Mariinsky Theatre
Photo: Valentin Baranovsky

More than thousand performances are scheduled for Mariinsky Theatre’s new season, said artistic director Valery Gergiev at a press conference in St. Petersburg. This number includes the performances of both the opera and ballet companies as well as of the symphony orchestra on the three Mariinsky stages, in many cities in Russia and abroad.

Toshio Hosokawa
(c) Schott - Christopher Peters

Luxembourg’s foremost ensemble for contemporary music, Lucilin, will be in Japan from October 1 to 4 on the occasion of the CD release of Toshio Hosokawa’s The Raven on Naxos. The Raven was commissioned by Lucilin to the Japanese composer. Based on the eponymous poem by Edgar Allan Poe, this monodrama for mezzo-soprano (Charlotte Hellekant) and ensemble (12 musicians) has been performed for the first time in a concert version in Brussels during the Ars Musica festival 2012.

Vladimir Ashkenazy and Violetta Egorova, President & Founder of the Sergei Rachmaninov International Award

Vladimir Ashkenazy has been awarded the Sergei Rachmaninov International Award 2014. The ceremony took place in Lugano, Switzerland, on September 21. The Sergei Rachmaninov International Award, which was created in 2013, is awarded to musicians who have made special contributions to Rachmaninov’s compositions. Read More →

Gustavo Gimeno
(c) Marco Borggreve

Als einen Akt kollektiver Apathie wertet Remy Franck das Einstandskonzert von Gustavo Gimeno an der Spitze der Luxemburger Philharmoniker. Dem ehemaligen Paukisten und 2014 zum Dirigent mutierten Musiker fehle es noch an Metier, heißt es in der Pizzicato-Rezension. Read More →

Vier von elf Vorstandmitgliedern der UGDA, dem Dachverband der Musikvereine in Luxemburg, haben gestern, einer Meldung von ‘Radio 100,7’ zufolge, ihr Amt niedergelegt: Präsident Louis Karmeyer, die Vizepräsidenten Robert Köller und Gilbert Girsch und auch Kassierer André Heinen. Angeblich waren Differenzen mit Generalsekretär Jeannot Clement die Ursache für den Streit im Führungsgremium.

Jean Muller
(c) Marlene Soares

The Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra (OCL) has announced the appointment of pianist Jean Muller as its new Artistic director. He will take this post in 2016. Conductor David Reiland, who is currently the artistic director, will stay with OCL as its Music Director. Read More →

Welsh National Opera has announced today that Czech conductor Tomas Hanus will take up the position of Music Director in autumn 2016, succeeding Lothar Koenigs. At the same time, Carlo Rizzi has been named Conductor Laureate with WNO with immediate effect. Born in 1970, Tomas Hanus studied with Jiri Belohlavek at the Janacek Academy of Music and Drama in Brno. He has a strong relationship with the Bayerische Staatsoper, and guest-conducts also at other opera houses in Europe.

Belgian Government wants, in long-term, merge the orchestra of the opera house La Monnaie and the Belgian National Orchestra. This has been confirmed by the Ministry of Culture. Read More →

Die deutsche Musikwirtschaft hat 2014 rund elf Milliarden Euro umgesetzt. Mit insgesamt 127.000 Selbständigen und Arbeitnehmern übertraf sie die Erwerbstätigenzahlen jeder anderen Medienbranche. Die Bruttowertschöpfung lag 2014 mit rund 3,9 Milliarden Euro sogar über der von Filmwirtschaft, Rundfunk, sowie Buch- oder Zeitschriftenverlagen. Das geht aus einer Studie der Universität Jena (Professur für Kommunikationswissenschaft mit dem Schwerpunkt Ökonomie und Organisation der Medien) hervor, in der untersucht wurde, welchen Beitrag die Unternehmen der deutschen Musikwirtschaft in Deutschland aktuell zur Einkommensentstehung und Beschäftigung leisten. Read More →

Diana Damrau
Photo: Tanja Niemann

German Soprano Diana Damrau (44) has announced that she will not sing for two and a half months. On her website she writes: « After 15 years of performing with little or no time for substantial rest and recuperation, along with the demands that come with a beautiful, young family, my body has reached the point when it is now ‘insisting’ that I pause for a short time. Read More →