The Festival of Aix-en-Provence and the Beijing Music Festival announced a collaboration agreement for 5 years between 2016 and 2020. In October 2016 the agreement will begin with Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 64, (1991 and 2015 productions) directed by Robert Carsen at the Poly Theatre in Beijing. Read More →

Leonard Slatkin

Rumors in the French press say, that the contract of Leonard Slatkin as Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) is likely not to be extended in 2017. It looks like the mayor’s office might propose one supplementary year, yet, at the same time, the politicians in Lyon look forward to hire a European and above all a younger Music Director.

Herbert von Karajan
(c) Siegfried Lauterwasser / DG

Eine Gruppe von Fans des Dirigenten Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) will für den Österreicher einen Platz im Nationaldenkmal ‘Walhalla’ bei Regensburg erhalten. Read More →

Teatro alla Scala, Milano

Scala-Intendant Alexander Pereira will mehr ausländische Förderer für sein Opernhaus gewinnen. Dabei sollen ihn nationale Vereinigungen von Freunden der Scala unterstützen. Read More →

Theater und Orchester in Bielefeld (Nordrhein-Westfalen) sollen ab 2018 rund 600.000 Euro einsparen. Dagegen hat das Orchester in einem Konzert auf ungewöhnliche Weise protestiert. Es spielte das Orchester unter seinem Dirigenten Kalajdzic den ersten Satz aus Beethovens 5. Symphonie in einer verstümmelten Version, in der der Ton ‘Es’ fehlte. Dieser sei den Sparmaßnahmen zum Opfer gefallen, sagte der Dirigent dem Publikum.

Members of the ICMA Jury in Bad Ragaz

The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) held its General Assembly this weekend during the Next Generation Festival at the Grand Resort in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland. The Jury decided upon the Special Awards for the coming years and took important steps in order to get stronger promotion possibilities for young artists. Read More →

James Levine

Continuous health problems bring more cancellations for conductor James Levine (72). He cancelled in Philadelphia, and the Met in New York isn’t sure about him being at the podium for next performances. He suffers from a benign, yet progressive form of Parkinson’s, and for the Metropolitan, the decision about replacing him, is more than important, says the New York Times, invoking the opera house’s difficult financial situation.

Luciano Pavarotti

After failing to sell Luciano Pavarotti’s apartment in New York in 2014, the inheritors try it again. The sale price is $ 10.5 million, over three million less than two years ago.

London Music Forum
(c) Léon Krier

Criticizing plans by an « aesthetically dumb kultural nomenklatura » the Luxembourgish Architect Léon Krier, 69, has published his own ideas in this sensitive matter. Krier, a London resident, says: « Meanwhile there is a choice location for London’s unrivalled musical offerings that, as far as I know, is yet unconsidered – namely, Park Square and Crescent. Read More →

Dirk Kaftan

Der musikalische Chef der Grazer Oper, Dirk Kaftan (45), soll neuer Generalmusikdirektor in Bonn werden und dort ab Sommer 2017 das Beethoven Orchester leiten. Er tritt die Nachfolge von Generalmusikdirektor Stefan Blunier an, nach dem allerdings Christoph Prick interimistisch tätig wurde.