No candidate was awarded First Prize at the 5th Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Monte Carlo. Second Prize went to Jesko Sirvend (Germany) and Henri Christofer Aavik (Estonia). Third Prize was not awarded either. The Audience Prize was won by Ilya Ram (USA / Israel).

Osmo Vänskä
Photo: A Marsden

Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, 69, who was appointed as Music Director of the Seoul Philharmonic in January 2020, will not extend his contact. In an interview with Van Magazine, Vänskä refused to give any reason for his departure.

The Greenwich Symphony Orchestra (Connecticut) has announced Stuart Malina as Music Director from the 2022-2023 season. Read More →

Japanese violinist Lina Nakano, 17, won 1st Prize and Gold Medal at the 8th Sendai International Violin Competition in Sendai, Japan. Two Silver Medals were awarded to Dennis Gasanov (Russia 1994) and Tianyou Ma (China 2000).

Giacomo Sagripanti

GM Art & Music has announced that Italian conductor Giacomo Sagripanti has been appointed Music Director at Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre, in the capital of Georgia. Sagripanti is also Principal Guest Conductor for the operatic repertoire at Fondazione Lirico Sinfonica Petruzzelli in Bari.

Salzburg

Mit einer Auslastung von 98 Prozent gehen heute die Salzburger Pfingstfestspiele zu Ende. Wie der Veranstalter mitteilte, waren die ersten Festspiele Covid-Einschränkungen wieder so erfolgreich wie vor der Pandemie. Insgesamt wurden mehr als 10.000 Tickets an Besucher aus 41 Nationen verkauft.

© Philharmonie Luxembourg / Eric Engel

The video of the ICMA Gala Concert played by the Luxembourg Philharmonic and Orchestre Royal de l’Opéra de Versailles with many winning artists from the 2022 panel continues to be successful on the YouTube channel of Deutsche Welle. More than 50.000 people saw it by now, and the number is continuously growing. Read More →

Hayoung Choi won First Prize at the International Queen Elisabeth Celloo Competition. Born in 1998 in Bielefeld, Germany, Hayoung Choi studied at the Korean National University of Arts, the Purcell School for Young Musicians in England, and then at the Kronberg Academy, where she was taught by Frans Helmerson and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. Read More →

Vsssily Sinaisky
(c) Remy Franck

The St. Petersburg Akademicheskaya Filarmonia has canceled a concert led by Vassily Sinaisky, a conductor critical of the war in Ukraine, citing “health” issues, local media said. However, before the concert, there were calls to cancel the performance because of the position of the conductor. Read More →

Bertie Baigent
© Marije Schot

The Rotterdam International Conducting Competition has announced the winners of the 2022 edition. The Grand Prize and €15,000 was awarded to Bertie Baigent while the audience award went to Chilean conductor Luis Toro Araya. Read More →