“A voice full of thunder and lightning” – that’s what Karajan said about singer Franco Corelli who, along with Jess Thomas, is featured in this week’s Karajan Community Newsletter. But the main topic is Karajan’s schedule for one single year, with the many different projects he was able to realize in 1969. The result is absolutely stunning: Karajan at the height of his creativity! Here is the link to the Newsletter. Read More →

Kaija Saariaho
Photo: Priska Ketterer.

Die 1952 in Helsinki geborene finnische Komponistin Kaija Saariaho ist heute in Paris gestorben. Sie war eine der profiliertesten Persönlichkeiten der Musik unserer Zeit und gehörte wie Magnus Lindberg und der auch als Dirigent sehr erfolgreiche Esa-Pekka Salonen zu einer Reihe finnischer Komponisten, die seit den 1990er-Jahren internationale Beachtung gefunden haben. Read More →

Jonas Kaufmann
Photo: Mathias Bothor

Der 53-jährige deutsche Tenor Jonas Kaufmann wird ab 2024 Intendant der Tiroler Festspiele Erl. Er wird Nachfolger von Bernd Loebe, der die Festspiele in Erl nach dem unfreiwilligen Abgang von Festivalgründer Gustav Kuhn übernommen hatte.

Axel Kober

Im März dieses Jahres verkündete Kober sein Ausscheiden als Generalmusikdirektor der Deutschen Oper am Rhein. Während seine Amtszeit an der Oper bereits im Sommer 2024 endet, bleibt er in Duisburg bis August 2025 im Amt. „Und auch darüber hinaus bleiben wir weiterhin mit ihm verbunden und werden ihn als Gastdirigenten einladen. Read More →

Giancarlo Guerrero

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero has announced that he will step down as Music Director of the Nashville Symphony at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, his 16th in that role. His tenure began in 2009. Read More →

Xavier Muzik
(c) JonJon Blunden

The San Francisco Symphony, in partnership with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) and the SFCM President’s Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion, announced that Xavier Muzik is the winner of the third annual Emerging Black Composers Project (EBCP) prize. The San Francisco Symphony, led by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, will give the world premiere of his work during the 2024–25 season. Read More →

Aiding young conductors in the early stages of their careers, The Solti Foundation U.S. has selected a record 22 young conductors to receive a 2023 Career Assistance Award (CAA). The recipients vary in age from 24 to 37, with 13 new awardees. Nine of the 22 award recipients have been recognized with one or more CAAs in the past few seasons, and six awardees have already secured management. Read More →

With the Maggio Musicale left in great economic difficulty after the Pereira era, the City of Florence and the Region of Tuscany are working on possibilities to save the opera house from closure. The Maggio must find 8.5 million euros by July. Without those funds, the risks are very high, including for the 300 employees. Read More →

Jonathon Heyward

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) announced that American conductor Jonathon Heyward will become the successor of conductor Louis Langrée who served as Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival and conductor of the Orchestra since 2003. Read More →

The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine will perform in Taiwan for the first time from Sept. 11-13, highlighting musicians and composers from the country, the presenter of the concerts said in a statement released yesterday. The concert has a high symbolic value, since it reunites two countries oppressed resp. aggressed by two other countries. Read More →