Luxembourg’s Union Grand-Duc Adolphe (UGDA) organises on Sunday, 12 November 2017, at the Conservatoire of Luxembourg-City, the European contest for clarinet, saxophone and chamber music (duet to sextet, woodwinds with or without French horn or piano). It takes place within the 34th Luxembourg Competition for Young Soloists. More information is available here.

Gewandhaus Leipzig
(c) Remy Franck

Leipzig wird einen Kurt-Masur-Platz bekommen. Einer Mitteilung der Stadt zufolge soll eine Fläche hinter dem Gewandhaus, zwischen dem Augustusplatz und der Universitätsstraße in Kurt-Masur-Platz umbenannt werden. Read More →

Teodor Currentzis
(c) Anton Zavjyalov

Ab der Spielzeit 2018/19 wird Teodor Currentzis (45) Chefdirigent des aus dem RSO Stuttgart und dem SWR Symphonieorchester Baden Baden & Freiburg fusionierten SWR Symphonieorchesters. Currentzis ist für intensive Probenarbeit und oft erstaunliche Resultate bekannt. Read More →

Laurent Campellone

French conductor Laurent Campellone who sued the City of Saint-Etienne, France, after having been fired as music director of the local opera house in 2014, will get a compensation of 105,390.84 euros. The city council of Saint-Etienne validated the agreement, so settling this case.

Renée Fleming
(c) Andrew Eccles / Decca

Under the title « The Diva Departs: Renée Fleming’s Farewell to Opera », the New York Times breaks the news today that Richard Strauss’s opera Der Rosenkavalier, which opens at the Metropolitan Opera on 13 April will be the singer’s good-bye to staged opera. Renée Fleming, 58, will sing her final performance on May 13.

The choir and the orchestra of the Opéra de Toulon are on strike today. They decided to not participate at the dress rehearsal for the new production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail which will have its premiere on Friday. The reason for the strike is, according to the unions, the obstinate refusal of the management to apply the collective bargaining agreement of artistic and cultural companies. Singers and musicians are paid 15 to 20% below conventional wages. This is accompanied by a deterioration in working conditions, the unions say.

Louis de Froment

Naxos hat den Vox-Katalog in seinem Label-Portfolio aufgenommen. Bereits 1945 von George Mendelssohn (einem Nachkommen des Komponisten Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) gegründet, veröffentlichte Vox die ersten Schallplatten-Aufnahmen klassischer Meisterwerke, darunter Bachs Matthäuspassion und Schuberts Klaviersonaten. Read More →

Timo Handschuh

Der deutsche Dirigent Timo Handschuh (*1975) bleibt Generalmusikdirektor am Theater Ulm. Sein Vertrag wird über 2018 hinaus um drei Spielzeiten bis Sommer 2021 verlängert. Handschuh trat diesen Posten 2011 an. Seit Beginn der Konzertsaison 2013/14 ist er zudem in Nachfolge von Sebastian Tewinkel Künstlerischer Leiter und Chefdirigent des Südwestdeutschen Kammerorchesters Pforzheim.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) has launched the ninth annual Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award for Female Composers. « The Award is granted annually to a living woman composer, of any age or nationality, in the spirit of recognizing and supporting the creation of new orchestral works by women », the DSO says in a press release. Read More →

Jury and winners
© Gert Mothes

Ten soloists, one chamber orchestra, one choir and a big symphony orchestra, plus the presence of nearly all the musicians winning the 2017 International Classical Music Awards: In his opening speech, the president of the ICMA jury, Remy Franck enthusiastically said: « Since the first edition of our awards in 2011, we never were able to welcome so many guests at an award ceremony as here in Leipzig! » And the success was crowned after the ceremony by an almost three hour-long, sold-out Gala concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus. Read More →