Franco Zeffirelli
(c) Ufficio Stampa, Firenze
Franco Zeffirelli died yesterday, 15 June, after a long illness in Rome. Born in Florence in 1923 – his original name being Gianfranco Corsi wanted to be an architect yet fell also for the theatre. In 1946 he joined Luchino Visconti’s Morelli-Stoppa Company as an actor and stage director. After several films he started to concentrate on stage design. His first major design for opera was a 1952 production of Gioachino Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri for La Scala in Milan. Read More →
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Photo: Deutsche Grammophon
German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter has been announced as one of the recipients of the 2019 Polar Music Prize in Sweden. Presented annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and the Stig Anderson Music Foundation to one contemporary and one classical musician, the German violinist will receive 1M Swedish Krona (€ 94000). Read More →
Ludwig van Beethoven
British auction house Sotheby’s has sold a substantial lock of Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair that the German composer himself cut off and gave to a pianist friend in 1826. The lock was expected to fetch up to 15,000 pounds (€16,800) but it ended up selling for more than the double, £35,000 (€39,100). Read More →
Concord Music Publishing hat den Erwerb der Sikorski Verlagsgruppe, bekannt gegeben. Sikorski hat einen weitgefächerten Katalog bedeutender Werke legendärer Komponisten wie Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Aram Khachaturian, Dmitri Kabalevski und Alfred Schnittke sowie wichtiger zeitgenössischer Komponisten wie Sofia Gubaidulina, Gya Kancheli und Lera Auerbach. Read More →
Andris Poga
The Norwegian Stavanger Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of 38-year-old Latvian conductor Andris Poga as its new Chief Conductor, from the 2021/2022 season. Poga succeeds Christian Vasquez, who held the post for six years. Read More →
Metropolitan Opera New York
In der kommenden Saison wollte die Met die vornehmlich auf Videoprojektionen und -effekten basierende Produktion von Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust wiederaufnehmen. Doch dazu wird es nicht kommen. Read More →
Théâtre du Châtelet
After two years of renovation, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris will reopen in September with Parade. « Artistically innovative while remaining true to the Châtelet tradition, Parade is a concentration of what the new directors of the Theatre, Ruth Mackenzie and Thomas Lauriot dit Prévost, want to share with the public », the Theater says. Read More →
Ludwig van Beethoven
Researchers of EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) have completed a first analysis of Beethoven’s writing style, applying statistical techniques to unlock recurring patterns, the school communicated. Read More →
Bernard Haitink
(c) Patrick Huerlimann/ LucerneFestival
Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink has announced the end of his active career. He will give his last concert on 6 September in Lucerne, Switzerland, the 90-year-old told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant on Wednesday. Read More →
BBT Communities, the newly formed division of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, announces its first grants (each between £30,000 and £40,000) to a range of international charities that, through music, make a real difference to the lives of disadvantaged communities. Read More →
