Lincoln Center to Rename Avery Fisher Hall

By ROBIN POGREBIN

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

In front of Avery Fisher Hall, from left: Philip Kirschner; Katherine G. Farley, Lincoln Center’s chairwoman; Jed Bernstein, Lincoln Center’s president; Nancy Fisher; and Charles Avery Fisher.

Lincoln Center is essentially paying the Fisher family $15 million to drop the name so that the New York Philharmonic can lure a donor to finance a major renovation of its home.

Music Review

A Sorrow Transcended by Beauty

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

William Kentridge’s version of “Winterreise,” featuring the baritone Matthias Goerne and the pianist Markus Hinterhäuser, received its American premiere at Alice Tully Hall.

Jarvis Cocker in the documentary “Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets.”

Taking a Fan’s-Eye View of a Much-Loved Band

By STACEY ANDERSON

“Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets,” a documentary by Florian Habicht, looks at the band Pulp through the eyes of its fans.

Anna Netrebko is among the Met opera stars who have agreed to accept lower fees, the company’s general manager says.

Met Asks Stars to Share Fiscal Pain

By MICHAEL COOPER

The Metropolitan Opera is asking its soloists, including some of its best-known stars, to voluntarily reduce their pay by as much as 7 percent to match the salary cuts other performers agreed to.

Music Review

Anne-Sophie Mutter performed in a recital at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday with the accompaniment of Lambert Orkis, above, and Roman Patkolo.

Ask Not for Whom the Cell Tolls

By DAVID ALLEN

The quirky mix in Anne-Sophie Mutter’s recital at Carnegie Hall included Sebastian Currier’s “Ringtones” and pieces by André Previn, Beethoven and Franck.

YouTube Music Key Is Introduced as New Rival in Streaming

By BEN SISARIO

As YouTube pushes into paid content, other online music outlets are being forced to defend or change their business models to better compensate artists.

Daniel Meltzer, Protector of the Beacon Theater, Dies at 74

By BRUCE WEBER

A writer and teacher with a varied career, Mr. Meltzer led the successful fight to rescue one of New York City’s most grandiose showplaces from being turned into a discothèque.

November 13, 2014

Boston Symphony and Andris Nelsons to Celebrate Tanglewood Center’s 75th Anniversary

There will be nothing understated this summer when the Boston Symphony Orchestra celebrates the 75th anniversary of its summer music academy, the Tanglewood Music Center: Andris Nelsons will conduct the center’s orchestra in a performance of Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand” featuring three choruses and a roster of star soloists on Aug. 8.

November 13, 2014

Boy George Ailment Forces Culture Club to Cancel Tours

Boy George, the lead singer of Culture Club, has a throat polyp and the band has canceled its American and British tours.

November 12, 2014

Minnesota Orchestra Removes ‘Interim’ From President’s Title

Kevin Smith has been appointed president and chief executive of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Go to Blog »

Questlove to Curate Taste Talks Food Festival

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

The drummer, producer and culinary entrepreneur, will participate in formulating the programs for the food festival next year.

Taylor Swift sold nearly 1.3 million copies of her latest album, “1989,” in its first week on sale.

Chief Defends Spotify After Snub by Taylor Swift

By BEN SISARIO

The decision by Ms. Swift to remove her entire catalog from Spotify has intensified a debate over royalties paid by streaming music services.

Music Review

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra: At center, Riccardo Chailly, right, led the ensemble as Nikolaj Znaider performed as soloist at Avery Fisher Hall.

Two Sides, One Ensemble

By ZACHARY WOOLFE

The play of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra’s string section contrasted sharply with its winds and brasses on Sunday and Monday at Avery Fisher Hall.

Members of the pioneering rap group Sugar Hill Gang circa 1979. From left, Wonder Mike, Master Gee and Big Bank Hank.

Big Bank Hank, an Early Star of Rap, Dies at 58

By JON CARAMANICA

Big Bank Hank was one of the three members of the Sugarhill Gang, whose “Rapper’s Delight” put rap on the commercial map.

Opera Review

How to Cure the Housewife Blues

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Eva-Maria Westbroek stars as a poignantly restless housewife in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Shostakovich’s earthy “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.”

Critic’s Notebook

New York Jazz Clubs Double as Record Labels

By NATE CHINEN

In the current music-industry climate, a lane has opened for small but serious labels with low overhead and ready-made recording space.

New Music

Nick Jonas performing at the Gramercy Theatre.

Albums by Nick Jonas, Bobby Shmurda and New Basement Tapes

By JON PARELES and JON CARAMANICA

New albums include ones by Nick Jonas and Bobby Shmurda and “Lost on the River: The Basement Tapes,” a collection based on Bob Dylan lyrics from 1967.

Music Review

thestand4rd Spooky Black performing Sunday night with his St. Paul-based band at S.O.B.’s.

Casting a Magnetic Field That He Happily Shares

By JON CARAMANICA

Spooky Black and his Minnesota-based band, thestand4rd, played their first New York club date on Sunday at S.O.B.’s.

Riccardo Muti, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s former “conductor for life,” leading Verdi’s “I Due Foscari” at the opera house in 2013.

The Opera in Rome Is a Hotbed of Chaos

By RACHEL DONADIO

The Rome Opera is buckling under both a traditional patronage system and attempts to reform it.

Music Review

Usher performing a combination of old hits and explorative singles from his promised but indefinitely delayed album as part of his “UR Experience Tour” for a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.

With Signature Moves, R&B Romeo Takes a Turn as Casanova

By JON PARELES

Usher’s latest tour stopped by Madison Square Garden, where he mixed beloved oldies with singles from his delayed album “UR.”

Music Review

Exposed: Songs for Unseen Warhol Films: Bradford Cox accompanying “Mario Montez and Boy” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Giving Factory Faces Their Own Score

By JON PARELES

The musicians Dean Wareham, Tom Verlaine Martin Rev, Eleanor Friedberger and Bradford Cox offered accompaniment to 15 Warhol shorts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Music Review

Pacifica Quartet played works by Shulamit Ran, Haydn, Puccini and Mendelssohn at Alice Tully Hall.

From Eerie Shards to Vivid Emotion

By ZACHARY WOOLFE

The Pacifica Quartet performed the New York premiere of a work by Shulamit Ran in a program that also included works by Mendelssohn, Puccini and Haydn.

Press Play

Noteworthy New Music

Exclusive: New Music from Art Department and Kristin Chenoweth

This is the world premiere of “Natural Selection” by Art Department and “Coming Home” by Kristin Chenoweth, due out on Nov. 18 and 17, respectively.

Listen Now »

New York Times Popcast

A veteran obscurantist: Scott Walker, whose album “Soused,” a collaboration with Sunn O))), is due out Oct. 20.

ArtsBeat

Popcast: The Myth of Scott Walker

By BEN RATLIFF

Ben Ratliff and Jon Caramanica discuss Scott Walker and Sunn O)))’s “Soused.”

FKA twigs performing in London this week.

ArtsBeat

Popcast: Tinashe, FKA Twigs and the Semantics of R&B

By BEN RATLIFF

Ben Ratliff and Jon Caramanica discuss the singers Tinashe and FKA twigs, and whether they point toward a new conception of R&B.

Taylor Swift performs onstage at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 19, 2014.

Swift’s New Single Soars to No. 1 on iTunes

By BEN SISARIO

The new Taylor Swift single, “Out of the Woods,” was released at midnight and quickly reached No. 1 on the iTunes chart.

ArtsBeat

In Performance: Rachel Dratch of ‘Tail! Spin!’

By ERIK PIEPENBURG

The “Saturday Night Live” alumna in a scene from the comedy about political sex scandals.

Classical Playlists

The pianist Igor Levit performing at Park Avenue Armory in March.

ArtsBeat

Classical Playlist: Bach, Haydn, Seattle Symphony and More

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Times critics share what they’ve been listening to lately.

Interactive Feature

Fall Arts Preview - Times 100

How to wade through the crush of culture coming your way this season? Here’s a guide to 100 events that have us especially excited, in order of appearance.