Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa dies at age 88

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa dies at age 88

TOKYO — World-renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa has died of heart failure at his home in Tokyo, his management office said Friday. He was 88. The acclaimed Japanese maestro led the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 2002, longer than any other conductor in the orchestra’s 128-year history. From 2002 to 2010, he was music director … Read more

Homecoming: Branford Marsalis new artistic director at New Orleans music center named for his father

Homecoming: Branford Marsalis new artistic director at New Orleans music center named for his father

NEW ORLEANS — Branford Marsalis, the jazz saxophonist and composer acclaimed for his movie scores, Grammy-winning recordings and his stint as the leader of The Tonight Show band, is taking on the role of educator in a return to his hometown of New Orleans. Marsalis was named Tuesday as the new artistic director for the … Read more

Elton John and Bernie Taupin to receive the 2024 Gershwin Prize for pop music

Elton John and Bernie Taupin to receive the 2024 Gershwin Prize for pop music

NEW YORK — The songwriters who gave us “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer” and “Rocket Man” will add to their stuffed awards shelf later this year when Elton John and Bernie Taupin are awarded the Gershwin Prize. The Library of Congress said Tuesday that songwriter-performer John and lyricist Taupin will receive the library’s Gershwin Prize for … Read more

Documentary on ‘We Are the World’ goes deep inside recording session of starry 1985 charity single

Documentary on ‘We Are the World’ goes deep inside recording session of starry 1985 charity single

NEW YORK — Thirty-nine years ago, the biggest music stars in the world crammed into a recording studio in Los Angeles for an all-night session that they hoped might alter music history. “We Are the World” was a 1985 charity single for African famine relief that included the voices of Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, Bob … Read more

Jodie Foster’s back, ‘Barbie’ brings novel numbers and other Oscar nomination facts and figures

Jodie Foster’s back, ‘Barbie’ brings novel numbers and other Oscar nomination facts and figures

LOS ANGELES — A look at notable facts, figures and curiosities from Tuesday’s nominations for the 96th Academy Awards, which saw “Oppenheimer” lead with 13 Oscar nominations, with “Poor Things” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” also running up big numbers. Jodie Foster became an Academy Awards mainstay starting at age 14 with her first … Read more

New York Philharmonic will play excerpts from ‘Maestro,’ with Bradley Cooper conversation to follow

New York Philharmonic will play excerpts from ‘Maestro,’ with Bradley Cooper conversation to follow

NEW YORK — The New York Philharmonic will play excerpts of music from the Academy Award-nominated “Maestro,” on the life of former music director Leonard Bernstein, on Feb. 14. Bradley Cooper, the movie’s star and director, will participate in a post-performance conversation at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. Metropolitan Opera music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who … Read more

Diane Warren and past winners Mark Ronson and Billie Eilish react to 2024 Oscar music nominations

Diane Warren and past winners Mark Ronson and Billie Eilish react to 2024 Oscar music nominations

LOS ANGELES — The often-nominated Diane Warren and past winners Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell are among the nominees for music awards at the 2024 Oscars. The hyper-competitive original song and original score categories include nominees from the films “Barbie” to ”Oppenheimer” and beyond. Warren is vying for original song with … Read more

‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Poor Things’ lead the race for Britain’s BAFTA film awards

‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Poor Things’ lead the race for Britain’s BAFTA film awards

LONDON — Atom-bomb epic “Oppenheimer” leads the race for the British Academy Film Awards, with nominations in 13 categories including best film — eight more than its box-office rival, “Barbie.” Gothic fantasia “Poor Things” received 11 nominations on the list announced Thursday, while historical epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Holocaust drama “ The … Read more

Franz Welser-Möst is back with Cleveland Orchestra after cancer surgery and slipped disk

Franz Welser-Möst is back with Cleveland Orchestra after cancer surgery and slipped disk

NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Franz Welser-Möst is back on the Cleveland Orchestra’s podium, concentrating again on music instead of his health. “It was not my best year, the last year,” he said Wednesday. “I feel good. You learn to live with the circumstances, and I’m extremely and grateful that I’m back at … Read more

Franz Welser-Möst is back with Cleveland Orchestra after cancer surgery and slipped disk

Franz Welser-Möst is back with Cleveland Orchestra after cancer surgery and slipped disk

NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Franz Welser-Möst is back on the Cleveland Orchestra’s podium, concentrating again on music instead of his health. “It was not my best year, the last year,” he said Wednesday. “I feel good. You learn to live with the circumstances, and I’m extremely and grateful that I’m back at … Read more