National Symphony Orchestra

(Newser) - Renee Fleming has quietly disappeared from two upcoming concerts at Washington's Kennedy Center, though the venue isn't saying much on why. The renowned soprano is no longer listed as a soloist for a pair of National Symphony Orchestra performances in May, the center's website shows. The reason...

(Newser) - Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck won't be taking the stage at the Kennedy Center next month, saying the venue has become too politically fraught for comfort. The 18-time Grammy winner was slated to perform George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the National Symphony Orchestra in February, but the...

(Newser) - In a bid to win over multitaskers and technophobes, the National Symphony Orchestra will tweet along with tonight's performance of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, the Washington Post reports. Audience members with appropriate gadgets can sit in a special section on the lawn at Wolf Trap, in suburban Virginia, and follow...

(Newser) - Cellist, conductor, and one-time Soviet gadfly Mstislav Rostropovich, who used to instruct his orchestras to "play as if you are being tickled in the sides," died today in Moscow. Rostropovich, whose 17-year-run as the head of the National Symphony Orchestra tranformed it from a middling ensemble to one...