Yehudi Menuhin

The Menuhin Competition has announced the 22 Junior and 22 Senior candidates for the 2016 competition, taking place at London’s Royal Academy of Music from April 7-17th. The country list ios leaded by South Korea (25%), the US and Japan. Astonishingly there is only one candidate coming from Russia. Interestingly, 36 of the 44 candidates accepted into the 2016 competition are female – with only 1 sole male set to perform in the Senior division. Read More →

Gianandrea Noseda
(c) Sussie Ahlburg

Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda, 51, will become the seventh Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, beginning with the 2017-2018 season. During the current season, the sixth and last of Christoph Eschenbach, Noseda will be Music Director Designate. The appointment comes only two months following his recent appearance with the NSO. Read More →

Kazushi Ono
Photo: Rikimaru Hotta

Japanese conductor Kazushi Ono has won the Asahi Prize for 2015, the Asahi Shimbun announced on Jan. 1. Ono, 55, was selected for his energetic activities in Japan and abroad. He is currently Music Director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor at the Opéra national de Lyon and Principal Guest Conductor of the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini. Read More →

The American businessman and conductor Gilbert Kaplan died on January 1, aged 74. He is known as an expert of Gustav Mahler’s work and especially of the Resurrection Symphony which he recorded twice and conducted all over the world. Read More →

Gustavo Dudamel
Photo: Mathew Imagaing

Der bald 35-jährige Venezolaner Gustavo Dudamel wurde heute als Dirigent für das Neujahrskonzert 2017 angekündigt. Er wird der jüngste Dirigent der traditionsreichen Konzertreihe sein, was natürlich keine Qualitätsgarantie ist, es sei denn, der mit dem heute eher als abwertend anzusehenden Titel ‘Stardirigent’ bezeichnete Musiker nehme bis dahin den dringend nötigen Dirigierunterricht.

According to a report by The Globe and Mail, public libraries in several of Canada’s biggest cities are currently preparing the launch of an instrument-lending service. A two-year pilot program is set to start soon at the Parkdale branch of the Toronto Public Library.

Christoph Eschenbach
© Eric Brissaud

Das ‘National Symphony Orchestra’ (NSO) aus Washington geht im Februar 2016 mit Christoph Eschenbach auf Europatournee. Diese dritte internationale Tournee innerhalb von vier Jahren führt das NSO zum ersten Mal nach Polen und Luxemburg. Insgesamt geben sie fünf Konzerte in Deutschland, drei in Spanien, zwei in Polen und jeweils ein Konzert in Österreich und Luxemburg. Read More →

Myung-Whun Chung

Myung-whun Chung, who resigned from his post as Music Director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted his last concert yesterday evening, with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Orchestra members wore a sticker of a dove on their right chest for solidarity with their outgoing conductor. Chung entered and left the stage to a standing ovation. Yet, he fall over conspiracies by the orchestra’s former CEO, Hyun-jung Park. Read More →

It’s a very special concert which the Mariinsky Theatre organizes today in St. Petersburg. The Mariinsky Orchestra will be conducted by Gergiev and Edward Ioudenitch (11), with pianist Stanislav Ioudenitch (44) and violinist Maria Ioudenitch (19). Read More →

Deutsche Oper Berlin
(c) DOB

In 2015 hat die Stiftung ‘Oper in Berlin’ im Bereich Musiktheater über 662.000 Tickets verkauft. Die ‘Deutsche Oper’ hatte nach der Renovierung eine Zuwachsrate von 21%. Die ‘Berliner Staatsoper’ erreichte 2015 in ihrem Ausweichquartier, dem ‘Schiller Theater’, eine durchschnittliche Platzauslastung von 86 Prozent (drei Prozent weniger als 2014).
Konstante Besucherzahlen verzeichnete die ‘Komische Oper’ mit einer Auslastungsquote von 87,5 Prozent.