In June it was announced as a serious option, today the Belgian group Pias Recordings confirmed that from 1 October on, Harmonia Mundi belongs to its portfolio. Within the group, Eva Coutaz will be a consultant for Harmonia Mundi productions. Pias was until now, not active in the field of classical music.
Jean-Yes Ossonce
(c) Christophe Gaye
French conductor Jean-Yves Ossonce has announced that he will quit his job as music director of the Grand Théâtre Lyrique et Symphonique in Tours at the end of the current season. In a letter to the mayor of Tours, he said, that after 16 years at the helm of the theatre and 20 years with the orchestra, he thought that the time has come for a change.
Auch 25 Jahre nach der Wiedervereinigung sind die Orchester im Osten Deutschlands noch nicht gesichert, teilt die Deutsche Orchestervereinigung (DOV) mit. Im Einigungsvertrag von 1990 sei im Artikel 35 Abs. 2 festgelegt: « Die kulturelle Substanz darf keinen Schaden nehmen.“ Das sei auf vielen Gebieten gelungen. « Leider gilt das in vielen Fällen noch nicht für die Orchester und Theater“, sagt Gerald Mertens, Geschäftsführer der DOV. Read More →
The organizers of the 17th Chopin International Piano Competition have announced that the final list of candidates includes eighty pianists from twenty countries. Poland, with 15 pianists, is followed by China (14), Japan (12) and South Korea (9). Russia, the United States, Italy, Canada and Great Britain are next on the list. The participants in the competition have been selected among 160 applicants who took part in the qualifying round held in Warsaw in the spring. Read More →
Beethovenhalle Bonn
Nachdem die Pläne für den Bau eines Beethoven-Festspielhauses geplatzt sind, muss die Stadt Bonn an eine notwendige Sanierung der Beethovenhalle denken. Diese soll ab Oktober 2016 geschlossen und spätestens vor dem Beethovenfest 2018 wieder eröffnet werden. Read More →
Der Stadtrat der schweizerischen Stadt Biel hat beschlossen, die finanzielle Unterstützung für das Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn (TOBS) ab 2018 um jährlich 360.000 Franken (ca. 330.000 Euro) zu kürzen. Ursprünglich war die Einsparung des ganzen Symphonieorchesters vorgesehen. Nun wird es dem Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn überlassen, wo es sparen will. Read More →
Grigory Sokolov
Pianist Grigory Sokolov refuses the Music Award of the city of Cremona (Italy). In a letter to the organizer, he says that he does not want to appear on a prize-winners list comprising the name of the music journalist Norman Lebrecht who was a prize-winner in 2014 (category communication). Lebrecht is one of today’s most controversial music journalists.
Ansicht der neuen 20 Euro Silbermünze
Rund 403 Millionen 1-Euro-Münzen mit Mozarts Porträt hat die Münze Österreich AG bisher in Umlauf gebracht. Jetzt setzt die Münzprägestätte mit der 3-teiligen Münzserie ‘Wolfgang – Amadé –Mozart’ in Silber nach. Heute werden die edlen Geldstücke in Mozarts Wohnhaus in Salzburg präsentiert. Read More →
NY Philharmonic's David Geffen Hall
(c) Remy Franck
After of the $100 million gift that David Geffen made this year toward the renovation of what was New York’s Avery Fisher Hall and is now David Geffen Hall, the New York Philharmonic announced that it was getting the largest individual donation in its history: a $25 million gift from Oscar S. Schafer, the chairman of its board, and his wife, Didi. Read More →
Mariinsky Theatre
Photo: Valentin Baranovsky
More than thousand performances are scheduled for Mariinsky Theatre’s new season, said artistic director Valery Gergiev at a press conference in St. Petersburg. This number includes the performances of both the opera and ballet companies as well as of the symphony orchestra on the three Mariinsky stages, in many cities in Russia and abroad.
