Classical Music Looks Ahead to a Fall in Flux

How will performances feel in the midst of pandemic regulations? Will institutions respond in actions, not just words, to calls for racial equity?

Top Orchestras Have No Female Conductors. Is Change Coming?

At the largest American ensembles, one of music’s most stubbornly homogeneous spheres, a shift might be on the horizon.

Review: For 9/11 Tribute, the Met Opera Returns Home

The company’s first performance inside its theater since March 2020 was an inspired rendition of Verdi’s Requiem.

The Met Opera Races to Reopen After Months of Pandemic Silence

The company, which faced steep losses after the pandemic forced it to shut down on March 12, 2020, is working to lure operagoers back to its 3,800-seat theater.

5 Things to Do This Weekend

Our critics and writers have selected noteworthy cultural events to experience virtually and in person in New York City.

Igor Oistrakh, Soviet-Era Violinist (and a Son of One), Dies at 90

His father, David, was one of the 20th century’s finest violinists, but Igor more than held his own as a musician and interpreter performing throughout the West.

The Changing American Canon Sounds Like Jessie Montgomery

This composer’s music — improvisatory, open to influence, personal yet resonant — will be hard to miss in the coming season.

Review: The Met Opera Reunites, With Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’

After a year and a half, the company’s forces came together for an outdoor performance of the sprawling, ecstatic symphony.

‘We’re Like Athletes Here’: The Maestro With a Gym Habit

Lorenzo Viotti’s sporty social media posts don’t fit the image of an opera conductor. But they help classical music reach a new audience, he says.

For Music, a Fall Deluge of Performances Is Beginning

Summer has been quiet, but the weekend brought some brilliant concerts. (Delta variant be damned.)

5 Minutes That Will Make You Love the Trumpet

Listen to Louis Armstrong’s sweetness, Miles Davis’s wild squall, Handel’s Baroque majesty and other favorites.

When Europe Offered Black Composers an Ear

Spurned by institutions in America, artists were sometimes given more opportunities across the Atlantic.

How Do You Write Down a Scratching, Crunching Violin ‘Chop’?

The chop turns string players into beatboxers. After it developed organically over decades, musicians are making new efforts to notate it.

Michael Morgan, Adventurous Oakland Maestro, Dies at 63

As music director of the Oakland Symphony, he sought diversity in his audiences as well as in his programming.

Celebrated String Quartet Will Disband, Ending 47-Year Run

The Emerson String Quartet, known for its energy and nuance, will retire in 2023 so its members can pursue solo projects.

5 Things to Do This Weekend

Our critics and writers have selected noteworthy cultural events to experience virtually and in person in New York City.

Met Opera Reaches Deal With Orchestra, Paving Way for Reopening

The labor deal means that the company, the largest performing arts organization in the nation, is on track to reopen next month after the pandemic kept it closed for more than a year.

A Celebrated Afghan School Fears the Taliban Will Stop the Music

The Afghanistan National Institute of Music became a symbol of the country’s changing identity.

‘The Opposite of Airlines’: When Larger Audiences Require Fewer Seats

Yes, the comfy chair. The War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco put in roomier seats just in time to try to lure audiences back from the couches they got used to during the shutdown.