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Berkeley Symphony, Berkeley, California, announced that Music Director Joana Carneiro has withdrawn from the concert on Thursday, January 26 at Zellerbach Hall.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 →

Georges Prêtre

French conductor Georges Prêtre, 92, died on Wednesday in Navès, France. He was what one could a Grand Seigneur de la Baguette. Read More →

Die Musikwelt blickt nach Norddeutschland: Am 11. Januar eröffnet das NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester musikalisch den großen Konzertsaal in Hamburgs neuem Wahrzeichen. Viele Fernseh-und Radiosender übertragen die Feierlichkeiten. Read More →

Created as a print magazine in 1991, Pizzicato slowly started the transformation into an online magazine in 2013.When in December 2013 the last print edition was published, the Internet activity was brought to full speed. Since then we have published 7500 articles which are online today and freely accessible. Among those 7500 articles we count 2.250 audio reviews and 280 video reviews. Read More →

Christian Thielemann
(c) Deutsche Grammophon

The German Bild-Zeitung reports today that the negotiations for a new contract with chief conductor Christian Thielemann in Dresden have stalled. Thielemann is at the helm of the Semperoper and the Staatskapelle since 2012.