Nach einer intensiven Wettbewerbswoche fand die dritte Ausgabe des Internationalen Wettbewerbs für Operndirigenten ihren Abschluss. Nach Beratung gaben die Jurymitglieder unter dem Vorsitz des Künstlerischen Leiters Stefano Pace ihre Entscheidungen bekannt: Read More →
The Alfred Street Baptist Church in Washington has canceled its annual Christmas event at the Kennedy Center. Here is the press release: « The After prayerful consideration, and discerning, the Alfred Street Baptist Church , one of the oldest and largest African American Baptist churches in the nation, has made the difficult decision to cancel hosting its annual Christmas performance at the Kennedy Center. Read More →
In schools run by the American government, all books dealing in any way with diversity or inclusion are withdrawn. The list of books prohibited under AH Trump’s directives continues to grow. These include « books that are likely to promote gender ideology or the ideology of equality in the face of discrimination », it says. It has not yet been announced whether these books will be publicly burned. On the 10th May 1933, the Nazis had burned books in over 70 German cities.
Kennedy Center, Washington
Last week was a dark one for the arts life in the US. AH Trump took control of one of the most important and until now nonpartisan arts institutions in the country, the Kennedy Center in Washington. Read More →
Czech conductor Vladimír Válek has died at the age of 89. Válek led the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011 and also conducted the Prague Symphony Orchestra. He was the Principal Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic from 2004 until 2007. Over his career, he worked with top ensembles, including the Czech Philharmonic and Japan’s Osaka Symphony Orchestra. Read More →
Polish conductor Łukasz Borowicz is among the musicians honored at this year's International Classical music Awards with the album Urlicht featuring
Samuel Hasselhorn and the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra. Jakub Puchalski from the ICMA Jury member Polskie Radio Chopin made the following interview with him.
Samuel Hasselhorn and the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra. Jakub Puchalski from the ICMA Jury member Polskie Radio Chopin made the following interview with him.
Lukasz Borowicz
(c) Bruno Fidrych
Seeing your many CDs, one can trace an idea behind them. A discovery or rediscovery of interesting, beautiful repertoire, often once well-known but later forgotten. The same one can say about your concert programs. You must be extremely hungry for new music.
My interest in unknown music started very early. Since the childhood, once I started to collect CDs. It was at elementary school in my early years. And after getting to know the standard repertoire, I started my own research to discover new composers, new pieces, new performers. And somehow it went naturally, because when I started my conducting career, I was often assisting to many important productions at the Polish orchestras. First of all, at the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra where I was assistant to Antoni Wit, who was recording a lot of Polish music and he was promoting an unknown music, as well as the orchestra, as well the places I assisted too, at the Budapest Festival Orchestra, also at Teatr Wielki. Read More →
Lei Liang: Dui: déjà vu + Lakescape V + Luminosity+ Mongolian Suite + vis-à-vis; Wu Man, Pipa, Zhe Lin, Steven Schick, Schlagzeug, Cho-Liang Lin, Violine, Maya Beiser, Cello, Mark Dresser, Kontrabass, Andy Kozar, Trompete, William Lang, Posaune, Carlos Cordeiro, Bassklarinette, Jeffrey Gavett, Bariton; # Islandia Music Records IMR015; Aufnahme 2018, 2022, 10.2023, 01.+10.2024; Veröffentlichung 14.02.2025 (71'52) – Rezension von Uwe Krusch ** (For English please scroll down)
Lei Liang, 1972 in China geboren, ist ein amerikanischer Komponist, der u. a. bei Harrison Birtwistle studierte. Sein Katalog umfasst mehr als hundert Positionen und man kann ihn als klanglich bunt oder als weit aus dem Rahmen fallend beschreiben. Das mag daran liegen, dass er beim Schreiben Möglichkeiten sucht, persönliche Beziehungen inklusive der zu seinem kulturellen Erbe zu nutzen. Daneben schaut er auf scheinbar unüberwindbare Gegensätze wie ungewöhnliche Instrumentenkombinationen. Read More →
Daron Hagen: Everyone, everywhere + An Irish Airman foresees his Death +The Bixby Letter; Gabrielle Barkidjija, Murray Bryan, Shavon Lloyd, Amir Farid, The Cecilia Chorus of New York, Every Voice Generations Choir, The Cecilia Orchestra of New York, Marc Shapiro; # Naxos 8.579180; Aufnahme 2023, Veröffentlichung 14.2.2025 (57'09) - Rezension von Norbert Tischer ** (For English, please scroll down)
Das 2023 entstandene Werk Everyone, Everywhere des 1961 geborenen amerikanischen Komponisten Daron Aric Hagen ist eine 50 Minuten lange Kantate zum 75. Jahrestag der Allgemeinen Erklärung der Menschenrechte mit Texten aus eben diesem Dokument, sowie von Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, Aristoteles, Mahatma Gandhi, John Lewis, Frederick Douglass, Kahlil Gibran und Fannie Lou Hamer. Read More →
Igor Stravinsky: Pulcinella + Le baiser de la fée (Divertimento) - Kelly-Marie Murphy: Curiosity, Genius, and the Search For Petula Clark; Isabel Leonard, Mezzosopran, Paul Appleby Tenor, Derek Welton Bass-Bariton, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Gimeno; # Harmonia Mundi HMM 905384; Aufnahme 02.2024, Veröffentlichung 14.02.2025 (75') - Rezension von Remy Franck ** (For English please scroll down)
Für dieses Album haben Gimeno und das Toronto Symphony neben einem neuen Stück von Kelly-Marie Murphy zwei Ballettmusiken aus Stravinskys neoklassischer Periode ausgewählt. Read More →
Over 1,500 people had to be evacuated from the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris last Friday, when a fire broke out in the theatre’s kitchens during the performance of Lully’s Persée. No casualties were reported. Read More →
