Events and Festivals

"It's Like a Hollywood Party": People Watching at Verbier
July 28, 2010

Frank Cadenhead reports from the Verbier Festival which, this year, is proving to be a veritable who's who of major players and celebrities in the world of classical music.

Minehead and Exmoor Festival
July 21, 2010

The Minehead and Exmoor Festival returns this weekend with a feast of classical orchestral music.

Pittsburgh Symphony travels to Quebec festival
July 21, 2010

Music director Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra hit the road again this week, traveling to Canada to perform concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Lanaudiere Festival in Quebec.

MUSIC IN THE NEWS

Top Headlines DSO contract talks break down, musicians say July 30, 2010 The musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, whose contract expires Aug. 31, said Thursday that management has ceased to negotiate in good faith and that talks have reached an impasse.   Show Boat, Sweeney, Il Postino to Play Théâtre du Châtelet; Gilfry, Domingo, Arand, Jennings to Star July 28, 2010 The Théâtre du Châtelet will stage Show Boat, Sweeney Todd, My Fair Lady and an opera based on the film "Il Postino" in Paris as part of its 2010-2011 season.   Recent Headlines Carreras returns to La Scala Oct. 10 $18 Million Violin Looking For A Home Classical composer Charles Mackerras dies at 84 Jury Selection Begins in Music Critic’s Suit Against Cleveland Plain-Dealer Orchestra musicians file grievance Arroyo, Glass, DiChiera and Queler Receive NEA Opera Honors Award Highlights of Carnegie Hall's 2010-2011 'Mozart Effect' Was Just What We Wanted To Hear Staff Favorites Selling Sex And Symphonies: The Image Of Women In Classical Music Swansea artists' lament for the bees John McCormack: The Charming Irish Tenor Choir sings musical notes based on their own genetic code New Opera Focuses on Bill Clinton's Life

Ensemble and Performer News Have you ever heard Britney or Salt-n-Pepa songs on cello? July 30, 2010 Salt-n-Pepa's No. 1 hit "Push It" doesn't have a cello part … right? Well, for members of the Portland Cello Project, that late-'80s rap song not only could have a cello part, it is perfect for the cello.   Composer News BBC Composer of the Week: Giuseppe Verdi July 22, 2010 Donald Macleod continues his exploration of Verdi's operas with Don Carlos, an epic tale of thwarted love that poses epic problems for directors. The historical Don Carlos was a tortured, tragic and misshapen young man in 16th-century Spain. Verdi's grand operatic version of his life, based, not for the first time, on a play by Schiller, turned out to have one of the most tortuous and protracted histories in all opera. As a result there are no fewer than eight possible 'authentic' versions of the score, so for anyone putting on a production of Don Carlos, it's rather a case of Let's Make an Opera!   Reviews A Former Secretary of State Has an Audience With the Queen July 30, 2010 Heard the one about the secretary of state and the Queen of Soul? There was no question that Condoleezza Rice had been a subject of intense scrutiny for crowds far tougher than the one she faced at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts here on Tuesday. Still, this engagement was not without its own pressure. Ms. Rice, revealed as a classically trained pianist during her years in government, was here by royal edict: Aretha Franklin, having learned of Ms. Rice’s avocation, proposed a summit meeting for a charity concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra.