Gianandrea Noseda
(c) Sussie Ahlburg

The National Symphony Orchestra in Washington canceled all of its remaining concert of a planned Asian tour. The orchestra originally was to play eight concerts with music director Gianandrea Noseda. On Feb. 4, the NSO called off concerts in Beijing on March 13 and 14 and one in Shanghai on March 17. In an announcement Thursday night, the orchestra also canceled performances from March 6-11 in Fukui, Sakai, Hiroshima and Tokyo.

All events with more than 1000 people are banned from now on and until at least 15 March in Switzerland. The Federal Council took this decision on Friday because of the coronavirus epidemic. « The government’s top priority is to protect the population, » Health Minister Alain Berset told the press. Over the past few days, cases have spread widely throughout the world and in particular in Switzerland’s neighboring countries, especially in Italy and Germany, where the situation is accelerating.

Das Riga Jurmala Music Festival gründet eine Akademie zur Förderung junger Musiker. So findet dieses Jahr bei der ersten Ausgabe u.a. ein Dirigierkurs mit Manfred Honeck statt. Die Riga Jurmala Academy wird gemeinsam mit der Lettischen Musikakademie Jāzeps Vītols organisiert. Das Programm umfasst Meisterkurse im Dirigieren und für Klavier, Streicher und Holzbläser unter der Leitung der Pianisten Andras Schiff und Leif Ove Andsnes sowie von Stimmführern des Symphonieorchesters des Bayerischen Rundfunks.

Zwei Jahre nach seiner Gründung hat sich das Thüringer Bach Collegium vorgenommen, weitere musikalische Schätze zu heben und diese als CD-Aufnahmen der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen. In Kooperation mit dem Plattenlabel Capriccio und Deutschlandfunk Kultur sollen in den nächsten zehn Jahren jährlich ein bis zwei CDs aufgenommen werden. Read More →

Guido Cantelli
(c) Douglas Glass/Warner

To celebrate the 100th birthday of the Italian conductor, Italy’s Teatro Coccia of Novara is organizing – after a forty-year pause – the 11th edition of the competition that launched the careers of conductors like Riccardo Muti, Adam Fischer or Eliahu Inbal. The Competition comes alive in a coproduction with the Teatro Regio di Torino and a recording partnership with Warner Classics. Read More →

Placido Domingo
Photo: Sheila Rock

Shortly after apologizing for sexual harassment. the Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo has cancelled five performances in May at Madrid’s Teatro Real. This was announced by the opera house. With his decision Domingo possibly wanted to forestall a cancellation by the house. The Teatro Real declared that they had « zero tolerance for any kind of harassment and abuse ». Domingo is still scheduled to sing in several European cities.

Ein unbekanntes und unveröffentlichtes Klavierstück Ludwig van Beethovens wurde in der Wienbibliothek im Wiener Rathaus gefunden und wird heute dort von Doris Adam uraufgeführt, teilt die Wiener Urtext Edition mit. Read More →

Marin Alsop
Photo: Grant Leighton

Marin Alsop, 63, is stepping down as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the end of her current contract, which expires Aug. 31, 2021, the BSO announced. Alsop, the first woman to lead a major orchestra in the U.S., will maintain the roles of Music Director Laureate and OrchKids Founder, She will continue to lead three concert weeks over the next five seasons, until 2025-2026. Read More →

After Placido Domingo’s apologies for alleged sexual harassment, the first European country to take action is his native Spain. The Ministry of Culture and Sports issued a severe statement. Read More →

The Borletti-Buitoni Trust announces fourteen exceptional young musicians – a string quartet, two piano trios, a pianist, violinist, violist and percussionist. Awards of £30,000 and Fellowships of £20,000 are provided for the advancement 
of their musical careers across a wide range of projects. As always the BBT team offers advice, encouragement and practical support, as well as finance, to help them realise their long held ambitions. Read More →

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