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Report
Welcome 2 Shorworld
With the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Philharmonia and Max Richter all playing CMDI events, Shorworld is back—and even more ambitious
New in VAN
Essay
A Matter of Perspective
The manuscripts of recently rediscovered works by Bach and Mozart have been around for decades. What changed?
New in VAN
Review
The Vicissitudes of Concept
The thresholds of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s “Madama Butterfly”
Most read last week
Stand By Your Man
As emails seen by VAN show a high level of internal pushback regarding Norman Lebrecht’s rehiring by BBC Radio 3, why did the station’s controller sack him now—and why was he rehired in the first place?
The Art of the Ideal
What classical institutions mean when they say that “music can change the world”
Is Beatrice Venezi’s Appointment Really Based on Merit?
The incoming music director of the Teatro La Fenice has been criticized for her political connections. Is her conducting any good?
I Know, But: Andrea Bocelli
In an opera world flailing for mass appeal, there are worse things than an enthusiastic if underqualified crooner
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Money men and women
Welcome to Shorworld
A hedge fund multimillionaire turned composer. A businessman with apparent links to the Russian state. A cohort of superstar performers all too happy to look the other way. Inside classical music’s large, lucrative parallel world.
These Are The Top Republican Donors Also Donating To Classical Music
Recent events suggested a liberal bent in orchestras. Our analysis shows it’s much more complicated.
“A Call To Action, Disguised As A Symphony”
Through her “Alan” project, lyricist, philanthropist and controversial former surgeon Susan Lim puts forward her ideas about transhumanism. Does the UK’s classical music scene have the strength to push back?
On Puccini
Solving the “Turandot” Riddle
Barrie Kosky’s new Puccini staging at the Dutch National Opera rehabilitates the unfinished opera
God Sing Through Me
An interview with soprano Janet Williams on her pathbreaking teacher, soprano Camilla Williams
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New in VAN
Is Post-Piece Silence a Recession Indicator?
Silence is a precious and dangerous tool. Use it at your peril.
Inside the UK’s Amateur University Opera Societies
What scrappy, low-budget opera for students gets right that professional opera doesn’t
(Almost) Every Piece by Darius Milhaud, Ranked
345 works from absolute turkeys to profound statements of faith
“All you had to do was go on Google”
When Frédéric Chaslin recommended a 21-year-old philosophy student for a job with Jeffrey Epstein, she decided to do her own research
Under The Mask
The conductor Rebecca Bryant Novak complained about an inappropriate comment by her professor at Eastman. What followed was a bureaucratic nightmare.
From five years ago…
An Old, New Song
What happens when the haunting imagery of “Winterreise” darkens into pathology?
I Know, But: “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis”
Seeing Past the Pastoral in Ralph Vaughan Williams
From ten years ago…
Last But Not Least
