120 Outstanding Young Musicians, aged 16-19, from 42 American States and over 100 Cities play in the brand new American National Youth Orchestra. Guess who is the conductor. The always and everywhere conducting Valery Gergiev! Tonight, the orchestra will play its first public performance with acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell at Purchase’s Performing Arts Center (NY). Read More →

The Minnesota Orchestra has canceled another six concerts initially scheduled from July 20 to Aug. 3 at Ted Mann Concert Hall in Minneapolis. Now, locked out musicians have not played a concert under the official auspices of the Minnesota Orchestra for more than a year. In May, Music Director Osmo Vänskä saidgthat he will resign if the Minnesota Orchestra is not playing again by September at the latest.

Nelson Goerner
Photo: J.B. Millot

Zig-Zag Territoires, a label of the Outhere Music group, is announces a new collaboration with the Argentinean pianist Nelson Goerner. The first album, devoted to the music of Debussy and recently recorded at the Teldex studio in Berlin, will be released in the autumn of 2013, with further albums in the planning stage. The album offers a choice of works by Claude Debussy, illustrating his musical and pianistic imaginative universe.

Benjamin Britten

Oh yes, we are also in a Britten Year. Due to all this Wagner and Verdi the youngest of the composer trio is risking to get lost. However the Britten-Pears Foundation continues to celebrate Britten’s 100th anniversary and launches a new Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra App. This free App is to initiate a new generation to the orchestra and the music of Britten through the latest technology. The App comes with illustrations by Sara Fanelli and a recording of the music by the Royal Northern College of Music Symphony Orchestra under the baton of  Sir Mark Elder. Obviously, a number of games, quizzes, composition exercises and basic information about Britten’s life and work are included as well.

The App is available for free Download through iTunes. An interactive version will be available on the Britten 100 website from September 2013.

While scanning different Festival websites, I came to the one of the  Aspen Music Festival (Colorado / USA) and went on reading the excellent speech Festival President Alan Fletcher made there for the official beginning of the Festival, some weeks ago, on June 24. In the light of the problems the Minnesota Orchestra is facing, Fletcher develops a remarkably clear analysis about the functioning of orchestras as a whole, in the United States as well as in Europe. This is a recommendable lecture. Read More →

Placido Domingo
Photo: Sheila Rock

Der 72-jährige Tenor Placido Domingo wurde in Madrid mit einer Lungenembolie in eine Klinik eingeliefert. Seine Agentur meldete, der Sänger sei auf dem Weg der Besserung, müsse aber auf Anraten der Ärzte drei bis vier Wochen pausieren und entsprechend alle Vorstellungen in der Zeit absagen.

Die vom Südwestrundfunk beschlossene Fusion des SWR Sinfonieorchesters Baden-Baden und Freiburg (SO) und des Radiosinfonieorchesters Stuttgart (RSO) wird von vielen Leuten nicht akzeptiert. Nachdem alle Petitionen und Gutachten nichts fruchteten, will man jetzt die Fusion und die dadurch erfolgende Schließung des SO mit einer anderen Lösung abwenden.  Der Freiburger Staats- und Verwaltungsrechtler Friedrich Schoch schlägt vor, das SO unter eine neue Trägerschaft zu stellen: eine Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts. Read More →

David Zinman
Photo: Tom Haller

Das Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich beschloss unter der Leitung von David Zinman mit einem Beethoven-Programm die Saison 2012/13 in der Villa Wesendonck in Zürich. Gut 104.000 Klassikbegeisterte besuchten 127 Konzerte der Tonhalle-Gesellschaft. Read More →

The general director of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater, Anatoly Iksanov, was revoked from his post today after a series of public scandals that started with the acid attack on the ballet company’s artistic director in January 2013. Iksanov is replaced by Vladimir Urin (66), the current director of the Stanislavisky and Nemirov-Danchenko Musical Theater. Read More →

Der 38-jährige Österreicher Berno Odo Polzer wird neuer Chef des Berliner Festivals für zeitgenössische Musik ‘MaerzMusik’. Er übernimmt die Leitung ab Herbst 2014 und löst Matthias Osterwold ab, der ‘MaerzMusik’ 13 Jahre leitete. Osterwold ist jetzt Leiter des Festivals ‘Klangspuren Schwaz’ in Tirol. Polzer war von 2000 bis 2010 künstlerischer Leiter von ‘Wien Modern’. Zurzeit arbeitet er als freier Kurator, Dramaturg und Forscher.