The Kodaly Philharmonic
© Peter Biri Photo

The second edition of the Kodály Conducting Competition is currently taking place in Debrecen, Hungary’s second largest city, with the Kodaly Philharmonic and the Kodaly Choir. The jury announced yesterday evening the 12 candidates having been admitted to the second round. This jury, chaired by Jorma Panula includes Janos Acs, Peter Broadbent, Remy Franck, Zsolt Hamar, Oksana Madarash and Imre Kollar. Read More →

Georges Bizets Oper Carmen im Steinbruch St. Margarethen erreichte eine Auslastung von 80% und zog insgesamt knapp 90.000 Besucher an, teilte der Veranstalter mit. Im kommenden Jahr wird Aida aufgeführt.

NFM Wroclaw Phiharmonic
(c) Karol Sokolowski

The video of the ICMA Gala Concert played by the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero and featuring many winning artists from the 2023 panel is continuous successful on the YouTube channel of Deutsche Welle. More than half a million people saw it since April 21. Enthusiastic comments come from all over the world. Read More →

Philadelphia Orchestra musicians have authorized a strike if negotiations don’t progress soon, the union representatives say. Read More →

Vier Aufführungen von Tristan und Isolde, Der Fliegende Holländer, Parsifal und  Tannhäuser standen vom 13.-16. August auf dem Programm von Pizzicato-Mitarbeiter Alain Steffen in Bayreuth. Hier seine Eindrücke. Read More →

Moritzburg Festival
(c) Oliver Killig

Vom 4.-bis 290. August fand die 31. Ausgabe des von Jan Vogler geleiteten Moritzburg Festivals statt. Michael Oehme berichtet. Read More →

American composer Gloria Coates died yesterday in Munich at the age of  89. She composed symphonic music, chamber music and vocal compositions. Read More →

Die Bilanz der diesjährigen Bregenzer Festspiele ist hervorragend. Bis zum morgigen Sonntag, dem letzten Tag der Festspiele, werden ca. 249.000 Zuschauer das fünfwöchige Festival besucht haben, teilten die Veranstalter mit. Dabei zogen die 26 Aufführungen von Giacomo Puccinis Madama Butterfly 179.000 Besucher an. Die Aufführungen waren angeblich zu 99 Prozent ausgelastet. Read More →

German contralto Gisela Litz died at the age of 100, her pupil Janina Baechle said on Twitter. Born in Hamburg, she began her career in Wiesbaden. In 1952 she joined the Hamburg State Opera. Ms. Litz went on to an international career with major roles. She sang at both the Edinburgh Festival and the Bayreuth Festival.

Baritone Alberto Rinaldi has died in Rome at the age of 84. He was a singer with an international career. Born in Rome on June 6, 1939, he made his debut in Spoleto in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. From there on he sang in the greatest Italian theaters, from La Fenice in Venice, to the Rome Opera, the Regio in Turin, until he landed on the stage of La Scala in Milan as Ottone in Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea in 1966. Read More →