The International Composition Competition Artistes en Herbe Luxembourg has published the results of their 6th edition in various categories, the youngest winner being just six years old. The results are here: https://www.artistesenherbe.lu/concours-2023/

Teresa Berganza
Photo: Remy Franck

Next Thursday the square at the entrance to the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid will take the name of mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza, who died on May 13 last year.

Due to an hour-long power outage in the Ludwigshafen area, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (German State Philharmonic Orchestra of Rhineland-Palatinate) played part of their Friday concert in quasi-darkness and then had to cancel the second part. Read More →

Putin’s conductor-puppet Valery Gergiev has not lost his ability to stay on the podium for many hours a day. Tomorrow, at the Mariinsky Theatre, he will be conducting three performances of Verdi’s two-hour-long Nabucco in a row, at noon, at 4 and 8 p.m. Tragically, Putin is much of a Nabucco himself, trying to subjugate the Ukrainians. At the end of the opera, Nabucco loses his mind…. Some say Putin has lost it a year ago.

Das Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich und die Galerie Hauser & Wirth Zürich starten eine neue Kollaboration. Dabei bespielen Orchestermusiker die Ausstellungsräumlichkeiten der Galerie und kreieren so « in spannendes Zusammenspiel von Kunst und Musik ». Read More →

Leading BBC conductors and artists have signed an open letter to the BBC’s Director General, protesting against the recent proposals to close BBC Singers and cut funding to BBC orchestras by 20%. Read More →

Johann Sebastian Bach ist ganz offenbar ‘in’. Das zeigt eine Veröffentlichung der Lübecker Pianistin Konstanze Eickhorst. Der zweite Satz des Italienischen Konzertes, das im Rahmen ihres Genuin-Recitals veröffentlicht ist inzwischen 7.493.889 gestreamt worden.

Am 28. Mai 2011 verstarb die luxemburgische Cellistin Françoise Groben im Alter von nur 46 Jahren. Nachdem vor ein paar Monaten eine hörenswerte CD-Box bei Hänssler Classic erschienen ist, folgt nun auch eine Biographie der Künstlerin. In ihr hat Damien Francois Sagrillo, Professor an der Universität Luxemburg und Lehrbeauftragter für  Musikpädagogik und Musikwissenschaft in Zusammenarbeit mit der Musikwissenschaftlerin Tina Zeiß-Zippel und dem Vater der Cellistin, Joseph Groben, den künstlerischen Werdegang der Musikerin nachgezeichnet. Read More →

In Switzerland, a trial explores the dubious origin of ten million euros that passed through the account of Sergei Goldugin, a musician very close to the Kremlin. Four employees of the Swiss bank Gazprombank had to appear today in front of the Swiss justice for having accepted to manage doubtful assets of cellist Sergueï Roldouguine, a close friend of Vladimir Putin. Read More →

Daniel Barenboim has canceled a piano recital at the Opera de Monte-Carlo due to the effects of a serious neurological condition, the opera house announced on Wednesday. He expressed his regret in a message, saying that “despite my best efforts, I have not yet built up the muscular strength to perform piano recital programs.” Read More →