Lukasz Krupinski

Twenty-four-year-old Polish pianist Lukasz Krupinski has been awarded First Prize at the San Marino Piano Competition. In addition to the first prize, he received the critics’ prize, the audience prize and a special award from the San Marino Symphony Orchestra. Ukrainian-born Dmytro Choni from Austria, won Second Prize and Meng-Sheng Shen (Taiwan) was third. Thirty pianists took part in the contest.

Chaired by Pierre Amoyal the Jury of the 2016 George Enescu International Violin Competition (Bucharest) has awarded First Prize to 23 year old Gyehee Kim from South Korea. Gyehee Kim is a graduate of the Seoul National University, and she acquired renown as a former prize winner at the Isang Yun International Violin Competition and the Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Violinists. 2nd and 3rd prizes were awarded to Donghyun Kim, 16, from South Korea and Erzhan Kulibaev, 29, from Kazakhstan.

Hübner: Six Songs of Innocence; The Purcell Project; Nystedt: Peace I Leave With You; Rutter: A Prayer of Saint Patrick; Open Thou Mine Eyes; God Be in My Head; Porterfield: Agnus Dei; Mäntyjärvi: Come Away, Death; Joel / Shaw: And So It Goes; Rutter / Harman: Look At the World; Knabenchor 'collegium iuvenum' Stuttgart, Sirius Quartet, Michael Culo; 1 CD Rondeau ROP 6120; Aufnahme 11/2015, Veröffentlichung 05/2016 (55’56) - Rezension von Guy Engels

Gregor Hübner ist Geiger des ‘Sirius Quartet’ und auch Komponist. Zwei seiner Werke stehen im Mittelpunkt dieser Produktion: die ‘Six Songs of Innocence’ für Knabenchor und Streichquartett sowie ‘The Purcell Project’. Hübners Musik ist eine spannende Symbiose von klassischen Formen, volkstümlichen Rhythmen und Melodiesträngen sowie improvisatorischem Jazz-Beat. Read More →

Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Daniele Gatti; 1 SACD RCO 16006; Liveaufnahme 04/2016, Veröffentlichung 09/09/2016 (57'30) – Rezension von Remy Franck

Spannungsvoll, dramatisch und klanglich von einer atemberaubenden Qualität: Daniele Gattis erste Aufnahme mit seinem neuen Orchester, dem Amsterdamer ‘Concertgebouw’, ist eine symphonische Sternstunde. Der Dirigent entlockt dem Orchester einen prunkvollen, warmen und satten Brokatklang von seltener ornamentaler Pracht, dessen Qualität insbesondere im Surround-Klang kein Ohr gleichgültig lassen wird. Read More →

Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg

Am 24. September laden die Orchestermusiker, der Chefdirigent Gustavo Gimeno und das Team des Hauses herzlich dazu ein, einen Blick hinter die Kulissen der Philharmonie zu werfen.Bei freiem Eintritt bietet ‘Orchestramania’ zahlreiche Angebote zum Zuhören und Mitmachen. Große und kleine Konzerte, Musiktheater, Instrumentenworkshops und Führungen geben Jung und Alt einen Einblick in die faszinierende Welt eines symphonischen Orchesters. Mit etwas Glück kann man sogar selbst auf das Dirigentenpodest steigen und vom Chefdirigent persönlich in die Kunst des Dirigierens eingewiesen werden, Das komplette Programm des Tages ist auf der Internetseite der Philharmonie abrufbar.

Salle Pleyel, Paris

Since years, the ex-wife of the former owner of Salle Pleyel in Paris, Carla-Maria Tarditi is fighting against the conversion of the famous hall into a location for non-classical music. Her husband sold the hall to the French state in 2009, and since the management of the new Philharmonic hall in the North-eastern part of the French capital was determined to rule out any possible concurrence, they decided to transform it into an establishment for commercial music. Therefore, the hall has been completely refurbished and acoustically adapted. It is due to open next Saturday. Read More →

Music life in Novosibirsk fails to calm down. The General Director of the Novosibirsk State Philharmonic, Tatiana Lyudmilina, has unexpectedly be dismissed by  the Minister of Culture of the Novosibirsk region, Igor Reshetnikov. According to Lyudmilina, no reason was given fir her dismissal. She was on this post since January 2014.

Giancarlo Guerrero

Giancarlo Guerrero, the Nashville Symphony’s music director since 2009, has signed a contract extension through the 2024-25 season. According to a press release, that will make him the second-longest-serving conductor in the orchestra’s history. Giancarlo Guerrero, 47, a native of Costa Rica, is also principal guest conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency.

In 1941, over 110,000 people were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators at Babi Yar near Kiev in the Ukraine. It began when 33,771 Jews were killed on just two days, 29th and 30th September 1941, and it continued for the next several years with the murder of tens of thousands of more Jews, as well as Roma/Gypsies, Soviet prisoners-of-war, Ukrainian national activists, and Communist party members from various parts of Ukraine. The 75th anniversary of the worst of these massacres are commemorated by several concerts in Kiev. Read More →

Ballo Turco (From Venice to Istanbul); Eine musikalische Reise von der Renaissance zum Barock; Werke von Antonio Cesti, Giovanni Felice Sances, Andrea Falconieri, Michael Praetorius, Claudio Monte-verdi, Luigi Rossi, Bellerofonte Castaldi, Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger, Biagio Marini, Wojciech Bobowski alias Ali Ufki, Marco da Gagliano, Dervish Frenk Mustafa, Salomone Rossi, Nefiri Behram Aga; Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli, Sopran, Pera Ensemble, Mehmet C. Yesilcay; 1 CD Oehms Classics OC 1858; Aufnahme 096/2014, Veröffentlichung 20.09.2016 (o.A.) – Rezension von Remy Franck

Dass das zweite Stück dieser CD ihr eine politische Dimension gibt, hatten die Musiker des Ensembles ‘Pera’ wohl nicht im Sinn, als sie im Juni 2014 die Aufnahmen zu diesem Programm machten: ‘Usurpator Tiranno’ heißt es und passt 2016 sehr gut zu diesem ‘Ballo Turco’, in dem italienische und osmanische Musik mit ‘Turquerien’ erklingt, die in der Zeit des Übergangs von der Renaissance zum Barock entstand. Read More →