Announcing the Grant Park Music Festival 2021 Broadcasts

With the Grant Park Music Festival’s long-awaited return to live programming in sight, WFMT is thrilled to resume the annual series of live radio broadcasts from the Pritzker Pavilion.

La Scala announces 2021-22 season, with hope of fewer limits

Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala has announced a 2021-22 season of 13 operas, seven ballets and numerous concerts as Italy’s most important theater looks toward a gradual removal of pandemic restrictions.

Religious leaders, artists honor George Floyd in concert

Religious leaders, musical guests, spoken word artists, and politicians gathered for a concert in Houston, the hometown of George Floyd, to commemorate the anniversary of his death.

Met Opera deal allows solo singer fees cut by up to 12.7%

The Metropolitan Opera would be able to cut the fees of its highest-paid individual singers by 12.7% under a pending four-year contract with the American Guild of Musical Artists.

Duain Wolfe of Chicago Symphony Chorus to Retire; WFMT GM Reflects on 25+ Years of Excellence

WFMT general manager George Preston shares his thoughts on the announcement that Duain Wolfe will retire as director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus.

Live Music is Back For 2021… Here’s Everything We Know.

After a long year away, live music is returning to the Chicago area. So watch this space, where we’ll collect all the new season announcements that you won’t want to miss!

Kennedy Center honorees still relish slimmed-down tribute

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors may be a slimmed-down affair as the nation emerges from the coronavirus pandemic — but honoree Dick Van Dyke still says it’s “the capper on my career.”

Locked out stagehands protest outside Metropolitan Opera

Locked out stagehands of the Metropolitan Opera protested the company amid a crowd of about 1,000 that rallied outside Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, criticizing the company for constructing sets for three of next season’s new productions at nonunion shops.

Jim Mabie, Longtime WTTW-WFMT Trustee and Board Chair, Dies at 85

A noted Chicago businessman, philanthropist and civic leader who served as a WTTW and WFMT trustee for more than 20 years, Jim Mabie died Saturday surrounded by his family.

Muti: Pandemic year silenced culture, leaving world stunned

Conductor Riccardo Muti has once again reopened the Italian musical season in his adopted hometown of Ravenna after another — and if all goes well perhaps final — round of pandemic closures.

Ravinia Returns for 2021 Season

Ravinia Festival is back for 2021 for its 85th concert season, offering up a signature blend of classical, jazz, folk, and rock music performances.

Free Live Music Will Return To Grant Park Music Festival for 2021

The Grant Park Music Festival today announced its return to live music in a 2021 season, the festival’s first live performances since August 2019.

In Return to Stage, CSO To Welcome Audiences for Concerts in May, June

The CSO will return in May and June for a slate of performances, the orchestra’s first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Al Schmitt, Grammy winning engineer and producer, dead at 91

Twenty-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt worked with everyone from Sam Cooke to Steely Dan to Frank Sinatra.

Mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig dies at 93

Ludwig, a renowned interpreter of Wagner, Mozart and Strauss who starred on the world’s great stages for four decades, had died at her home in Klosterneuburg, Austria.

CSO Announces Next Mead Composer-in-Residence

Riccardo Muti has appointed Jessie Montgomery as the Mead Composer-in-Residence. Montgomery will succeed the CSO’s current composer-in-residence, Missy Mazzoli, in July of this year.

LA Phil’s Dudamel to become music director of Paris Opera

Gustavo Dudamel will become music director of the Paris Opera while continuing his commitment to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Geffen Hall rebuild speeded due to virus, reopen in fall ’22

The plan is now to reopen the auditorium in the fall of 2022, about 1-1/2 years ahead of the original schedule.

Russia wants Tchaikovsky music for anthem at Tokyo Olympics

Russia wants to use music by 19th-century composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky as its replacement anthem for the Tokyo Olympics.

Recording Registry adds albums by Janet Jackson, Nas

Louis Armstrong’s jazzy “When the Saints Go Marching In” is another of the 25 recordings being inducted to the National Recording Registry.

A hopeful pandemic note: Tanglewood music festival to resume

The Boston Symphony Orchestra hasn’t played live for fans since the coronavirus pandemic hit a year ago, but it’s returning to the stage in July for the outdoor Tanglewood festival.

James Levine, who ruled over Met Opera, dead at age 77

Conductor James Levine, who ruled over the Metropolitan Opera for more than four decades before being eased aside when his health declined and then fired for sexual improprieties, has died.

Ravinia Is Back: Festival Announces Plans For Live Music in 2021 Season

The Ravinia Festival today announced its plans to reopen in July for a 2021 summer music season comprised of classical, popular, and chamber music. The 2020 season was canceled because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

2021 Grammys: Classical Music Nominees and Winners

It’s been a strange, difficult year for the music world, which is all the more reason to celebrate musical excellence.

Gemma New Announced as 2021 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Fellow

Originally from New Zealand, Gemma New is the music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Ontario and the principal guest conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

1 10 11 12 13 14 23