he police has arrested five people under suspicion of corruption at the Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari. Among the accused is the Administrative Director, Vito Longo. The affair focuses contracts for the supply of light and cleaning. According to the prosecutor, the theatre manager cashed money from the companies who would get the contracts.

Frank Peter Zimmermann
(c) Franz Hamm

Frank Peter who had to restitute the 1727 Lady Inchiquin Stradivarius violin to the financial liquidators of the WestLB, has finally got a new instrument. He has been offered the 1727 ex-Dupont/Grumiaux Stradivarius on interim loan for at least 2 or 3 years by a Chinese-German art dealer. Zimmermann expects to be able to use his former instrument again in a few years.

Two performing arts education actors in the US, Berklee and The Boston Conservatory, have formally agreed to merge, creating a comprehensive and dynamic training ground for music, dance, theater, and related professions. Read More →

Kursaal, San Sebastian
(c) Remy Franck

Am 20. Januar wird in der baskischen Küstenstadt San Sebastian das Kulturhauptstadtjahr 2016 nicht eingeläutet, sondern eingetrommelt. Am Tag des Heiligen Sebastian, dem Namensgeber der Stadt, treffen sich traditionsgemäß Tausende von Trommlern ab Mitternacht in der Altstadt. Read More →

The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) announced today the Awards for 2016. Soprano Dame Felicity Lott is honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Composer, trombonist and conductor Christian Lindberg is Artist of the Year, cellist Pablo Ferrandez Young Artist of the Year. For the first time the new Discovery Award for musicians from 12 to 18 is awarded to flutist Nikolai Song, born in 2002, of Korean-Russian parentage. Read More →

Le Poème Harmonique and Vincent Dumestre present the Normandy International Baroque Music Competition, the first international competition in France for instrumental soloists in the baroque music. The competition is open to young musicians of any nationalities. The first edition will be held in September 2016 and will be dedicated to string instruments: violin, cello and viola da gamba. Registration is to be made at the website of Le Poème Harmonique from January 25 till May 29, 2016. Information: concours@lepoemeharmonique.fr.

Emmanuel Krivine
(c) Christian Aschman

Strong rumours are currently circulating about a possible nomination of Emmanuel Krivine, 68, as successor to Daniele Gatti as Music Director of the Paris based Orchestre National de France (ONF). Read More →

Laura Telly Cambier und Lukhanyo Moyake sind die Gewinner des diesjährigen Emmerich Smola Förderpreises. Das Publikum des Gesangswettbewerbs in der Landauer Jugendstil-Festhalle wählte die beiden Sieger. Begleitet wurden die Sänger von der Deutschen Radio Philharmonie unter der Leitung von Marco Comin. Read More →

Hartford Symphony’s management has announced, that it will shut down the orchestra if musicians do not accept $450,000 in wage concessions by midnight this Monday. Hartford Symphony is an orchestra based in Hartford, Connecticut. Meanwhile, Music Director Carolyn Kuan made known her willingness to reduce her salary corresponding to the cut the musicians have been asked to accept. Read More →

Primorsky Opera, Vladivostok

With the Primorsky Opera in Vladivostok now being part of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, it is among General Director Valery Gergiev’s countless duties to engage the responsible people. So he now announced the name of the musical leaders; the post of Principal Conductor has been given to Mariinsky Theatre conductor Pavel Smelkov. The Principal Guest Conductor of the Primorsky Stage is Mariinsky Theatre guest conductor Vladislav Karklin. In other words: total control.