Conductor Fabio Luisi has been appointed to the Louise W. & Edmund J. Kahn Music Directorship of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO), giving his first performance as Music Director Designate next spring. His tenure begins in the 2019-20 season, and he assumes the title of Music Director in the 2020-21 season, succeeding Jaap van Zweden, who ended his decade-long tenure as Music Director in May 2018.

Long Yu, China’s pre-eminent conductor on the international scene, and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) have signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The new partnership is set to build on Long Yu’s critically acclaimed work as Music Director of the SSO and help promote the orchestra’s powerful blend of tradition and ambitious future vision. It will also enhance the SSO’s “Music Connecting Worlds” ethos. Their first DG recording, an album of works from the Chinese and Russian repertoires, will be released in 2019 to mark the SSO’s 140th anniversary and celebrate its status as China’s earliest symphony orchestra. In addition to making new albums with the orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon will also release earlier recordings from the SSO’s existing catalogue.

Trinity Church Wall Street is delighted to announce the appointment of Janet Yieh as Associate Organist, marking the first time that two musicians will have served concurrently in this position. Named one of “20 under 30” to watch by The Diapason magazine, Yieh is a former Assistant Organist at Trinity.

Dame Janet Baker, widely regarded as one of the greatest singers of all time, is to give a rare public interview on stage at Wigmore Hall on Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 3 PM. Dame Janet will be joined by the acclaimed actor Simon Callow to discuss her life in music and the remarkable voices and people who inspired her career.

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Jamie Bernstein, daughter of the famed composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. She launches her new book this June titled Famous Father Girl (Harper Collins), which delves into her father’s legacy and her own life in the spotlight as part of the most prominent American musical family of the 20th century.

A new Sony Classical release from Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell showcases two masterpieces from romantic composer Max Bruch. Available June 22, the album features Bell’s first recording of the virtuosic Scottish Fantasy as well as a new recording of the Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, which he first recorded over thirty years ago with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Sir Neville Marriner. Now, as Music Director of the Academy, Bell both performs and directs the orchestra, and offers a fresh take on the Bruch Concerto in addition to a thrilling performance of the Scottish Fantasy. 

San Francisco’s three-time Grammy Award-winning male vocal group Chanticleer—“the world’s reigning male chorus” (New Yorker)—celebrates its 40th anniversary with a Spanish Courtyard performance this summer at Caramoor. The program includes works from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century, along with a selection of traditional, standard, and jazz works drawn from Chanticleer’s extensive and eclectic repertoire, with many of the contemporary pieces and arrangements commissioned by the group. Contemporary works include Steven Stucky’s Whispers, William Hawley’s Io son la primavera, Michael McGlynn’s Dúlamán, and Stacy Garrop’s Jarba, Mare Jarba (July 26).

Composer Carlos Bandera (b. 1993) will have a gorgeous new work—Lux in Tenebris—performed by the American Composers Orchestra at the upcoming 27th Annual Underwood New Music Readings on June 21-22, 2018 at NYU’s Loewe Theater (35 West 4th Street).

Cellist Maya Beiser will be the soloist in a startling and soaring new version for solo cello and orchestra of David Bowie’s entire last album Blackstar. Arranged by composer Evan Ziporyn, who will also conduct Ensemble LPR, Blackstar has been performed to sold-out audiences in Boston and Barcelona and will tour the U.S. this fall. The Donny McCaslin Group, including members who worked with Bowie on Blackstar, will open the concert with a special performance. The performance is part of Le Poisson Rouge’s 10th anniversary season, LPR X.

Composer Dan Visconti (b. 1982) might be best known for being a pioneer in classical music entrepreneurship. He seems to be everywhere—from his acclaimed Ted Talks to insightful column in the Huffington Post to key artistic advisory/programming positions for Philadelphia’s classical music career incubator, Astral, and Chicago’s premiere chamber music group, Fifth House Ensemble. 

One of the world’s great concert halls, Wigmore Hall, opens its doors once again for its Wigmore Lates, a vibrant range of one-hour shows which take place after dark in the Hall’s sumptuous auditorium and make the ideal start to the weekend.

In pop culture, music videos abound when a new album is released. But this doesn’t happen often in classical music culture. It should. Take five minutes to watch this compelling film that features composer Missy Mazzoli’s Vespers for Violin performed by violinist Olivia De Prato. It’s directed by James Darrah who set the film within a ruminative desert ethos.