Anja Bihlmaier
(c) Neda Navaee

German conductor Anja Bihlmaier, 42, has been appointed as the new principal conductor of the Residentie Orkest in Den Haag. Bihlmaier is the successor to Nicholas Collon. She served as 1st Kapellmeister and Deputy General Music Director at Staatstheater Kassel from 2015 to 2018.

The Executive Committee of the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition announced the cancellation of the competition scheduled for November this year. The committee says: « The decision was made in view of the current situation in Japan, where strict travel restrictions and a mandatory 14-day quarantine after entry are implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and there are no prospects for normalization of entry measures in the foreseeable future. » Read More →

Christoph König

The Spanish Radio Symphony Orchestra and choir has appointed German conductor Christoph König as the next Chief Conductor and Music Director. He will take up the position as Chief Conductor on 1st September 2023. Read More →

Petr Popelka
c) Katharina Kuhl

From the 2022/2023 season Petr Popelka, 35, will become Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Czech conductor will take up this position in addition to his Chief Conductor post with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in Oslo. He will succeed Alexander Liebreich who held this position since 2018.

In diesem Jahr feiert der vom Bayerischen Rundfunk in München ausgerichtete ARD-Musikwettbewerb seinen 70. Geburtstag. Der diesjährige Wettbewerb umfasst die Fächer Klavierduo, Horn, Gesang und Violine. Die 1. Runde findet im Juni und Juli digital statt, ab der 2. Runde (2. – 17. September) soll der Wettbewerb in Präsenz in München stattfinden. Read More →

The Korean Symphony Orchestra (KSO) will hold its first international conducting competition in Korea from Nov. 10 to 14, the orchestra announced. The competition will be held every three years. Read More →

Julio Garcia Vico
(c) Laura Cohen

Julio Garcia Vico, a 29-year-old Spanish conductor, has won the 16th Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, the organizer says. Conducting the London Symphony Orchestra from memory, Vico took the prize at an adjudicated concert at LSO St Luke’s on London’s Old Street. He receives a £15,000 cash award from Donatella Flick, and becomes Assistant Conductor at the London Symphony Orchestra for one year. Read More →

Der spanische Cristobal Halffter ist gestern in Ponferrada gestorben. Er wurde 91 Jahre alt. Nach seiner Ausbildung wurde Halffter 1961 Lehrer für Komposition und Formenlehre am Real Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Madrid. Von 1964 bis 1966 war er Direktor dieses Instituts. Danach erfolgte die Hinwendung zu schöpferischer Arbeit. Ab 1970 war er wieder als Dozent tätig, und zwar an der Universität von Navarra. Read More →

« Suspended », with this word Milan’s opera house La Scala indicates on its website that the performance of Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri, scheduled for May 25 has been cancelled. Indeed, a company member tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday so that the performance was postponed.

Maria Duenas
(c) Tam Lan Truong

Die 18-jährige spanische Geigerin Maria Duenas wurde am Pfingstwochenende mit dem 1. Preis beim Menuhin Wettbewerb Richmond ausgezeichnet. Damit setzen sich ihre öffentlichen Erfolge fort, nachdem sie erst Anfang des Jahres als 1. Preisträgerin des Getting to Carnegie Wettbewerbs hervorging und bereits zuvor die Zhuhai Mozart International Competition (China 2017) sowie die Vladimir Spivakov International Competition (Russland, 2018) gewonnen hatte. Read More →