The organizers of the Mexican classical music prize Premio Batuta announced that they were cancelling the award foreseen for the Spanish tenor Placido Domingo because of accusations of sexual harassment. Domingo had been due to receive the prize today in Mexico City along with 15 other honourees, but organizers said they had decided to put his award on hold « until all this has been clarified. »

Yo-Yo Ma
(c) Jason Bell

For the last three years in January, Yo-Yo Ma and some of his closest collaborators work with students in an intense week of education, collaboration, and exploration at Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG) in Guangzhou, China. 2020’s theme focuses on the musical center of Bach and outreach into local communities. Read More →

Das Personal der Mailänder Scala kündigte am Dienstag einen Streik ab dem 18. Oktober an, Tag der Premiere der Händel-Oper Giulio Cesare in Egitto. Die Gewerkschaften reagierten so, nachdem es bei der Aufsichtsratssitzung am Montag zu keiner Einigung über das Tagegeld bei Tourneen kam. Die Leitung des Opernhauses bemüht sich um eine Lösung des Konflikts.

Francesco Lecce-Chong

The Eugene Symphony (Oregon, U.S.) extended Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong’s contract through at least the 2022/23 season, a news release says. Initially named Music Director & Conductor in July 2017, Lecce-Chong first took the podium at that month’s ninth annual Eugene Symphony in the Park. Lecce-Chong is also Music Director of the Santa Rosa Symphony.

Anne-Sophie Mutter
Photo: Deutsche Grammophon

German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter interrupted her performance of the Beethoven concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony last Saturday, asking an audience member to stop filming her with a mobile phone. Critic Janelle Gelfand reported the incident in the Cincinnati Business Courier. When the young woman had been escorted out of the hall, the violinist and orchestra restarted the concerto’s slow movement.

Placido Domingo

Spanish singer Placido Domingo has announced his resignation as director-general of the Los Angeles Opera, an institution to which he had been linked since its creation three decades ago and of which he has been director-general since 2003. Domingo is accused of sexual harassment by 20 women, according to an Associated Press (AP) report. His resignation removes his last link to the world of opera in the United States. Read More →

Georgian composer Giya Kancheli has died at the age of 84. Born in Tbilisi in 1935, he died there too last night. Throughout his life, Kancheli has composed more than 37 orchestral pieces, 10 chamber music pieces, and 10 choral operas. He also composed music for theatre and cinema and his works have accompanied some of Georgia’s most iconic cinematography. Read More →

Director Emeritus, Elizabeth Patterson and Gloriæ Dei Cantores have been awarded the 2019 American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award, recognizing Patterson’s conducting and leadership, as well as the ensembles’ performances and promotion of American music. Read More →

In July, at the last meeting before the summer holidays, the city council of Paris has voted to create the Promenade Yehudi Menuhin next to the UNESCO building. That makes sense, since from 1969 to 1975, Menuhin was president of the International Music Council, a non-governmental organization funded by UNESCO. Read More →

In Deutschland berät und begleitet die Themis Vertrauensstelle seit einem Jahr Betroffene von sexueller Belästigung und Gewalt in den Branchen Film, Fernsehen, Bühne und zieht eine erste positive Bilanz. Die Nachfrage an Unterstützung und Rat sei im ersten Jahr sehr gut angenommen worden, sagt die Organisation in einer Presseaussendung. Namenspatin ist die griechische Göttin Themis; sie tritt für Gerechtigkeit und gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt ein. Read More →