German composer Wilhelm Killmayer has died on Sunday, 20 August, one day before his 90th birthday. Killmayer studied conducting and composition from 1945 to 1951 in Munich. He was also a private student of Carl Orff from 1951 and was admitted to his master class at the Staatliche Musikhochschule in 1953. Read More →
The nationalist Polish Government will not like it: Fidelio, Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera – an homage to freedom and a strong expression of opposition to enslavement and political oppression – will be played by the Expat Philharmonic Orchestra in Gdansk, Poland, on 1 September. Read More →
Die Seefestspiele Mörbisch haben eine positive Bilanz der diesjährigen Festspielausgabe gezogen. Insgesamt besuchten 112.300 Besucher die 23 Vorstellungen des Operettenfestivals, das in diesem Jahr sein 60-jähriges Jubiläum feierte. Im Zentrum der Festspiele stand die Operette ‘Der Vogelhändler’. Read More →
Gustavo Dudamel
The performance of the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, scheduled for September 17 at the Hollywood Bowl has been cancelled, the Los Angeles Phil says in a press release. Beyond this lines, it’s important to read that the Venezuelan Government under dictator Maduro has cancelled all the September concerts of the Youth Orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, who seems now to be persona non grata in his home country, due to his open letters against the regime.
Bayreuth, Festspielhaus
Pizzicato-Mitarbeiter Alain Steffen hat sich bei den Bayreuther Festspielen 2017 Barrie Koskys ‘Meistersiunegr’-Inszenierung angesehen. Und ist begeistert. Read More →
Not wanting to be complicit in Donald Trump’s words and actions, the remaining 16 members of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities resigned in protest last Friday. The letter they sent the POTUS provides a damning verdict on his political action and calls him to resign.
Here is the full text of this letter which is worthwhile to be read and shared. Read More →
Das Ehepaar Trump werde nicht an der Verleihung der Kennedy-Center-Auszeichnungen im Dezember teilnehmen, teilte das Weiße Haus mit. Read More →
Alberto Ferro
(c) Remy Franck
In Vevey, Switzerland, the jury of the Clara Haskil Competition (Anne Queffélec, Elza Kolodin, Marc Pantillon, Christian Zacharias among others) has selected the candidates for the semi-finals. Read More →
Mit der 28. Aufführung der Bizet-Oper Carmen enden am Sonntag die Bregenz Festspiele. Die Oper wird dann eine Besucherauslastung von 100 Prozent erreicht haben. Rund 200.000 Personen haben ein Ticket für ‘Carmen’ gekauft. Insgesamt werden voraussichtlich rund 261.992 Gäste die Bregenzer Festspiele 2017 besucht haben. Nur im Jahr 2014 kamen mehr Menschen zu dem 1946 gegründeten Sommerfestival am Bodensee.
Gustavo Dudamel
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has furiously attacked conductor Gustavo Dudamel yesterday in a TV statement. After the open letters of Dudamel criticizing the Maduro government, Maduro said « Welcome to politics, Gustavo Dudamel. But act with ethics, and don’t let yourself be deceived into attacking the architects of this beautiful movement of young boys and girls », speaking of course of El Sistema. Maduro said, Dudamel had betrayed the socialist government and El Sistema as well.
