Jaap van Zweden
(c) Hans Vanderwoerd/IMG
Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden, 60, has announced that he will leave the New York Philharmonic in 2024 after the expiration of his contract. In an interview with the New York Times he said the pandemic made him reconsider his relationship with the orchestra and his family and that he now has other priorities in life. Read More →
HarrisonParrott and Polyarts announced the launch of Birdsong Music Publishing, a publishing service for composers. The press release says: « Through HarrisonParrott’s long experience managing artists and composers, we are in a unique position to be able to provide a full, bespoke publishing service that is tailored to the composer’s needs, and through Polyarts, will enable Birdsong to support composers working across genres. » Read More →
John E. Gardiner
Photo: Rock/Universal
John Eliot Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra have announced today that they have entered a new partnership with the iconic venue St Martin-in-the-Fields in London The historic venue becomes the Monteverdi ensembles’ first ever London home. The press release says: « MCO has been invited to play a central role in St Martin’s ambitious artistic programme, and we will perform several concerts each season, in the heart of London. » Read More →
Yo-Yo Ma
(c) Jason Bell
The names of the Praemium Imperiale Laureates 2021 have been announced by the Japan Art Association. In the music category the winner is the American cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Read More →
Igor Levit
(c) Felix Broede
Der Pianist Igor Levit, 34, ist mit dem Preis für den Dialog der Kulturen des Instituts für Auslandsbeziehungen ausgezeichnet worden. Levit verbinde „Kunst mit gesellschaftlichem Engagement, Kultur mit politischer Haltung“, hieß es zu Begründung. Read More →
Kazuki Yamada
(c) Marco Borggreve
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) has announced that Japanese conductor Kazuki Yamada, 42, will be its new Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor from 1 April 2023. Yamada, who has been the CBSO’s principal guest conductor since October 2018, will succeed to Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla who has led the orchestra since 2016 and will step down as Music Director at the end of the 2021-22 season. Read More →
Rubén Dubrovsky
Das Gärtnerplatztheater in München hat den Rubén Dubrovsky als neuen Chefdirigenten ab der Spielzeit 2023-2024 verpflichtet. Anthony Bramall, aktueller Chefdirigent, ist seit 2017 am Theater tätig. Sein Vertrag läuft nach zwei Amtszeiten zum Ende der Spielzeit 2022- 2023 aus. Er wird dem Gärtnerplatztheater jedoch als 1. Gastdirigent weiterhin eng verbunden bleiben. Read More →
Six years after an incident that disrupted the end of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Capitole in Toulouse, a stagehand was sentenced by the criminal court of Toulouse. A piece of scenery weighing more than 200 kg was supposed to symbolically stop at 80 cm from the American tenor Robert Dean Smith who was lying down. But the rock continued its descent. A stagehand stopped the progression and the opera singer rolled to avoid being crushed. Read More →
Spanish timpanist Sergi Sempere lost his life while climbing Mont Blanc. He suffered a fatal fall of over 700 meters. He would have been 31 years old next month.In 2017, he was appointed principal timpanist of the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, while also performing with Le Quatuor Makrokosmos, a Swiss contemporary music quartet.
KKL Luzern
Das Lucerne Festival hat in diesem Sommer 89 Veranstaltungen durchgeführt. Sie wurden von 41.000 Besuchern erlebt, was einer Auslastung von 96 Prozent entspricht. 47 Konzerte waren vollständig ausverkauft, 29 Sinfoniekonzerte erreichten eine Auslastung von 99 Prozent. Durch die Pandemie durften jeweils nur maximal 1.000 Plätze im 1.898 Personen fassenden Konzertsaal belegt werden.
