Latest Classical music News
New York Philharmonic musicians agree to 30% raise over 3-year contract
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Philharmonic and its musicians' union settled on a collective bargaining agreement Thursday that includes a 30% raise over three years. The deal with Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians calls for raises of about 15% in 2024-25, and 7.5%...
Suki Waterhouse pens a 'Memoir of a Sparklemuffin' on her wide-ranging sophomore album
NEW YORK (AP) — Suki Waterhouse discovered the Sparklemuffin spider during a late-night scroll. “He’s wildly colored. He’s cute,” she said. Best of all: He dances. “I felt somewhat akin to him.” The spider became a foil and a mascot for Waterhouse's...
Tito Jackson, member of beloved pop group the Jackson 5, dies at 70
Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, has died. He was 70. Jackson was the third of nine children, including global superstars Michael and Janet, and was part of a music-making family whose songs have sold hundreds of millions of copies. ...
Actor Chad McQueen, son of Steve McQueen, dies at 63
Chad McQueen, an actor known for his performances in the “Karate Kid” movies and the son of the late actor and race car driver Steve McQueen, has died. He was 63. McQueen’s attorney and friend Arthur H. Barens confirmed to The Associated Press that he died Wednesday. The cause...
Constantine Orbelian to attempt revival of New York City Opera after drop in money and performances
NEW YORK (AP) — Constantine Orbelian was promoted Tuesday to executive director of the largely dormant New York City Opera, which hasn’t given a staged performance since 2022 and says it will return with William Grant Still’s “Troubled Island” at City Center in 2025-26. ...
Keri-Lynn Wilson, who founded Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, becomes music director of Kyiv Camerata
NEW YORK (AP) — Keri-Lynn Wilson was hired Monday as music director of the Kyiv Camerata. She succeeds Valery Matyukhin, who established the chamber orchestra in 1977 and died last year. “We shall be performing for Ukraine’s brave and discerning audiences and...
Sergio Mendes, Grammy-winning Brazilian music legend, dies at 83
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Sergio Mendes, the celebrated Brazilian musician whose 1966 hit “Mas Que Nada” made him a global superstar and helped launched a long, Grammy-winning career, has died after months battling the effects of long COVID. He was 83. The death Thursday of the...
Xian Zhang to become music director of Seattle Symphony starting with 2025-26 season
Xian Zhang was hired Thursday as music director of the Seattle Symphony, becoming the first woman conductor to head a major West Coast orchestra and filling a post that had been vacant since Thomas Dausgaard quit abruptly in January 2022. Zhang agreed to a five-year contract starting...
Anthony Roth Costanzo sings 7 roles in madcap `Marriage of Figaro' at New York's Little Island
NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Roth Costanzo gives a truly inside look at one of Mozart’s most loved operas. Singing seven different roles in a madcap presentation of “Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)” at New York's Little Island, the countertenor labors through the...
Van Zweden earned $1.5M as New York Philharmonic music director in 2022-23
NEW YORK (AP) — Music director Jaap van Zweden earned just over $1.5 million from the New York Philharmonic in the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2023, and Deborah Borda received slightly more than $1.7 million in her final season as CEO. The Philharmonic released its 2022 tax return...
