January 2026 — The classical music community opened the new year with both somber reflection and anticipatory celebration, as the industry bid farewell to two towering figures while preparing for a year-long commemoration of America’s semiquincentennial.
The classical world lost one of its most influential pedagogues when pianist Gary Graffman passed away in New York on December 27, just days before the new year. Graffman’s legacy spans three distinct chapters: virtuoso performer, left-hand repertoire champion, and transformative educator.
Born in 1928 to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Graffman entered Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music at age seven, studying with Isabelle Vengerova before working intensively with Vladimir Horowitz and Rudolf Serkin. After winning the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1949, he embarked on a three-decade international career, performing roughly 100 concerts annually and recording extensively for RCA and Columbia. His discography includes celebrated interpretations of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Brahms concertos — and notably, the Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue for Woody Allen’s 1979 film Manhattan.
But it was adversity that defined Graffman’s most lasting contribution. In 1979, focal dystonia robbed him of the use of his right hand, ending his two-handed career. Rather than retreat, Graffman pivoted brilliantly: he championed the left-hand repertoire, giving the UK premiere of Korngold’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand and commissioning new works from Jennifer Higdon and William Bolcom.
In 1980, he returned to Curtis — this time as faculty. By 1986 he was director; by 1995, the conservatory’s first president. His 26-year tenure transformed Curtis into a powerhouse, and his studio produced two of the 21st century’s biggest names: Yuja Wang and Lang Lang. Notably, Graffman kept both pianists away from the competition circuit, believing broader repertoire development would serve them better — advice that proved prescient.
Lang Lang posted a moving tribute on December 28, writing: “Without his teachings, I would not be where I am today — this is the most certain realization I hold in my life.”
The classical brass world also mourns the loss of John Wallace, who died on January 11 at age 76 following a short illness. The Scottish trumpeter’s career embodied the intersection of performance, scholarship, and educational leadership.
Born in Methil, Fife, in 1949, Wallace came from a brass band family tradition and played cornet with his father’s works band before joining the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at 14. After studying at King’s College, Cambridge, he became principal trumpet of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and — for 19 years — the Philharmonia Orchestra.
His most public moment came in July 1981, when millions worldwide watched him play a trumpet solo alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. But Wallace’s impact ran deeper: he championed contemporary music, premiering works by Malcolm Arnold, James MacMillan, and Peter Maxwell Davies. In 1986, he founded the Wallace Collection, an ensemble dedicated to both historical brass research and modern innovation.
From 2002 to 2014, Wallace served as principal of what became the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, transforming the institution by expanding its curriculum to include musical theatre, digital film, modern ballet, and jazz. The building expansion included incorporating collections of historic brass instruments, including Edward Tarr’s collection. He was awarded a CBE in 2011 and received the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2021.
Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, Wallace’s successor at RCS, called him “a legend in the music world—one of Scotland’s own who gave so much to the world as a performer, educator and leader.”
As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this July 4th, orchestras nationwide are programming year-long celebrations of American music. The semiquincentennial has sparked one of the most coordinated thematic programming efforts in classical music history.
Major orchestras are pulling out all the stops. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is presenting over 20 American works throughout their 2025-26 season, culminating in three all-American programs led by conductors Marin Alsop, James Gaffigan, and Joshua Weilerstein. The Kennedy Center’s National Symphony Orchestra has commissioned five world premieres by American composers, including Carlos Simon, Philip Glass, Reena Esmail, Valerie Coleman, and a multimedia collaboration between Peter Boyer and visual artist Joseph Sohm.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra kicked off its America 250 programming this month with performances featuring Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3 and Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto on January 29 and 31, led by Grammy-winning conductor Leonard Slatkin. Valentine’s weekend will feature Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story conducted by Teddy Abrams.
The Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago has dedicated its entire 2026 summer season to exploring what “American music” means, with artistic director Giancarlo Guerrero programming not just canonical American composers but also European émigré composers influenced by the United States as a place of refuge during the world wars.
The programming reflects a thoughtful reckoning with American identity: some works are celebratory, others are ruminative, and many commemorate injustices while envisioning a more equitable future. As Wise Music Group noted in their America 250 repertoire guide, the milestone offers “a chance to reflect on the evolution of our culture and identity, looking toward our future with an understanding of our past.”
On January 27, the Kennedy Center’s Counter Extremism Project presented a landmark concert of music composed in ghettos and death camps. Curated by composer, conductor, and musicologist Francesco Lotoro, the program featured world and U.S. premieres from his extensive archive — works written on scraps of paper or recalled from memory, performed “in defiance of resurgent antisemitism.”
The concert restored to public consciousness classical, folk, and popular works that survived the unimaginable, honoring a repertoire that endured against incomprehensible evil.
January has seen a packed concert calendar. At the Kennedy Center, conductor Gianandrea Noseda reunited with pianist Daniil Trifonov for performances of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto paired with Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (January 15-17). The NSO also presented Brahms choral masterpieces Schicksalslied and Gesang der Parzen with the Washington Chorus (January 22-24).
Chicago’s Lyric Opera launched performances of Richard Strauss’s Salome (January 25-February 14) and Mozart’s Così fan tutte (February 1-15), while the New York Philharmonic presented Leonard Slatkin conducting Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 with a new saxophone work.
The momentum of January’s commemorations and celebrations shows no sign of slowing. With orchestras across the country exploring American musical identity through the lens of 250 years of history, 2026 promises to be a year of both reflection and artistic innovation — even as the community continues to honor the towering figures who shaped the art form’s past.