Theories about the legendary sound of the violins of Antonio Stradivari and other violin-makers in early 18th-century Cremona abound. Did they have a special way of treating the wood? Was the secret in the varnish?

A new scientific study finds…

“So who won, anyway?” you ask. Here’s the list:

2007 Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition Winners

LASZLO MEZO-ARRUDA, CELLO
First Prize: $5,000 Grace Woodson Memorial Award

Laszlo Mezo-Arruda will perform the Lalo Cello Concerto in D minor at…

DENVER - It’s like Old Home Week in Colorado this week, as a reported 3,500 arts administrators and others from assorted arts groups - the League of American Orchestras, Opera America, Chorus America, theater and dance groups and (oh, yes)…

HOUSTON- How often do I get to be a judge?

“How about ‘Week in, week out’?” retorted Aurelie Desmarais, the senior director for artistic planning at the Houston Symphony Orchestra.

Okay, fair enough. I’m a professional critic, after all. But…

IF YOU GO: Marin Alsop and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Powell Symphony Hall, 718 N. Grand

3 p.m. Sunday, April 28

$15.50 to $105; 314-534-1700 or www.slso.org

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has made an art of well-constructed programs…

Haruka and Ayako Watanabe have been an important part of the St. Louis musical scene for over four decades. He’s a member of the first violin section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; she was the regular second harp. They…

Late-arriving announcements of concerts you should know about. This brief is for Sunday’s A&E section, but you might want to plan further ahead:

Symphony Mondays: 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Birth of Olivier Messiaen
Members of the St. Louis Symphony…

It’s a big night for conductor Leonard Slatkin, composer Joan Tower and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, whose “Tower: Made in America” won three Grammy awards, including “Best Classical Album.” It’s a big night for Naxos, their label, as well.

This…

The musical part of the program for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Powell Symphony Hall 40th birthday celebration has been announced:

“Solace” by Scott Joplin, performed by Barbara Liberman

The first and last movements of Symphanie Espagnole by Lalo, with…

STLtoday.com has new blog software, and it should make the site easier to use for Post-Dispatch bloggers — once we figure out all of its fine points, at least. (I ask readers of Classical Music/Culture to bear with me during…