Galina Vishnevskaya

In Moscow the winner of the competition for the best design of the monument to singer Galina Vishnevskaya was officially presented. The monument will be installed next to the Vishnevskaya Opera Center in Moscow. Read More →

Andrea Battistoni

The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra has announced the appointment of Andrea Battistoni as Chief Conductor, effective immediately. Born in Verona Italy in 1987, Battistoni’s early career included engagements with Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Mariinsky Theatre, Dresden State Opera, Stockholm Royal Opera, and many more. Read More →

In der laufenden Spielzeit werden wieder sechs junge Sängerinnen und Sänger ausgewählt, die ab der Saison 2017/2018 für zwei Jahre im Internationalen Opernstudio der Berliner Staatsoper ausgebildet und tätig sein werden. Noch bis zum 31. Oktober können sich Sänger, die über einen entsprechenden Hochschulabschluss verfügen und nicht älter als 30 Jahre alt sind, bewerben.

Peter Gülke

Zwischen dem Intendanten des Brandenburger Theaters, Klaus Deschner (73) und dem Chefdirigenten Peter Gülke (82) kriselt es. Daher will der Intendant den Vertrag des Dirigenten, der im Sommer 2017 ausläuft, nicht verlängern. Sein Orchester stellte sich jetzt hinter ihn. Die Brandenburger Symphoniker haben sich am Wochenende einstimmig für eine Verlängerung des Vertrages um ein weiteres Jahr ausgesprochen.

Unlike the strike in Philadelphia, the one in Pittsburgh seems not close to an end. The orchestra’s management has cancelled all concerts though the entire month of October.

The Philadelphia Orchestra ended a brief strike shortly after announcing it last Friday. After new negotiations with a mediator on Saturday, the musicians and management agreed now to a three-year contract that included a 2 percent raise in the first year and raises of 2½ percent in the second and third years. The contract will bring the players’ base pay to $137,800 by the final year.

The Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress has awarded commissions for new musical works to five composers. The commissions are granted jointly by the foundation and the organizations that will present performances of the newly composed works. Read More →

Franz Patay
(c) Simlinger

The runour reported by Pizzicato was correct. Franz Patay has been named General Manager of Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (Raimund Theater, Ronacher, Theater an der Wien & Wiener Kammeroper). He thus becomes one of the most important cultural managers in Austria. He takes over the new job immediately, and will at the same time work as rector of the private University Musik und Kunst in Vienna until the beginning of 2017. Patay is also Manager of the IMZ (Internationales Musik & Medien Zentrum Wien) and as such member if the ICMA Jury.

For his presidential campaign in 2012, French politician Nicolas Sarkozy commissioned a special hymn. It was written by composer Laurent Ferlet and recorded by a Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra. Total cost: 86.000 Euros. This was revealed by the French television program France 2 (Envoyé special). Roi Soleil is revived.

Sir Neville Marriner
(c) Richard Holt

British conductor Sir Neville Marriner died today ‘peacefully in the night on 2 October’, as says a statement from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, whose founder he was. Read More →