Alisa Weilerstein News

San Diego’s classical music scene coped with the COVID-19 invasion by trading shuttered concert halls for parking lots and online media. Appreciative bravos and bravas were replaced by either honking horns, flashing headlights or painful silence. The city’s Mainly Mozart was an early adopter of drive-in performances. Its first was in July of last year with an audience of 150 vehicles voicing raucous automotive approval for San Diego Symphony Concertmaster Jeff Thayer and seven musicians from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, including Concertmaster Martin Chalifour. The musicians, delighted to be playing in person under any circumstances, delivered lively versions of an early Mozart divertimento and the Mendelssohn octet.

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has announced that subscriptions go on public sale Monday for the 2021/2022 Regional Arts MUSIC “At Eight” and MUSIC “At Two” Classical Concert Series, now in its 47th season. Leonard and Sophie Davis sponsor the popular series.

Ushering a jubilant return to live performance, Spoleto Festival USA's 45th season was marked by change, big names, and bold ideas. “I am proud of my staff's commitment to making this season a reality,” says General Director Nigel Redden. “While it may have differed from our original hopes in terms of scale, I am immeasurably pleased with our outcome.'

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has announced that Louis Langrée will  not seek to renew his contract beyond the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, his eleventh as the Orchestra's Music Director.

The Houston Symphony is announcing program details for Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada’s final season as music director, including the five 2021–22 concert weeks he will conduct, and the full Bank of American POPS Series lineup under the direction of Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke.

The Sun Valley Music Festival announces repertoire details and the concert schedule for its return to in-person concerts July 26-August 19, 2021 at the Sun Valley Pavilion.

The National Symphony Orchestra has announced classical programming for the 2021–2022 season, its fifth season under the artistic leadership of Gianandrea Noseda. NSO Classical subscriptions for the 2021–2022 season are now available here or by calling (202) 416-8500.

With the 104th season, which marks the 20th season of the ensemble's acclaimed partnership with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, the Orchestra will welcome audiences back to Severance Hall as a more flexible, innovative, versatile, and empathetic institution, strengthened by the lessons of the past 14 months.

The San Diego Symphony announced its inaugural season of concerts at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, the new year-round outdoor venue with 360-degree views of downtown, the marina & the bay. Opening August 6-8, the season will offer more than 40 concerts between August and November 2021, including eight concerts led by Music Director Rafael Payare.

Today, The Cleveland Orchestra announced its June broadcast schedule for The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus digital concert series. Two episodes, premiering on June 3 and 17, will conclude the first season of In Focus broadcasts, available for on-demand viewing throughout the summer.

Wharton Center announces its 2021-2022 season, a collection of Broadway shows, including the much-anticipated return of Hamilton and the very best in performing arts. 

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has announced the 2021/2022 Regional Arts MUSIC “At Eight” and MUSIC “At Two” Classical Concert Series, now in its 47th season. Leonard and Sophie Davis sponsor the popular series.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced plans for its 50th Anniversary season, slated to begin in September 2021 with a grand reopening of its stages and campus and culminate in September 2022 with a fresh interpretation of the seminal work that opened the Center in 1971, Leonard Bernstein’s MASS.

The Colorado Music Festival (CMF) in Boulder, Colorado, under the leadership of Music Director Peter Oundjian, returns to the concert hall this summer for 22 concerts between July 1 and August 7. 

Philippe Quint will return to the stage in April to present two of his curated multimedia shows in California, streamed online. On Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 7:00pm PT, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County will present the world premiere of Quint's newest multimedia show, Astor Piazzolla at 100: A Musical Portrait with pianist Jun Cho.

On Monday, March 15—what would have been Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 88th birthday—Washington Performing Arts premieres The Muse and the Musicale: A Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg from Friends in the Arts, a compilation of video tributes to the late Justice.

The largest admission-free classical music festival in the United States presents its 37th Summer Season with live concerts featuring classical mainstays and a special celebration honoring frontline heroes.

La Jolla Music Society has announced it will pivot to only digital programming for the rest of the 2020-21 season, which will go on at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center.

The 92nd Street Y announced today that Hanna Arie-Gaifman, longtime Director of the Tisch Center for the Arts, is stepping down from her day-to-day duties. In her 21 years of leadership, Arie-Gaifman oversaw the classical, jazz, and Lyrics & Lyricists concert series, as well as the Unterberg Poetry Center.

Today, The Cleveland Orchestra announced updates to its February broadcast schedule for the In Focus digital concert series with a pair of bonus episodes featuring the music of Schubert, Mozart, and Bach. The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus series is available for current subscribers and donors at no additional charge or for Adella Premium subscribers on the Adella digital streaming app and adella.live.