Cecilia Bartoli
(c) Ulli Weber/Decca

Cecilia Bartoli has cancelled here entire California tour “due to unforeseen circumstances”. The tour was to begin on 21 March from Santa Monica, five concerts altogether. They would have been her first appearances on the West Coast in six years. No further reason was given for the cancellation.

'Cité de la musique' at Ile Seguin
(c) Shigeru Ban & Jean de Gastines

The new ‘Musical City’ at Ile Seguin in Boulogne-Billancourt, a Western suburb of Paris, which is supposed to become a tough competitor for the new Philharmonic Hall in the East, has been chosen as Best Project at Mipim in Cannes. The island will be equipped with a Concert hall, an auditorium, rehearsal studios and a music school. Read More →

Greenville, located 270 kilometres North-East from Atlanta, is a small city in South Carolina, with 60.000 inhabitants and a Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra once was in financial trouble and subsequently saved by a rich man from the country, Wilson Wearn. No, after the death of Wearn’s wife, the orchestra received more money. He left $1 million in his estate for the orchestra. Sherwood Mobley, executive director of the Greenville Symphony, said the $1 million contribution will be placed in an endowment, with only the income being used by the orchestra.

Myung-Whun Chung

Artistic Director Myung-Whun Chung and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra have cancelled their entire US tour scheduled for April 14-24 with seven concerts in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Davis, San Francisco, Seattle, Ann Arbor, and Chicago. The cancellation is due to a recent and significant cut in tour funding from the City of Seoul. Read More →

Der russische Opernregisseur Timothy Kuljabina, der von einem Gericht in Novosibirsk freigesprochen wurde, nachdem die Orthodoxe Kirche ihn wegen Verletzung religiöser Gefühle in seiner ‘Tannhäuser’-Inszenierung  angezeigt hatte, kann sich über den Publicity-Effekt des Prozesses nicht beklagen. Ihm wurde jetzt vom Bolschoi-Theater in Moskau ein Vertrag für eine noch nicht näher benannte Operninszenierung angeboten.

Out of 170 candidates for the 2015 violin competition, sent from all over the world, a jury chaired by Arie Van Lysebeth and composed of Pierre Amoyal, Patrice Fontanarosa, Mihaela Martin, Natalia Prischepenko, Marco Rizzi and Gilbert Varga has selected 69 candidates for the first public round, which starts on 4 May at Flagey in Brussels. The list comprises 38 women and 31 men, representing 20 different nationalities. Unsurprisingly there are 19 Koreans, 14 Americans and six Chinese. Surprisingly only two Russians have been admitted. Among the European countries, France is leading with 4 candidates.

Der Intendant der Stuttgarter Oper, Jossi Wieler, ist mit dem Kulturpreis Baden-Württemberg 2015 geehrt worden. Der gebürtige Schweizer sei eine ‘Künstlerpersönlichkeit, die seit vielen Jahren dem Land durch ihre Arbeit auf das Engste verbunden ist’, verlautete von offizieller Seite.

Daniele Rustioni

Italian conductor Daniele Rustioni has been named Music Director at Opera de Lyon (France). Rustioni (32) will begin his tenure in 2017. He studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, Milan, and at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2007 he made his orchestral debut with the Teatro Regio Torino Orchestra, and in 2008 his operatic debut conducting La Bohème at the same opera house. He conducted at La Scala, La Fenice, Arena di Verona, Welsh National Opera… Rustioni is Principal Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana and Music Director of the Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari.

Andreas Scholl
(c) James McMillan / Decca

Der deutsche Countertenor Andreas Scholl (47) erhält den diesjährigen Rheingau Musik Preis. Mit der Ehrung würdigt das Rheingau Musik Festival Scholls Verdienste auf dem Gebiet der Barockmusik. Der Preis ist mit 10.000 Euro dotiert und wird dem Sänger am 6. August im Rahmen seines Konzerts mit dem israelischen Musiker Idan Reichel verliehen.

Police raided the offices of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) today in central Seoul, according to the Korean Times. The raid was the consequence of a plea by the former CEO of the Orchestra, Park Hyun-Jung. Park resigned as CEO over allegations that she harassed SPO employees sexually and verbally after taking office in February, 2013. Now she sues the employees over defamatory remarks made against the former manager. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said investigators secured computer hard disks, USBs and mobile phones of SPO employees.