Christian Thielemann
(c) Deutsche Grammophon

Dirigent Christian Thielemann ist bekannt für provokante Sprüche, und er scheut keinen Eklat. In Dresden fiel ihm der designierte Intendant Serge Dorny zum Opfer, rezent wurde er in Zusammenhang gebracht mit einem ‘Hügel-Verbot’ für Eva Wagner-Pasquier, und jetzt berichtet ‘Der Merkur’, er könne auch hinter einem weiteren Sängeraustausch für seinen Bayreuther ‘Tristan’ stehen. Read More →

Simulation für den Wiederaufbau des Bach-Hauses in Weimar
(c) Gudman Design

Im letzten Jahr feierte die ‘Bach Biennale Weimar’ mit anderen Weimarer Institutionen das große Bachfest Weimar, doch auch zwischen den Biennale-Jahren hält ‘Bach in Weimar’ das Thema eines zukünftigen Bachhauses mit Interludio und Volkswettbewerb präsent. Read More →

Two Boston based performing arts institutions have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that paves the way toward an eventual merger. The presidents and trustees of The Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music have been exploring the benefits of an affiliation that would create the world’s most dynamic and comprehensive programs for music, dance, and theater education. A merger agreement could take effect in 2016. Read More →

Malaysian billionaire Tan Sri Francis Yeoh has given Rome’s struggling opera house €1 million. The businessman is quoted by the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma as saying he hoped the gift would help the institution « distinguish itself on an international level as one of the most prestigious and excellent artistic centres in the world ».

The cello section is the most international at this year’s Tchaikovsky competition. There is one notable absence: German cellist Leonard Elschenbroich, already a regular performer in concerts around the world, has lost track. Read More →

The Finalists at the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow have been announced. Russian will dominate the last round, but, as we heard, the French Lucas Debargue (25) has serious chances to win. Read More →

The Tchaikovsky International Competition has announced the names of the six finalists in the violin section. It’s a pretty Russian-Asian panel, aged 20-33, all of the candidates being known as prize-winners of other prestigious competitions. Read More →

Sascha Goetzel
(c) Oezge Balkan

Austrian conductor Sascha Goetzel resigned with immediate effect as First Guest Conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Bretagne, a post which he occupied since 2012. In a letter to the President of the orchestra, he says that his resignation is due to unilateral decisions by the intendant of the orchestra, Marc Feldman, concerning future programming, as well as to the fact that his name was removed from the orchestra’s website. Read More →

Zoran Mihajlovic, Sanda Vojkovic & Remy Franck at HRT Headquarters in Zagreb
© ICMA / Nicole Junio

ICMA (International Classical Music Awards) announces the Croatian Radiotelevision HRT as a new full Jury member. With headquarters in Zagreb, HRT (Croatian: Hrvatska radiotelevizija) is a public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels. The official delegate for the ICMA Jury is Mrs. Sanda Vojkovic. Read More →

Dmitri Hvorostovsky
(c) Pavel Antonov

Russian Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky suffers from a brain tumour. On his Facebook page, the following statement was published: « It is with great regret that Dmitri must cancel all performances from now until the end of August. He has recently been suffering from serious health issues, and a brain tumour has just been diagnosed. Read More →