The Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer as its next Music Director from March 2020. Fischer will conduct the Orchestra for eight weeks in 2020 and for 12 weeks in subsequent years. According to a statement by the orchestra, the Swiss conductor was the search committee’s first choice. Read More →

Since ancient times, philosophers have sought to cultivate happiness and well-being. Their intuitions about the benefits of shared creative experiences have now been confirmed by pioneering scientific research conducted by University College London (UCL) in partnership with Eric Whitacre and Music Productions. The detailed study, led by UCL Senior Research Fellow and BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker Dr Daisy Fancourt, shows how singing in a virtual choir delivers significant psychological benefits. Read More →

Ravel l'exotique; Maurice Ravel: Shéhérazade + Introduction et allegro + Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, M. 64 + Tzigane, Rapsodie de concert, M. 76 + Rapsodie Espagnole, M. 54; Marie Lenormand, Mezzosopran, Iris Torrosian, Harfe, Pablo Schatzman, Violine, Ensemble Musica Nigella, Takénori Némoto; 1 CD Klarthe K083; Aufnahme 06/2018, Veröffentlichung 31/05/2019 (62'50) – Rezension von Remy Franck

Marie Lenormand ist eine extrem stilvolle Interpretin der Vokalwerke von Ravel. Sie werden mit einem guten Gespür für den Text gesungen, auch wenn die Textverständlichkeit zu wünschen übrig lässt. Die Stimme bleibt in jedem Moment weich und ausdrucksvoll. Hervorragend ist auch die Begleitung durch das Ensemble Musica Nigella, das alle Farben der von Dirigent Takénori Némoto exzellent bearbeiteten Partituren aufs Schönste aufblühen lässt. Read More →

The family name does not sound French at all: indeed, it is that of her mother Inge, a Danish soprano who has often sung at the Opéra royal de Wallonie. Very French, however, is her father, Gilles Ramade, a versatile artist, singer, pianist, director, composer, who has devoted many efforts to break the boundaries between musical genres, including rock, musical comedy and opera. Read More →

Aside from his regular education, he has also received musical stimuli from attending masterclasses with renowned bassoonists, such as Sergio Azzolini and Bence Boganyi. During his high-school years, he got his first major orchestral experiences. Matko Smolcic performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician. Since his repertoire stretches from Baroque to Contemporary music, he performs at a vast number of events and festivals both in his native Croatia and throughout Europe (Slovenia, England, Austria, Switzerland, Wales etc.). Read More →

The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, orchestra-in-residence of the KKL Luzern, is hosting this year’s ICMA Gala and Award Ceremony on May 10, at the KKL. As Switzerland’s oldest symphony orchestra, it has gained an international standing and is perceived as one of the leading Swiss orchestras. Strongly anchored in Lucerne, a city with a worldwide reputation for music, the orchestra offers a number of concert cycles and organises the Zaubersee Festival of Russian chamber music in Lucerne. It also acts as the opera orchestra of the Lucerne Theatre. James Gaffigan was appointed Chief Conductor of the orchestra in the 2011/12 season. Read More →

You are awarded with the ICMA Liftetime Achievement Award and yet, alongside your predecessors in the award, Menahem Pressler, still active, or Aldo Ciccolini, who played until almost the moment of his death, you are a child …
Well, a child… I remember my childhood often, I remember a lot of the past, but when it comes to music I always look forward. I have had several lives. I would say as many as seven different lives, each very recognizable, sometimes with radical changes and they are like a sum that gives a whole life, mine. One, but well divided into seven parts. Read More →

How does one become a composer today?
In reality, I never thought about being a composer. In my case it was completely irrational. I remember perfectly the first time I wanted to compose something. I was tired of hearing the same thing from my Walkman and I chose to record something created by myself with instruments that I could play. Read More →

In Warschau endete am vergangenen Osterwochenende die 23. Ausgabe des Beethoven-Festivals. Zwei Wochen lang präsentierten sich in 20 Konzerten Orchester, Solisten, Dirigenten Kammermusik-Ensembles und Chöre aus aller Welt. Gerahmt wurde die Reihe von einem musikwissenschaftlichen Symposium, einer Beethoven-Autographen-Schau in der Krakauer Jagiellonen-Bibliothek und zahlreichen externen Konzerten in anderen polnischen Metropolen. Im Gespräch mit Pizzicato resümiert Musikpublizist und ICMA-Jury- Mitglied Martin Hoffmeister das Geschehen. Read More →

Letters to Bach; Noa, Gesang, Gil Dor, Gitarre; 1 CD Naïve NJ6994; Aufnahme ?, Veröffentlichung 15/3/19 (27’55) - Rezension von Alain Steffen

Diese Bearbeitungen von Bach-Stücken im Stile von World- resp. Jazz-Liedern sind auf jeden Fall hörenswert. Arrangiert vom Gitarristen Gil Dor behält Bachs Musik ihre Ursprünglichkeit, gewinnt aber durch eine neue Einfachheit an Reiz dazu. Die israelische Sängerin Noa sieht ihr Projekt als eine Liebeserklärung an die Musik von Bach und diese Liebe und Respekt spürt man in jedem der elf Lieder. Read More →