Mackerras had a major impact on British musical life, whether as Music Director of English National Opera and Welsh National Opera, working with major symphony orchestras, or conducting smaller groups such as the English Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. - Gramophone
Leaving the Kennedy Center is a possible scenario after a collapse in box office revenue and “shattered” donor confidence in the wake of Trump’s takeover, said Francesca Zambello. - The Guardian
Such settlements and strategic partnerships will help major labels set the ground rules for developing AI-music ecosystems. And it seems they are becoming common. - The Conversation
Could machine analysis measure the qualities that make Dylan’s songs resonate – how complexity arises, how new images mix with the familiar, how ambiguity threads through songs? - Aeon
Thursday night’s Israel Philharmonic concert at the Philharmonie was interrupted three times by demonstrators, including twice when flares were lit in the balcony and smoke filled the auditorium. One of the disruptors was attacked by angry audience members and a physical fight broke out. Four people were arrested. - BBC (MSN)
The country’s government has requested that the UN agency designate yodeling as Intangible Cultural Heritage. UNESCO’s committee for Intangible Heritage will decide at its mid-December meeting in New Delhi. - AP
'Both our Sydney summer and winter 2025 seasons recorded their highest ever number of first-time purchasers, while repeat purchasers also grew. This increase in first-time attendees shows growing interest among younger, culturally curious, and tourism-driven audiences.’ - ArtsHub
The New York-born, Houston-trained conductor is currently general music director of the Komische Oper Berlin and just completed a term leading Valencia’s Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. Gaffigan succeeds Patrick Summers, who departs at the end of this season. - CultureMap Houston
“At the Superhumans Centre, near Lviv, … the most critically war-wounded are treated with prosthetics and reconstructive surgery, and psychological support is given to children and adults affected by the war. And within the range of treatment is music therapy” — including "the EnterDJ programme, which teaches veterans the basics of mixing." - The Guardian
“The perception that opera is only for posh people, with which I fundamentally disagree, has taken a grip on a lot of decision-makers,” Thangam Debbonaire says. “But even if we do win them over, we have to accept that constraints on public finances aren’t going away any time soon.” - The Times (UK)
After artistic advisor Leonard Slatkin finished conducting Saturday night’s concert, he introduced the audience to the orchestra’s next music director, Japanese-American conductor Rei Hotoda. She begins her four-year term next July and will also continue in her position as music director of the Fresno Philharmonic. - Las Vegas Review-Journal
The 81-year-old — who found viral fame through an old video where she’d been told to prepare the wrong Mozart concerto but pulled off the performance nevertheless — has retired at least once before, only to return to performing. But she suffered a stroke in June and has not played in public since. - Moto Perpetuo
