Ludwig van Beethoven

Today, Friday 25 March on 3 p.m. the Brussels Philharmonic and the Flemish Radio Choir will perform Beethoven’s Ode to Joy at Placer de la Bourse in Brussels. Read More →

Dimitrij Kitajenko
Photo: Gerd Mothes

Auf einer Japan-Tournee im März und April dirigiert Dmitrij Kitajenko nicht weniger als neun Konzerte in verschiedenen japanischen Städten. Den Auftakt macht am 26. März ein Konzert mit dem ‘Tokyo Symphony Orchestra’ in der ‘Suntory Hall’, einem der weltweit renommiertesten Konzerthäuser, das vom japanischen Getränkehersteller Suntory finanziert wird. Das 1986 eröffnete Gebäude war die erste Konzerthalle Tokios, die exklusiv für diesen Zweck verwendet wurde. Read More →

Alexandre Bloich
(c) Sébastien Ene

French conductor Alexandre Bloch (*1985) has been appointed Music Director of Orchestre National de Lille from the beginning of the 2016/17 season, succeeding long-term Music Director Jean-Claude Casadesus. Read More →

Tugan Sokhiev
Photo: Askonas Holt

Believing that a university degree is not enough to conduct an orchestra, Tugan Sokhiev, Music Director of the Capitole in Toulouse and of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, organizes from April 11 to 15, The International Academy of Conductors – Tugan Sokhiev in Toulouse. Only six candidates, aged 25 to 40, have been admitted. The training is free, only the travel and accommodation will be paid by the students. The Toulouse orchestra will invite one of the candidates for a public concert.

Timothy Ridout

British violist Timothy Ridout has won the 12th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, held on the Isle of Man. The 20-year-old receives £7,000, a London recital and a viola bow from Bishop Instruments and Bows Ltd.  Second prize, worth £5,000, went to Manuel Vioque-Judde from France, while third prize, worth £3,000, was awarded to Wenhong Luo from China. Read More →

Oper Zürich

Mit dem Ziel einer langfristigen Konsolidierung finden die Festspiele Zürich künftig nicht mehr jedes Jahr, sondern in einem Zweijahres-Rhythmus statt. In einer Mitteilung heißt es, um den Festspielen ihre inhaltliche « Durchschlagskraft zu erhalten », sollen die künstlerischen Kräfte stärker als bisher gebündelt werden. Damit der Festspielgedanke auch in den Jahren ohne Festspiele lebendig bleibt, wird in den Zwischenjahren der Zürcher Festspielpreis vergeben. Read More →

The Canadian Government will invest $1.9B in the arts over the next five years. The Canada Council, which provides funding to artists and cultural projects, will see its annual budget of $182 million nearly doubled within five years. The country’s biggest arts and cultural institutions, including those of the music industry, are getting a cash infusion and local arts organizations will also see a financial boost to aid in construction of cultural spaces and repairs to existing facilities.

John E. Gardiner
Photo: Rock/Universal

Brussels’s concert hall Bozar will be reopen tonight and John Eliot Gardiner will conduct Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. In a press release the hall says: « Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner himself insisted that he and his musicians should perform as planned. The Matthew Passion, with its message of love and solace, is a powerful symbol. It is precisely in these tragic circumstances when the need for solidarity is at its greatest and when a performance of this unifying piece by Bach is so befitting. Read More →

The Avery Fisher Career Grants 2016, worth $25,000, havew been awarded to three violinists, a cellist and a pianist. The recipients are violinists Alexi Kenney, Tessa Lark and Sean Lee, cellist Jay Campbell and pianist George Li.

British conductor Mark Wigglesworth, 51, has yesterday resigned as Music Director of English National Opera, effective from the end of the current season. He will continue to honour his contractual commitments as a conductor. According to ENO, Wigglesworth « feels unable to continue as Music Director despite the best efforts of the Board and Senior Management to persuade him to remain. We are disappointed that he will not stay to lead the artistic forces through this particularly challenging period. »