After struggling with financial problems for several years, the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra (Central California) has decided to cease operations. The orchestra may plan, if funding is possible, a grand celebratory concert with music director Heiichiro Ohyama who is leading the orchestra since 1983. The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1978.

The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is now accepting applications for the inaugural class of its new Minority Artist Fellowship (MAF) program for African-American and Latino Students. Read More →

French media report about the serious financial difficulties the lyric festival Chorégies d’Orange is facing despite a significant increase of visitors. The actual deficit is close to €1,5 million, and no bank seems willing to grant the festival a loan. Since the festival is auto-financing its activities by 80%, General Manager Jean-Louis Grinda has asked the public institutions to increase their funding. This looks however a bit optimistic, given the current austerity measures.

Anna Netrebko
(c) Werner/Tsui

Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko comes on top of the list of Russian top-earning musicians, Forbes said on Monday. Netrebko’s annual income amounted to $7.5 million, according to Forbes. The 45 years-old Netrebko said, Forbes lied about her income. « Your statements are not correct, stop lying! », she wrote on Facebook.

Nikolay Madoyan

Armenian-Jewish violinist Nikolay Madoyan (born in 1973 in Yerevan) has got the confirmation by the Committee of the Guinness Book of Records that he set up a world record while playing the violin for 33 hours (with breaks of 5 minutes each hour). The playing took place in February 2017 in the Chamber Chamber Music Hall in Yerevan. Madoyan performed 59 selected works by various composers.

Am 23. August wird der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron ein Konzert der Salzburger Festspiele besuchen und in einem Solistenabend Martha Argerich und Daniel Barenboim in Klavierwerken von Mozart und Debussy hören. Die Organisation liegt in den Händen der Luxemburgerin Suzanne Harf, Protokollchefin bei den Salzburger Festspielen.

The Festival Bravo! Vail (Vail, Colorado, is a small town at the base of Vail Mountain) and the New York Philharmonic have announced a five-year extension of the Orchestra’s annual summer residency through the summer of 2022. The orchestra has been performing at the festival since 2003.

Franco Zeffirelli
(c) Ufficio Stampa, Firenze

In the historical part of Florence, the Franco Zeffirelli International Center of the Performing Arts (Centro per le arti dello spettacolo Franco Zeffirelli) has been inaugurated yesterday in the absence of the 94-year-old film and theater director, who could not attend the event due to poor health. Read More →

Philippe Jordan
(c) JF Leclercq

Der Schweizer Philippe Jordan (*1974) wurde als Musikdirektor der Wiener Staatsoper ab 1. September 2020 verpflichtet. Das gab der designierte Direktor Bogdan Roscic heute bekannt. Read More →

Trondheim Solistene
(c) Nikolaj Lund

Kaum eine andere Sozialthematik dürfte in letzter Zeit die kulturelle Schöpfungskraft so angeregt haben wie das Thema Flüchtlinge. Es gibt viele Theater und Konzertsäle, wo es in der einen oder der anderen Form behandelt wird. Dieses Jahr widmete sich ihm das St. Olafs Festival in Trondheim mit einem Oratorium des schottischen Komponisten Alasdair Nicolson, das am 16. Juni auf den Orkney Inseln beim ‘St. Magnus Festival’ uraufgeführt wurde und am 28. Juli in Trondheim seine zweite Aufführung erlebte. Remy Franck berichtet aus der drittgrößten norwegischen Stadt. Read More →