Daniel J. Wakin

New York City Opera’s decision to leave its Lincoln Center home has raised questions about the company’s financial and artistic future. New York Times arts reporter Daniel Wakin joins us to talk about what’s ahead for City Opera’s upcoming season – and about opera stars who are getting vocal about the company’s departure from Koch Theater.

Last Friday, the New York City Opera announced that they’re slashing their budget and leaving their home at Lincoln Center. Joining us to talk more about the opera’s recent announcement is New York Times culture reporter Daniel J. Wakin.

An online archive of free, downloadable music scores has brought the digital copyright debate into stark relief. Daniel J. Wakin of the New York Times explains how a 24-year-old Harvard law student and his site, called the International Music Score Library Project, is shaking up the publishing world.

In the classical music landscape, much attention is given to the major outfits: The Metropolitan Opera, The New York Philharmonic, the names on the posters at Carnegie Hall. But beneath those institutions lies a much different economy -- and that is the world of the classically-trained freelancer. Lately, many of the regional symphonies, Broadway pits and jingle houses that freelancers rely on have cut back or shuttered, forcing musicians to get a bit more creative. To explain the state of things for classical freelancers we’re joined by New York Times reporter Daniel J. Wakin and freelance violinist Victoria Paterson.

The Metropolitan Opera opens its new season tonight with the first installment of Wagner’s "Ring" cycle in a new production by Canadian superstar director Robert Lepage. Everything about this promises to be immense -- from the 45-ton, two-tower set to the $17 million budget to, of course, the voices themselves. And: Dalia Geffen, president of the Boston Wagner Society, tells us about the hopes that Wagner superfans have for the new production.

UBS, the giant Swiss bank, has withdrawn its support of an elite Swiss orchestra. Amid a shaky economic climate, should other arts organizations be concerned? Joining us are New York Times reporter Daniel J. Wakin and Andrew Taylor, who writes the “Artful Manager” blog on Artsjournal and who heads the ...