Lille Piano(s) Festival will take place! But in a digital-only version. On June 12, 13 and 14 free live concerts and rebroadcasts with some 30 artists will be available on the YouTube channel and the Facebook page of the Orchestre National de Lille.

Der Umzug vom Refektorium der Alten Abtei Mettlach in den Zeltpalast Merzig ermöglicht, dass das gesamte Programm der Kammermusiktage Mettlach mit 14 Konzerten wie geplant stattfinden kann. Künstler wie z.B. Kit Armstrong, Christoph Prégardien, Andrè Schuen, Felix Klieser, Sebastian Manz und das Quatuor Arod werden in diesem Jahr dabei sein, und für etliche dieser Künstler ist es in diesem Sommer das einzige Festival, das nicht abgesagt werden muss. Read More →

Jonathan Nott
Photo: Thomas Müller

The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande returns to Victoria Hall with a series of eight free concerts during the month of June. The concerts will last one hour and without intermission, and the number of spectators is limited to 250. The free concerts, open to all, are made possible by numerous donations and the support of a generous patron. Read More →

Die Deutsche Oper Berlin plant eine Neuproduktion von Richard Wagners Das Rheingold in der Kammerfassung des britischen Komponisten Jonathan Dove in einer halbszenischen Version. Dabei treten 22 Musiker und zwölf Sänger unter der Leitung von Generalmusikdirektor Donald Runnicles auf. Gespielt wird vor rund 200 Zuschauern auf dem Parkdeck des Opernhauses. Premiere ist am 12. Juni.

On the occasion of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, the Beethoven Jubiläums GmbH and the UN Climate Change Secretariat have launched the Beethoven Pastoral Project to call on creative people around the world to be inspired by Beethoven’s 6th Symphony (Pastoral) and set an example for climate protection. Read More →

Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk died yesterday, 1 June, at the age of 81. He was born in Lviv, Ukraine, in 1928. In 1947 Skoryk’s family were deported to Siberia, where Myroslav grew up: they did not return to Lviv until 1955. Then, Skoryk studied at the Lviv Conservatory and started composing. In 1960, he continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Dmitri Kabalevsky. Read More →

The Metropolitan Opera in New York, which has been dark since mid-March due to the health crisis, said it was planning a shortened season 2020/21, and cancelled all of the fall performances. The new season should start on December 31 instead of September. Several new productions have been postponed to future seasons.

Igor Levit
(c) Felix Broede

Der Pianist Igor Levit hat von Samstag auf Sonntag Eric Saties Vexations gespielt, ein kurzes Klavierstück, das nach Anweisung des Komponisten 840 Mal wiederholt werden muss. Levit beendete seinen Klavier-Marathon am Sonntag nach fast 16 Stunden. Über Twitter teilte er mit: « Fertig. Erledigt. Glücklich. Dankbar. Und sowas von high. Done. Done. Happy. Fulfilled. Grateful. And so damn high. Ich danke Euch allen so, so sehr! Thank you…all of you. So so much! »

The French soprano Mady Mesplé died yesterday at the age of 89 in Toulouse, where she was also born in 1931. She studied in Paris  with French soprano Janine Micheau and made her professional debut in Liège in January 1953, as Lakmé, one of the major roles in her career. She was a leading high coloratura soprano specialized in the French opera repertoire. Read More →

Paavo Järvi
(c) Julia Bayer

This year’s Pärnu Music Festival will be going ahead as planned from 16 – 23 July with a re-imagined programme, a focus on both young and established Estonian talent, a celebration of Estonian composer Lepo Sumera and the world premiere of a new work by Tonu Korvits. Read More →

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