Long-Serving Harpsichordist
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields announced the death of John Constable, its principal harpsichordist for 38 years. Constable, 91, contributed to landmark recordings with Neville Marriner and violinist Joshua Bell and served as the go‑to pianist for the...
New Concertmaster for LA Opera
The Los Angeles Opera has filled the concertmaster vacancy left by Roberto Cani’s death with internationally acclaimed violinist Alyssa Park, who will assume the role next month. Park, currently concertmaster of the New West Symphony, previously guested with LA Opera...
Munich Rolls Out Lahav Shani’s First Season
Renowned conductor Lahav Shani launches his inaugural season with the Munich Philharmonic, featuring Mahler’s Fourth Symphony paired with works by exiled Israeli composer Paul Ben Haim. The program also includes Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms sung in Hebrew and a concert rendition of...
Just In: International Maestro, 60, Retires with Alzheimers
Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena, former chief of the BBC Philharmonic, Bilbao Symphony and Cincinnati May Festival, announced his retirement at age 60 after his Alzheimer’s disease progressed. He first disclosed the diagnosis a year ago and now plans to conclude...
Death of Acclaimed French Organist, 32
Acclaimed French organist Yanis Dubois, the titular of Lisieux Cathedral’s grand Cavaillé‑Coll organ since 2017, died at age 32 after a lengthy illness. A native of Calvados, Dubois earned multiple international competition victories and served as organist‑in‑residence at Japan’s Sapporo...
San Francisco Symphony Admits 18 Year-Old Pre-College Cellist
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music announced that 18‑year‑old cellist Starla Breshears will join the San Francisco Symphony’s cello section for the 2026‑27 season, becoming the youngest musician ever in the ensemble. Breshears entered the Conservatory’s pre‑college program in 2015,...
How to Get by without a Music Director
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) in Geneva dismissed music director Jonathan Nott last season and chose not to name an immediate successor. Instead, the orchestra will operate under a "conductor in residence" model for the next two years,...
UAE Orchestra Pays Tribute to Nation’s Defenders
The UAE National Orchestra, launched in December 2024, released a tribute piece titled “Men, by God, Truly Men” based on President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s poem honoring the nation’s defenders. The composition, written by Mohammed Al Ahmed and arranged by...
Ex-Berlin Phil Principal Opts for California
Swiss flautist Sébastian Jacot, who served as principal flute of the Berlin Philharmonic from November 2022 until November 2024, has accepted the principal flute position with Camerata Pacifica in Santa Barbara. Prior to Berlin, he held the same chair at...
Just In: Beatrice Venezi Is Confirmed as Venice Music Director
Beatrice Venezi, 36, has been confirmed as the new music director of Venice’s historic La Fenice opera house, beginning a four‑year term in October. The appointment was approved by the Opera and Symphony Foundation board alongside Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro. Venezi...
The Met’s Tristan First Review Is in the Times – the London Times
The Times published Kevin Ng’s review of the Metropolitan Opera’s new Tristan und Isolde, noting mixed reactions to the production. Ng criticized the costume design and argued that conductor Yannick Nézet‑Séguin’s heavy orchestral emphasis drowned out the singers. However, he...
Martha Argerich Launches New Swiss Festival
Renowned pianist Martha Argerich has announced the launch of a new Alpine classical music festival in La Chaux‑de‑Fonds, Switzerland, joining the region’s shifting festival landscape that includes Lucerne and Verbier. The inaugural program features a star‑studded lineup—Argerich herself, pianists Nelson Goerner...
A Woman Rules in Westphalia
Andrea Huguenin Botelho was appointed chief conductor of the Westphalian Symphony Orchestra in early 2026, becoming the first woman to hold the post in the ensemble's 130‑year history. At 52, she brings experience as artistic director of the Brasil Ensemble...
Is Streaming Biased Towards Piano?
Apple’s weekly top‑ten streaming chart is led entirely by solo piano recordings, with five piano pieces occupying the first five positions. The list includes works by Yunchan Lim, Alexander Malofeev, Ludovico Einaudi, Max Richter, and Hayato Sumino, suggesting a strong listener preference for piano‑centric classical...
Royal Shakespeare Co Abolishes Head of Music
The Royal Shakespeare Company announced the redundancy of its head of music, Bruce O’Neill, after more than 20 years of service. The decision is part of a company‑wide cost‑cutting restructure that also eliminates two in‑house musician roles. RSC leadership emphasized...