Next month the hipster harpsichordist is doing the cycle three different ways: the usual manner, for solo keyboard; arranged for strings, flute and continuo (the scoring of Bach’s Musical Offering; and as a new composition, UNDR for piano, percussion and electronics. He explains here in a Q&A. - Bachtrack
Arts philanthropy is essential but elusive. Even so, there is a curious — and hopefully not delusional — optimism in classical music, L.A. style. We have lively leadership at all levels. “Accessibility” isn’t the term bandied about; “adventure” is. Full houses are common. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
Composer Chris Rogerson will lead the summer festival in the Colorado resort town, taking over after the 16-year tenure of pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. Rogerson is the first composer to direct the event: before McDermott were flutist Eugenia Zukerman and violinist Ida Kavafian. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“Nearly half a century on, although performances on period instruments (let alone fortepianos) are hardly the norm, historically informed performance has increasingly moved toward mainstream acceptance, picking up new repertoires, time periods, and styles along the way. The movement’s relative success may seem surprising.” - Early Music America
Bach never knew the modern piano or its flattened-out tuning, so any pianist who plays the Well-Tempered Clavier on a Steinway is making a version of the piece that Bach wouldn’t have even imagined. - The Guardian
“No monies were paid to settle the litigation or to secure Mr. Carney’s signature,” the violinist wrote. “There has never been a personal campaign to defame Mr. Carney or to damage his reputation. An individual creates their own reputation and they just need to own that fact.” - The Violin Channel
Through year after year and decade after decade of turmoil, Fairuz’s “Bahebak Ya Lebnan” (“I Love You, Lebanon”) inspired hope and pride in the nation’s resilience. Now many Lebanese associate the song with tragedy, and younger people see the lyrics’ promises as a hollow fantasy. - The Guardian
During the opera’s final minutes, rather than simply having the titular lovers embrace death, director Yuval Sharon has Isolde birth a child. Thus, writes Philip Kennicott, “one of the darkest and most disturbing operas in the canon … is given a ray of light, almost a happy ending.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
Many of the tracks resemble fragments or sketches, with bits of singing and rapping that sound unusually tentative, as if Ye isn’t quite sure how, or how much, to give his listeners what they want. - The New Yorker
“In his time, many composers were preoccupied with structural rigor. His quietly sensual works were humanist, exploring the common yet profound experiences of distorted memory, wonder and loss. His influence on music has arguably outstripped that of his mentor, the great downtown philosopher-composer John Cage.” - The New York Times
The Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026, with finals scheduled for November in Bangkok, has confirmed at least 10 countries as contestants: Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. More are expected to join in coming months. - AP
“Our strong balance sheet and cash generation gives us the flexibility to repurchase shares, while preserving ample capacity to invest in our growth strategy, and reconfirming our commitment to maintaining our credit ratings and our dividend policy.” - Music Business Worldwide
Sitting in the orchestra, the principals sound wonderful. But elsewhere, thanks to onstage tunnels: “Few lines of the libretto could be made out over the playing, which from the Balcony was often so loud it reduced the singers to textures, like instruments in the ensemble.” - The New York Times
It’s foundational: "Over the past three decades, music originating from Black genres has generated £24.5bn of the UK music industry’s £30bn recorded music market.” - The Guardian (UK)
