Die Bayreuther Festspiele kämpfen mit Absagen. Wie heute mitgeteilt wurde, wird der schwedische Sänger John Lundgren nun auch nicht die Titelpartie im Fliegenden Holländer singen. Vor vier Wochen hatte er bereits seine Rollen im Ring des Nibelungen abgegeben. Als Grund werden « schwere persönliche Probleme » angegeben. Thomas J. Mayer springt für John Lundgren als Holländer ein.

The 1st International Piano Competition Samson François which took place in the Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, from 4-6 July announced the winners. First Prize was awarded to Ryan Wang (Canada, 2007). Simon Karakulidi (Russie, 1997) won Second and Elia Cecino (Italy, 2001) Third Prize. The winners were chosen among 49 candidats from 24 countries.

Oksana Lyniv
(c) Oleg Pavlyuchkiy

Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv, Music Director at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and who is also the founder and art director of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and the LivMozArt International Classical Music Festival, has won the Helena Vaz da Silva European Award for Raising Public Awareness of Cultural Heritage 2022. This high European recognition pays tribute to Oksana Lyniv’s exceptional art of communicating European culture and values through music to a wider public, in particular the younger generations, the press release says. Read More →

Joseph Young

Berkeley Symphony has announced that it renewed its contract with Music Director Joseph Young through the 2024-25 season. Appointed as Music Director in April 2019, Young is the fourth Music Director in the orchestra’s 51-year history. Read More →

Helen Bucholtz

‘Esch2022 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas’ ehrt die Luxemburger Komponistin Helen Buchholtz mit dem Propjekt ‘Le Salon de Helen Buchholtz’, das vom 22. September  bis 22. Dezember  im Bridderhaus in Esch-sur- stattfindet. Read More →

American pianist Joseph Banowetz died on 3 July at the age of 87, the University of North Texas announced. Banowetz was teaching at this University. Banowetz studied first in New York City with Carl Friedberg, a pupil of Clara Schumann. He continued his studies at the Vienna Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. He played as recitalist and orchestral soloist on five continents. He published several books and made a lot of recordings.

Staatsoper Hamburg
(c) Westermann

Von Anfang Juli bis Mitte August nutzt die Hamburgische Staatsoper die spielfreie Zeit für Sanierungs- und Modernisierungsarbeiten, teilte die Hamburger Baubehörde mit. Read More →

René Pape

German bass René Pape has now published a new statement on his Facebook page, following the one with homophobe comments over the Met participation at New York’s Gay Pride. He says that he is sorry, of course, and that his comments can be explained by his education in the GDR/DDR and his alcoholism. His statement is, in a way, terribly honest and courageous. It shows that he definitely needs help. But it can’t let forget what he said. Read More →

Débora Waldman

Israeli-Brazilian conductor Debora Waldman’s contract as Music Director of the Orchestre National Avignon-Provence has been extended until 2026. The first woman to head a permanent French national orchestra, she took up her position on September 1, 2020 for an initial period of three years.

The homophobe comments by René Pape (see underneath) have engendered many negative reactions. Now, the Berlin State Opera is reacting too. On their Facebook page they qualified the Pape comments as ‘intolerable’. Read More →