The Curtis Institute of Music announces that it will expand the scope of the school’s conducting program, creating a training program designed to provide the most promising young conductors with one-of-a-kind conducting mentorship in opera and symphonic repertoire. James Ross will join the faculty as Director of Orchestral Studies, starting in the 2024–25 school year. Read More →

You defend the great symphonic and operatic repertoire as well as contemporary music, both of which appeal to audiences that are still much divided. Do you see a rapprochement between the audiences for Mozart and Gounod and those for Georges Aperghis or Gérard Grisey?
It’s hard to talk about a rapprochement between audiences, but I would say there is a difference. Some audiences are ready to listen to everything, others are not; some are curious, others are not; some only appreciate today’s music, sometimes more out of snobbery than real interest. It’s not impossible to go from baroque to contemporary, since this is more an intellectual than a musical domain. Read More →

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra has extended the contract of its Music Director James Ross through 2027. The American musician is currently in his sixth season with the orchestra. In parallel he will start to work as the director of orchestral studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from next fall. Read More →

After two days of auditions with 8 finalists competing for the position of Assistant Conductor, the winner was selected by a vote from the Orchestra’s musicians. And this winner is Enyi Okpara. Read More →

Una Notte Onirica - Venezia, XVII Secolo;  Andrea Mattioli: Ave Regina coelorum aus Harmonia sacra dedota del concerto di salmi, motetti, Venezia, 1678 + Te lucis (Harmonia sacra dedota del concerto di salmi, motetti, inni, et antifone à voce sola con violini, Venezia, 1678); Marc (Pietro) Antonio Cesti: Era la Notte; Maurizio Cazzati: Alma mater Redemptoris & Ave Regina Coelorum (Le quattro antifone annuali della B. V. Maria poste in musica, Opera XLII, Bologna, 1667) + Ballo delle ombre (Trattenimenti per camera., Opera XXII, Bologna, 1660); Biagio Marini: Sonata Settima sopra a voi do vinto (Sonate, symphonie, canzoni, passe'mezzi, baletti., Opera ottava, Venezia, 1629); Giovanni Antonio Rigatti: Nunc dimittis & Ecce nunc aus "Salmi diversi di Compieta in diversi generi di Canto., Venezia, 1646); Luigi Rossi: Ombre, fuggite a voi; Salomone Rossi: Sinfonia Ottavia (Terzo libro de varie sonate, sinfonie, gagliarde, brandi e corrente, Opera XII, Venezia, 1623); Giuseppe Scarani: Sonata XIII aus "Sonate concertate a due e tre voci, Venezia, 1630; Francesco Turini: Sonata a tre (Madrigali à 1, 2, e 3 voci con alcune sonate, Libro primo, Venezia, 1621; Ensemble Agamemnon, François Carday; # Musica Ficta MF8036; Aufnahme 10.2022, Veröffentlichung 04.-05.2024 (57'33) - Rezension von Norbert Tischer

Dieses Programm mit venezianischer Instrumental- und Vokalmusik aus dem 17. Jahrhundert präsentiert wenig bekannte Komponisten und zeugt von der Vielfalt des kompositorischen Schaffens in der Lagunenstadt, ein Schaffen, das allzu gerne von dem von Vivaldi und bekannteren Zeitgenossen in den Schatten gestellt wird. Read More →

George Walker: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1 (Prelude and Caprice + Piano Sonata No. 1 (1953, rev. 1991) + Piano Sonata No. 2 (1956) + Spatials + Spektra (1971) + Piano Sonata No. 3 (1975, rev. 1996) + Bauble (1979); Alexandre Dossin, Klavier; # Naxos 8.559916; Aufnahmen 01 & 04.2023, Veröffentlichung 12.04.2024 (58'50) - Rezension von Remy Franck

Der amerikanische Komponist George Walker (1922–2018), der 1996 den Pulitzer Preis gewann, studierte bei Rosario Scalero und Nadia Boulanger. Er hat rund hundert Werke veröffentlicht, darunter Orchesterwerke, Stücke für Chor, Blechbläser, Holzbläser, Streicher, Gesang und Orgel, sowie viele Klavierwerke, darunter allein fünf Sonaten. Read More →

Tonhalle Düsseldorf and the International Classical Music Awards announce that the annual ICMA Award Ceremony and Gala Concert will take place on 19 March 2025 at the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker conducted by ICMA Lifetime Achievement Award winner Adam Fischer. The event will reunite the prominent award winners and representatives from the international musical industry at one of the most prestigious cultural places in Europe. Read More →

Franco Alfano: Suite romantica + Una danza + Nenia + Divertimento per orchestra ridotta e pianoforte obbligato + Amour… Amour… (Orchesterfassung); Davide Vendramin, Akkordeon, Vittorio Rabagliati, Klavier, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, Giuseppe Grazioli; # Naxos 8.574533; Aufnahme 08.2022, Veröffentlichung 12.04.2024 (75'10) - Rezension von Remy Franck

Franco Alfano (1875-1954) hat Opern, Orchester- und Kammermusik komponiert, und auch wenn recht vieles von ihm in den Schallplattenkatalogen zu finden ist, so bleibt er dennoch eher eine Randfigur im  Musikleben. Read More →

Classeek, the support platform for young classical musicians, is constantly expanding. Its media catalog, which already includes podcasts, concerts and videos, is now available on new platforms, and constantly offers new content. Read More →

You are just fifteen and already a seasoned musician who can look back on a great career: numerous solo appearances with great orchestras, major prizes… But how did it come that you are a musician?

That will probably sound almost too simple: I come from a family full of musicians. My parents are musicians, my dad is an opera singer, mother is a violinist, she’s a violin teacher. Both granddads are also musicians. Read More →