Trumpeter Alison Balsom talks about her experience playing for Maurice André at a competition -- and about how he shaped the course of solo trumpet playing.

No opera has been dogged by controversy over the last two decades as John Adams's 1991 work The Death of Klinghoffer. That was the case again this weekend at its London premiere.

Fayçal Karoui cited increasing conducting commitments abroad as too demanding to maintain the music director position.

Howard Kissel, longtime cultural critic and classical music supporter, died Friday of complications due to a liver transplant. He was 69.

Maurice André, the son of French miner who sparked an international renaissance for the solo trumpet, died Saturday at age 78. André was praised for his bright tone and seemingly effortless virtuosity.

The Metropolitan Opera on Thursday evening announced its 2012-13 season, which will feature seven new productions – including two Met premieres – as well as 16 revivals and three complete Ring cycles.

If only the plot worked, Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna, his debut opera, might be on track to becoming a real addition to the 21st-century canon.

The New York Philharmonic announced its upcoming 2012-13 season Wednesday morning, one that will feature the composer Christopher Rouse and the pianist Emanuel Ax.

Adam Abeshouse has a job description that charts many paths: therapist and coach for hyper-sensitive artists; a "microphone junkie" who knows his gear; and a facilitator who understands how music should sound.

This Friday at 8pm, WQXR offers a live broadcast from Carnegie Hall: Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic playing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.

It was that very piece that inspired the 12-year-old Rattle to become a conductor in the first place. Whether the orchestra’s 2010 live recording - or this Saturday’s live broadcast - achieve similar affect on others remains to be seen. Regardless, the developing relationship and choices of the Berlin Phil and its conductor/artistic director continue to captivate the classical music world.

Myung-whun Chung, the prominent South Korean conductor, met with officials from North Korea in Beijing to discuss a joint orchestra performance in Pyongyang, local media reported Monday.

About one to two percent of professional musicians will develop focal dystonia, potentially ruining their careers. Yet its precise cause remains unknown.

Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema's poster boy, takes Los Angeles Philharmonic to his homeland. The visit comes fresh from winning a Grammy.

In recent years a small but surprising cottage industry has emerged of recordings focused on calming, entertaining and uplifting pets. But do they actually work?

NEW YORK, NY —

Charles Anthony, a character singer who set the record for most appearances at the Metropolitan Opera - 2,928 - during a career that spanned from 1954 to 2010, died Wednesday. He was 82.

What do you do for a couple who is getting a divorce? A happily married violinist and percussionist in New York came up with an unlikely concept album.

The Emerson String Quartet, one of the most respected string quartets of its era, has lost a member for the first time in 34 years.

Leif Ove Andsnes is now on the north side of age 40 and is 25 years into a busy concert career but he’s not setting out to buy a Porsche or stage a midlife crisis yet.

The Detroit symphony has set what it believes is a record for the most viewers of a live, online performance by a U.S. symphonic group.