Louis Spohr

Der 8. Internationale Louis Spohr Wettbewerb für Junge Geiger an der Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar hat neun Preisträger. Den 1. Preis der jüngsten Kategorie I (bis 14 Jahre) erspielte sich der 11-jährige Chinese Shihan Wang. Den 2. Preis gewann die 2002 in Massachusetts (USA) geborene Geigerin Hana Chang. Ebenfalls aus den USA kommt die 3. Preisträgerin, die 13-jährige Violinistin Marley Erickson. Read More →

Ivan Fischer
Photo: Marco Borggreve

Ivan Fischer und der gestern verstorbene  Zoltan Kocis haben zusammen das ‘Budapest Festival Orchestra’ gegründet. Und später haben sie sich getrennt. Warum, das erklärte Ivan Fischer einmal in einem Pizzicato-Interview. Read More →

Jan Lisiecki, Robert Trevino
(c) Christophe Grémiot

The American conductor Robert Trevino, 32, a native from Fort Worth, Texas, will be the new Music Director of the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra in San Sebastian from the Season 2017/2018. His initial contract runs through the 2019/2020 season. He will succeed Jun Märkl whose contract will end in June 2017. Märkl began his tenure in 2014.

Die Deutsche Orchestervereinigung beobachtet mit Sorge die Lage der Beschäftigten am Theater Trier und ermahnt in einem Offenen Brief die politisch Verantwortlichen « zukunfstfeste Lösungen » für eine gesicherte Zukunft des Hauses zu finden. Read More →

The European Union Youth Orchestra is said to transfer its headquarters to Grafenegg in Austria, where Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder runs a successful music festival that has become in recent years already a partner of the orchestra. During the presentation conference of the festival’s program 2017, the Provincial Governor of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), Erwin Pröll, said, he wanted the festival to acquire a distinctive European character and become the future home for the European Youth Orchestra. Read More →

Zoltan Kocsis

Hungarian pianist and conductor Zoltan Kocsis died last yesterday afternoon, aged 64. Already last month, the Hungarian National Philharmoinic, whoise Music Director Kocis was, announced that he was suffering from poor health. He had cancelled most of his concerts to rest and recuperate. Read More →

Anna Netrebko
(c) Werner/Tsui

Austrian-Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko prepares herself for an after-singer career. She has created a design for a limited edition tea set named ‘Aida’ for the Imperial Porcelain Factory St. Petersburg. The set will be presented in December in Vienna. It is designed for six people and includes tea bowl, sugar bowl, milk jug and six cups and saucers. All products are made according to the sketches, personally created by artist.

Sir Simon Rattle

The government has cancelled its funding for a new concert hall in London, as proposed by the conductor Simon Rattle. In a statement the government said: « London is already home to world class culture and music venues, from the iconic Royal Albert Hall to the Barbican Hall and the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre. » This of course stubbornly ignores the fact that London has not a single concert hall up to the standards found in other European cities.

Metropolitan Opera New York

After Roger Kaiser, from Dallas, scattered the ashes of his deceased mentor over the orchestra pit at the Metropolitan Opera last weekend, provoking the cancellation of two performances, the man has now issued an apology letter addressed to Peter Gelb and the MET. In the letter, he describes his actions as “a sweet gesture to a dying friend that went completely and utterly wrong in ways that I could never have imagined.” Here is the full text of Kaiser’s letter. Read More →

Die Stiftung Händel-Haus in Halle hat ein großformatiges Porträt von Georg Friedrich Händel als Dauerleihgabe erhalten. Es gehört Nachfahren von Händels Schwester. Das Händel-Haus plant die Ausstellung Bildnisses zur nächsten Sonderausstellung, die an Händels nächstem Geburtstag, dem 23. Februar 2017, unter dem Titel ‘Echt oder Fake? – Bei uns ist alles original’ eröffnet. Read More →