After evaluating 241 applications, 116 pianists have been admitted to the preselection phase of the 19th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition, which will take place from July 25 to August, 2018.  Read More →

Hans Abrahamsen
(c) Lars Skaaning

The Léonie Sonning Music Foundation has announced that the Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen will be awarded the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2019. Read More →

24 young conductors from 17 countries will compete for the prizes in the Danish National Symphony Orchestra’s Malko Competition. 566 young conductors initially had applied for the competition which takes place every third year in Copenhagen. Read More →

Valery Gergiev
Foto: Marco Borggreve

The city of Munich and Chief Conductor Valery Gergiev, 64, have found an agreement over a contract extension, Süddeutsche Zeitung reports. According to the newespaper, the city council is to vote on this topic on February 21. Gergiev’s current contract with the Munich Philharmonic ends in 2020.

Daniel Harding
(c) Julian Hargreaves

Daniel Harding has announced that he will not sign another contract with the Orchestre de Paris, whose ninth Music director he is since 2016. He will end his tenure in 2019 but, according to France Musique, he could possibly stay as Principal Guest Conductor. The conductor has not given any reason for his decision.Harding is also Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Riccardo Muti

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra announced that the contract for Music Director Riccardo Muti, 76, has been extended through the 2021/22 season. Muti became the CSO’s 10th music director in 2010 and his current contract continues through 2020. Muti’s new contract will begin in September 2020 and extend through August 2022. Read More →

Abteikirche Echternach

Die Gesellschaft ohne Gewinnzweck ‘Luxfestival’, die in Luxemburg das Echternacher Festival organisierte, wird aufgelöst, und das Festival wird in reduzierter Form von der Stadt Echternach übernommen. Nach ersten Fragen, die die Tageszeitung ‘Tageblatt’ vor einigen Tagen aufgeworfen hatte, wurden diese Informationen Pizzicato heute aus sicherer Quelle zugetragen, allerdings von offizieller Seite nicht bestätigt. Read More →

Jean-Philippe Tremblay

The Montreal based chamber orchestra Appassionata announces the cancellation of its activities planned until May, 2018. The press release says: « The Appassionata chamber orchestra announces the cancellation of its artistic activities planned until May, 2018. In a context of a drastic decrease of public subsidies, the economic situation does not today allow Appassionata to exercise its activities and to realize the remainder of the current season. » Read More →

Guests and performers at the House of Luxembourg
(c) Markus Hübner

In a celebration ahead of this year’s Grammy Awards, Luxembourg-born Grammy voting member Marco Battistella hosted a Luxembourgian Showcase last week at the House of Luxembourg in New York City. Read More →

Hansjörg Schellenberger
(c) Gerhard Winkler

Der deutsche Oboist und Dirigent Hansjörg Schellenberger, der dem ‘Okayama Philharmonic Orchestra’ (OPO) seit nahezu fünf Jahren als Chefdirigent vorsteht, hat seinen Vertrag mit dem japanischen Orchester zum zweiten Mal, nunmehr bis  2022 verlängert. Read More →