Riccardo Chailly
Photo: ICMA

Riccardo Chailly wird immer mehr zum ‘Absager’. Krankheitshalber, so teilen die Berliner Philharmoniker mit, wird der 63-Jährige die Konzerte am 12., 14. und 15. Januar in der Philharmonie nicht dirigieren. Für ihn tritt der 77-Jährige Marek Janowski ans Dirigentenpult, um Giuseppe Verdis ‘Messa da Requiem’ zu dirigieren.

Bernard Haitink

Italian newspapers report on what they call the rebirth of Claudio Abbado’s Orchestra Mozart. And indeed, as Pizzicato announced in June 2016, the Bologna based ensemble plays today, 6 January, a concert under the baton of Bernard Haitink, with soloist Isabelle Faust, a concert that will be given also in Lugano on 8 January. Read More →

Opéra Comique, Paris

If opera fans are used to learn that the renovation of opera houses never happens to be within the announced deadline, the delay in the opening of the Opéra Comique in Paris, which has been announced now, is rather short. We are not speaking about years like in Berlin or Cologne, but of a few weeks. Read More →

Daniel Barenboim
(c) Peter Adamik

A guest in a broadcast of French radio Europe 1, conductor Daniel Barenboim heavily criticised the Israeli government. He said: « Even if we think that every Jew in the world has the right to live in Israel, it cannot be realized without the others. The land was not a desert, the Palestinians were there. (…) And it is unacceptable that there is a government in Israel which is completely deaf, which is interested not at all in the opinion of others and continues to build colonies, making it impossible to have a normal Palestinian State ». Read More →

Géori (Georgette) Boué, born 16 October 1918 in Toulouse, has died yesterday, 5 January, in Paris, at the age of 98. She made her debut at the Capitole de Toulouse in 1934. In 1939 she started singing at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, as Mimi in La Bohème. She rapidly became known for her affinities with the French repertoire, Lakmé, Manon Marguerite, Juliette, but also with Italian roles like Gilda, Violetta, Desdemona, Tosca and Cio-Cio San. Read More →

Anthony Goldstone
(c) Divine Art

British pianist Anthony Goldstone passed away 2 January at the age of 72. He was a major figure in the Divine Art Records catalogue both as a soloist and duo partner with his wife Caroline Clemmow, and in a press release the label says that he will be very sadly missed. Divine Art is currently working on Goldstone’s last solo recording which is to be released in the summer (Piano at the Ballet, Vol. 2) and also the re-release of the  7-CD set of the complete works for piano duet by Franz Schubert. Read More →

Sidney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House underwent heavy criticism because of the set built up for Opera Australia’s outdoor season in October 2016, The Australian reports. Critics say, the infrastructure for those outdoor productions impacted the view visitors had on the Opera house and created a « visual disruption ». The management even was warned that the opera house therefore risked losing its UNESCO­World Heritage status.

Kansas City Symphony announced that, to date, the so called Masterpiece Campaign has raised nearly $52 million thanks to many generous donors. This comes close to the goal of the largest endowment campaign in the orchestra’s history. Read More →

Joana Carneiro
(c) Dave Weiland

Berkeley Symphony, Berkeley, California, announced that Music Director Joana Carneiro has withdrawn from the concert on Thursday, January 26 at Zellerbach Hall. Carneiro is pregnant and is under doctor’s advice not to conduct or travel. She will be replaced by Christian Reif. Read More →

Die Bechstein Pianofortefabrik startet eine neue Reihe im Konzerthaus Berlin: Alexej Gorlatch eröffnet am Freitag, 31. März 2017, um 20 Uhr mit einem Chopin-Recital die neue Serie der Bechstein Klavierabende. Ihm folgen am 21. April 2017 der chinesische Virtuose Haiou Zhang und am 23. Juni 2017 die koreanische Pianistin Yejin Gil. Read More →