The prize winners of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards 2021 have been announced. British countertenor Hugh Cutting won First Prize, the first countertenor ever to win this award in the 66 years in which the Ferrier has been running. Hugh is a member of the Royal College of Music International Opera Studio and a Vocal Masters graduate of the Royal College of Music. He has recorded with The King’s Consort and Robert King, and with Iestyn Davies and Fretwork for Signum Classics. Read More →
Bei den Proben zu Verdis Il Trovatore am Staatstheater Nürnberg hat der Regisseur Peter Konwitschny offenbar mitwirkende Künstler « unangemessen und diskriminierend » angegriffen. Das Opernhaus hat ihn daraufhin entlassen, meldete der Bayerische Rundfunk. Die Proben werden jetzt von Konwitschnys Assistentin Marie-Christine Lüling geleitet.
Zum vierten Mal vergibt der Deutsche Musikrat in Zusammenarbeit mit dem RIAS Kammerchor den Deutschen Chordirigentenpreis. Am Samstag, 20. November, um 20 Uhr treten in der Sophienkirche Berlin drei Finalisten an: Julia Selina Blank, Franziska Kuba und John Lidfors präsentieren gemeinsam mit dem RIAS Kammerchor ein stilistisch vielfältiges Konzertprogramm. Read More →
Die österreichische Initiative ‘Musik ist keine Bagatelle’ fordert die ersatzlose Streichung einer « extrem schädlichen Regelung » des Justizministeriums, laut der 15 Sekunden Musik nur mehr eine Bagatelle sein soll. Read More →
The International Classical Music Awards ICMA today announced the nominations for their Awards 2022, celebrating the best musicians and recordings. This year’s nominations include many renowned soloists, ensembles, conductors and orchestras as well as a lot of young musicians, many of them being first-nominees. Read More →
Nun also hat das ‘rainy days’-Festival schon das erste Wochenende erlebt. Was es zu berichten gibt, vermittelt Uwe Krusch für Pizzicato. Vielleicht lassen sich die ersten Tage als Ausleuchtungen von speziellen Aspekten zusammenfassen. Read More →
Speranza Scappucci
Italian conductor Speranza Scappucci, 48 has decuided not to renew her mandate as Music Director of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, which runs until the end of the 2021-2022 season, the organization says. Read More →
Two months after having acquired Channel Classics Outhere Music announce the acquisition of ICA Classics Limited, a UK-based label dedicated to publishing archival materials. The label, founded in 2008 by Stephen Wright and John Pattrick, has a catalog of some 200 albums in both video and audio formats. Read More →
Mark Elder
(c) Hallé Orchestra
British conductor Mark Elder, 74, has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. His initial term is set to run from 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2025. Read More →
Several thousands of El Sistema musicians gathered at Venezuela’s Military Academy (yes, Military Academy) last Saturday, to play Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March and some other pieces with the goal to set the record as the world’s largest orchestra. Apparently 8,097 instruments were playing simultaneously, yet El Sistema had hoped to gather 12,000 musicians. Read More →
