Dan Gill for The New York Times

William Moriarty, an American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund board member.

Other Orchestras Fear Paying Price for Philadelphia Pension Crisis

By DANIEL J. WAKIN and MARY WILLIAMS WALSH

The Philadelphia Orchestra, pursuing bankruptcy to shed pension obligations, is only one of the United States orchestras strained financially by promised benefits.

Music Review

This Faust Builds Atom Bombs (He Still Sings)

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Gounod’s “Faust” on Tuesday night updated the story to take place in an atomic bomb laboratory between the world wars.

Video: Gounod's 'Faust' at the Met | Slide Show

Music Review

A Quintet in Its Comfort Zone, With a Little Youth in the Mix

By NATE CHINEN

Christian McBride and his band Inside Straight played the Village Vanguard on Tuesday night, the first set of a five-night run.

November 30, 2011 11:55 PM ET

Kanye West Tops Grammy Nominations

Mr. West received the most nominations for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards during a televised ceremony Wednesday night, but it was the young pop stars Adele and Bruno Mars who dominated the nominations for the big awards.

November 30, 2011 5:00 PM ET

Michael Bublé and Nickelback in Photo Finish Atop the Charts

The margin was 419 copies.

November 30, 2011 4:29 PM ET

Riccardo Chailly Cancels Boston Symphony Concerts

The Boston Symphony Orchestra announced on Wednesday that the conductor Riccardo Chailly, widely thought to be a potential candidate to become its next music director, had canceled concert engagements for the next two months for health reasons.

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Music Review

Bombino Omara Moctar, the guitarist and singer from Niger, performing his style of Tuareg music at Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday night.

Saharan Anthems, Ethereal but Insistent

By JON PARELES

Bombino, a laconic guitar-plucking ambassador of Tuareg music from West Africa, performed at Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday night.

Music Review

Steve Tyrell performed at the Café Carlyle on Tuesday evening.

Seasonal Cheer With Drawl

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

In his seventh straight holiday engagement at the Café Carlyle, the singer Steve Tyrell blends seasonal standards and others in pop-jazz settings.

Andrew Kazdin was a perfectionist in the recording studio, often having performers play a work dozens of times in a session.

Andrew Kazdin, Record Producer, Dies at 77

By ALLAN KOZINN

Mr. Kazdin, who insisted that the details of a work be heard clearly, revolutionized classical recording by using techniques more common to popular music.

Barry Llewellyn, a Founder of the Heptones, Dies at 63

By ROB KENNER

Founded by Mr. Llewellyn and Earl Morgan, the Heptones rose from singing on the streets of Trenchtown to take their place alongside the Wailers and the Maytals as one of Jamaica’s most important vocal groups.

Music Review

Thomas Adès, the pianist and composer, and Ian Bostridge, the tenor, at their recital at Carnegie Hall on Monday.

Older Music Refracted Through a Modernist Prism

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

In their remarkable recital at Carnegie Hall, Thomas Adès and Ian Bostridge teased out the modernist resonances in older music.

Music Review

Frank Ocean at the Bowery Ballroom Sunday. The concert was rescheduled after he fell ill this month.

Music Is Love, and Love Is Music

By JON CARAMANICA

Frank Ocean, who performed at the Bowery Ballroom on Sunday, is a singer with a holistic, invested and personal take on soul music.

Don DeVito, Producer of Bob Dylan Albums, Dies at 72

By JON PARELES

Mr. DeVito’s work with Mr. Dylan was part of a career that lasted four decades at the Columbia label.

Music Review

Juilliard String Quartet, with Joseph Lin, its new first violinist, at Lincoln Center on Monday.

A Warm-Hued Beginning for Quartet’s New Violinist

By ALLAN KOZINN

Juilliard String Quartet introduced Joseph Lin, its new first violinist, at a faculty concert at Alice Tully Hall.

Don McLean, seen in 1972, said contrary to the legend, he did not write “American Pie” in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

‘American Pie’ Still Homemade, but With a New Twist

By LIZ LEYDEN

A bar in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has a plaque claiming to be the place where Don McLean scribbled the lyrics to “American Pie” in 1970, but he has debunked that tale.

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K'Naan, a Somali Canadian performer, is among the musical artists taking part in Western Union's online revival of the singing telegram. Senders will be able to choose which artist they want to accompany them in a karaoke-style message.

Western Union’s Singing Telegram Makes a Modern Comeback

By STUART ELLIOTT

A new version of the service would allow users to send their own voices in messages via e-mail.

Music Review

Messiah: This presentation, by Distinguished Concerts International New York, took an unusual approach to this Handel work on Sunday at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center.

Unfurling Hallelujahs at Full Throttle

By ALLAN KOZINN

Distinguished Concerts International New York delivered a Handel’s “Messiah” based on Thomas Beecham’s over-the-top 1959 recording at Avery Fisher Hall on Sunday.

New Music

‘The Voice’ Winner Javier Colon Stays in Character on New Album

By JON PARELES, NATE CHINEN and STEPHEN HOLDEN

New music from the winner of the premiere season of “The Voice,” Javier Colon; Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet; and the new Broadway cast recording of “Follies.”

2011 Holiday Gift Guide

Plan your holiday shopping with The New York Times 2011 Holiday Gift Guide.

Audio

Podcast: Music

Box set deluge: Ben Ratliff and Jon Caramanica listen to and discuss some of the season’s most notable reissues.

New Season

The New Season

Tchaikovsky, Dress Codes, And 3-D Opera

By JAMES R. OESTREICH

A selection of opera and classical music performances and events.

The baritone Mariusz Kwiecien will be singing the title role of Mozart's “Don Giovanni,” opening Oct. 13, which will now be conducted by Fabio Luisi.

Guest No Longer, Conductor Raises His Profile at Met

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Fabio Luisi has become the Metropolitan Opera’s music director in all but name.

The New Season

Katy B, whose debut album is “On a Mission.”

Debuts, Duets And Bootlegs

A selection of rock and pop music events.

The Bounty of Solitude

By JON PARELES

“Metals,” Leslie Feist’s album that is to be released Oct. 4, ignores all the glossy, computerized, impersonal pop of the 21st century. It’s made for intimacy, not for mass-market broadcast.