Ottavio Dantone

The Italian harpsichordist, pianist, and conductor Ottavio Dantone will take over the Musical Direction of the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music for the next five years. During the same period, the Accademia Bizantina from Ravenna, Italy, which he has conducted since 1996, becomes Orchestra in Residence. Read More →

A new recording label has been announced, Luxembourg Classics, dedicated to enhancing and celebrating the classical music scene in Luxembourg. « Luxembourg Classics is uniquely positioned to nurture and showcase the region’s rich musical talents, focusing on quality, innovation, and community enrichment », the press release says. Read More →

Lars Vogt
© Giorgia Bertazzi

Die Stadt Heimbach in der Eifel ehrt den 2022 verstorbenen Pianisten und Dirigenten Lars Vogt. In seinem Andenken wird die Kraftwerksbrücke in Lars-Vogt-Brücke umbenannt. Dort kommt auch eine Infotafel hin, teilte der Stadtrat mit. Read More →

Hagen Quartett
(c) Harald Hoiffmann

Zu seinem Saisonabschluss gab das Hagen Quartett ein Konzert mit drei gewichtigen Werken. Zum Ende überreichten sie dem Publikum als Dank noch einen Strauß Blumen, weiß Uwe Krusch für Pizzicato zu berichten. Read More →

The Queen Elisabeth Competition has published a CD set from the 2024 edition. The four discs contain a selection of the laureates’ performances of the Mozart Concertos with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, as well as the major concertos from the repertoire from the finals. The best chamber music performances from the semi-final are also included. Read More →

Nil Venditti
(c) Marco Borelli

Italo-Turkish conductor Nil Venditti, 29, has been named Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Northern Sinfonia from 2024/25. Venditti trained in conducting at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste under the guidance of Johannes Schlaefli, as well as attending the Conducting Academy associated with the Pärnu Music Festival under Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi and Leonid Grin. Read More →

Die Intendantin der Bayreuther Festspiele, Katharina Wagner, hat die angekündigten Einsparungen der Bayreuther Festspiele, u.a. beim Festspielchor verteidigt. Es gebe massive Tarif- und Kostensteigerungen auf allen Gebieten, sagte Wagner dem Fachportal BackstageClassical. Neben dem Chor werde auch in allen anderen Bereiche Kürzungen vorgenommen. So soll beim Orchester ein sechsstelliger Betrag eingespart werden.

Christopher Dragon

The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra (North Carolina) has named Christopher Dragon as Music Director and Chelsea Tipton as Principal Guest Conductor, starting with the 2024-25 season. Read More →

Cyprien Keiser
(c) Vic Fischbach

149 young artists from over 20 countries have been selected from an unprecedented 555 applicants for the cello, violin and piano divisions of the George Enescu Competition 2024. Furthermore, six Conductors under age 35 were selected from over 45 applications for the competition’s inaugural Conducting Masterclass led by Cristian Macelaru. The competition will run from August 31 to September 27, 2024 in Bucharest, Romania. Read More →

A space a few meters from Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, between Via Tommaso Grossi and Via Santa Margherita, has been named Largo Claudio Abbado. Read More →