The Cadaqués Orchestra in Spain has announced a temporary closure, « a period of rest and reflection », as the news release says. This will happen after a concert tour this December. Read More →

Mariss Jansons

Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons has died last night at his home in St. Petersburg. He was 76 years old. Jansons was suffering from heart disease and had cancelled most of his concerts during the last year. In October 2019, after a six-month pause, he briefly returned to the conductor’s podium with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He conducted one concert at Carnegie Hall in New York but had to cancel the second one. Read More →

John Axelrod
(c) Bruno Fidrych

The Kyoto Symphony Orchestra has announced a new musical team to take over in April 2020. Junichi Hirokami will become the orchestra’s 13th Chief Conductor & Artistic Advisor and the American John Axelrod, Principal Guest Conductor. At the same time KSO will change its English name from Kyoto Symphony Orchestra to City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra.

Donald Runnicles
(c) Simon Pauly

There is trouble at the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF): After the management did not re-invite three musicians to the Festival Orchestra, the GTMF Players’ Committee launched an online petition calling for the reinstatement of the three. A press release names the three musicians as former Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra principal second violinist Jennifer Ross, Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra principal violist Kristen Linfante and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra bassoonist and contrabassoonist Juan de Gomar. The latter two musicians serve on the GTMF orchestra’s Players’ Committee and all three have a long association with the festival. Read More →

Riccardo Muti

The designated Superintendent of Milan’s La Scala, Dominique Meyer, told the agency ANSA that he wants to bring conductor Riccardo Muti back to the Milanese opera house. Muti was music director of La Scala for 19 years. On 2 April 2005, he resigned, citing « hostility » from staff members. Today, Riccardo Chailly is the Music Director in Milan, and he is known for disliking Muti. So, the question is, if Meyer’s plan will be approved by Chailly.

The Dutch label Pentatone has announced that young soprano Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, has signed an exclusive, multi-album agreement with the label. For the first album, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, together with pianist Juliane Ruf, brings the German and French art song traditions together. Focusing on song cycles by Robert Schumann, Alexander von Zemlinsky and Francis Poulenc, this album will be released in February 2020 under the title Reine de Cœur.

Andreas Ottensamer

Eine der Reihen der Philharmonie Luxemburg nennt sich schlicht Soirées de musique de chambre. Dass damit keine seichte Unterhaltung verbunden ist, sondern hochkarätige Werke in starker Besetzung, konnte Mitarbeiter Uwe Krusch am Montag erleben. Read More →

Der Kursaal im Grand Resort Bad Ragaz

Die zehnte Ausgabe des VP Bank Classic Festivals vom 7. bis 14. Februar 2020 im Grand Resort Bad Ragaz (Schweiz) wird eine ganz besondere werden, teilt der Veranstalter, der Festivalverein Next Generation mit. Wie auch in den vergangenen Jahren werden junge Talente ihr Können präsentieren. Neben dem preisgekrönten Ensemble Esperanza werden auch die beiden Artists in Residence, Christoph Heesch (Violoncello) und Dmytro Choni (Klavier), für Highlights im Konzertprogramm sorgen. Read More →

Valer Sabadus
c) Ross

2020 bekommt der 33-jährige Countertenor Valer Sabadus den Händel-Preis der Stadt Halle. Die Preisverleihung findet im Anschluss an das Konzert mit dem Venice Baroque Orchestra am 30. Mai in der Händelhalle statt – am Tag vor der Eröffnung der Händel-Festspiele 2020. Preisträger des Händel-Preises in den vergangenen Jahren waren u.a. Cecilia Bartoli, Philippe Jaroussky und Joyce DiDonato. Read More →

Seventy per cent of young adults (20 to 34) in Britain have never heard of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a poll led by the Dutch-American classical streaming service Primephonic shows. One in five of the 2000 people questioned think Bach is still alive. According to the poll a third knew that Simon Rattle is a conductor, while 86 per cent ignored that Edward Elgar composed Land Of Hope And Glory.