North Korean defectors say they “used to listen to songs in secret, often not knowing who they were listening to, but clinging to the mysterious and hopeful lyrics. Some even managed to watch K-pop performances, shocked by the blue-haired idols wearing make-up.” - BBC
Jackson is currently music director of the Reno Philharmonic in Nevada — a position she’ll keep through 2028-29 — and will officially take up this post as of the 2027-28 season. She succeeds John DeMain, who retired in June after 32 years. - The Cap Times (Madison, WI)
“Cantrell’s appointment comes after a nationwide search sparked by the retirement of longtime Nashville Symphony leader Alan Valentine, who served in the role for 28 years. Cantrell, who will officially assume the position on Aug. 1., comes to Nashville Symphony from the Colorado Symphony in Denver.” - Nashville Post
The July 16 performance of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, with James Conlon conducting the Chicago Symphony and soloists including Katherine Lewek and Miles Mykkanen, was called off due to hazardous air quality caused by smoke from wildfires raging in Canada. - Ravinia Festival
It’s a story about many things, including music and money; excellence and equity; tradition and change. But mostly it’s about two questions: What should an orchestra be in a city like Boston in 2026? And even more important: Who gets to decide? - Boston Magazine
Vinyl record sales in the US have increased for 19 consecutive years, surpassing $1 billion in revenue in 2025. As vinyl’s popularity has surged, so has scrutiny of its environmental cost—and the music industry’s efforts to address it. - LongReads
“The Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday unveiled 300 gold-colored statuettes of Mozart, which are barely 50 centimeters (less than 20 inches) tall. … To give the statues a human touch, (artist Ottmar) Hörl depicted the composer with his favorite dog, Pimperl.” - AP
Two years. That’s how long it’s been since Andris Nelsons, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has had a meaningful conversation with the orchestra’s chief executive Chad Smith. In fact, the two barely speak at all. - Boston Globe
Nature never produces two things that are truly identical. If art is an imitation of nature, then true art cannot be replicated. It can only be pursued. Each instrument was a singular act. - The Strad
When it opens in 2028, this new Center for Chamber Music will be Seattle’s first permanent venue designed exclusively for chamber music performance, featuring a 271-seat concert hall engineered to create an immersive experience where no listener will be more than 40 feet from the performers. - Seattle Times
“In the opinion of Martha Nussbaum, now 79, …opera can help to fix Western societies that have become nasty, brutish and narcissistic. In particular, we need more men like Cherubino, the cross-dressing boy of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro … than we do Putins, Hegseths, Trumps and Tates.” - The Telegraph (UK) (MSN)
A focus on how well individuals conduct a specific orchestra with limited repertoire at a given moment in time makes little sense to me when I think about what makes a great conductor and how one judges such greatness. - Nightingale's Sonata
“The relationship between pernambuco and music is not ... environmental overconsumption. It is the primary consumers of this resource, the bow makers, who have tried hardest to conserve the wood. ... They have worked to document legal stockpiles and trace provenances of finished bows, and have replanted trees by the millions.” - The New York Times
The labels are simple icons that distinguish between those that are “AI-generated” and “AI-assisted,” but they are designed to be adopted by digital music services, distributors and others. The track labeling is voluntary. - Deadline
