Die Stiftung Niedersachsen hat die Geiger Antje Weithaas und Oliver Wille an die Spitze des renommierten Joseph Joachim Violinwettbewerbs berufen. Unter ihrer Leitung soll der Wettbewerb, wie es in einer Mitteilung heißt, « zeitgemäß weiterentwickelt werden. » Der nächste Wettbewerb findet im Herbst 2021 in Hannover statt. Der Gründer und bisherige künstlerische Leiter, Krzysztof Wegrzyn, hat die Leitung abgegeben, bleibe dem Wettbewerb als Ehrenpräsident aber eng verbunden. Read More →

Jaime Martin
(c) Alexander Lindström

Irish RTÉ today announced the Spanish conductor Jaime Martin (53) as Chief Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. This appointment is for three seasons and effective from September 2019. Read More →

Bis zum kommenden 31. Januar  können Produzenten, Verlage und Tonträgerhersteller CDs und DVDs mit fantasie- und qualitätvoller Musik für Kinder einreichen, seien es traditionelle Kinderlieder, Rock-, Pop- und Weltmusik, Musiktheater, Klassik, Wissenswertes im Zusammenhang mit Musik  oder musikorientierte Hörbücher. Read More →

It is the week of appointments of new managers at opera houses and festivals throughout the world. French cultural actor Olivier Descotes (*1976) has been appointed as artistic director by the Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro for 2019 and 2020. Ernesto Palacio’s contract as general manager has been extended through 2022. Read More →

The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards, ICMA, will announce the winners of the awards for 2019 next Thursday, January 17. In addition to the Special Awards, 19 productions are awarded a prize in the Audio and Video categories. Stay tuned.

RCO House, Amsterdam
(c) Team V Architectuur

The official opening of RCO House, the new home of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, at Metsustraat 16 in Amsterdam, will take place on Saturday 19 January, the RCO announced today. Various opening festivities are planned around this date. Read More →

Jonas Kaufmann
Photo: Mathias Bothor

After his concert with Mahler’s Lied von der Erde at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, German tenor Jonas Kaufmann has criticized both the reactions from parts of the audience as well as the acoustics of the hall. Indeed, several people left the concert, shouting that he could not hear the singer. Though such reactions are inadmissible, the tenor pointed out in an interview with the Hamburger Abendblatt that the acoustics of the Elbphilharmonie are obviously good for large orchestras but unfavourable for soloists. Read More →

31 junge Musiker sind zum 10. Internationalen Violinwettbewerb Leopold Mozart  (31. Mai bis 8. Juni 2019) eingeladen. Die dreiköpfige Vorjury, bestehend aus den Geigern David Frühwirth, Ulf Hoelscher und Marco Rizzi hatte in der vergangenen Woche das Vorspiel-Material der annähernd 100 Kandidaten zu bewerten. Read More →

Der 49-jährige deutsche Kulturmanager Johannes Neubert wechselt von den Wiener Symphonikern zu Krivines ‘Orchestre National de France’. Neubert war seit 2011 Intendant der Wiener Symphonikern. Er wird sein neues Amt am 1. September 2019 antreten.

Edo de Waart

The San Diego Symphony announced that Dutch conductor Edo de Waart, 77, has been appointed the orchestra’s principal guest conductor. The news comes as Venezuelan-born Rafael Payare prepares to take over as Music Director, with his first concerts this weekend. De Waart’s contract will start with the 2019-20 season and is to run through the 2021-22 season. He will be conducting the orchestra for three to four weeks a year. Read More →