This fall, the Yale Symphony Orchestra will begin a new era as 70-year-old English conductor William Boughton assumes the role of Music Director and Associate Professor, adjunct, of Music. Boughton, who served as interim conductor for the 2018-2019 academic year, was enthusiastically recommended by the search committee and YSO members from a field of over 100 applicants.

British pianist and inventor Sarah Nicolls has launched a Kickstarter fundraising to develop a new piano, The Standing Grand. According to theannouncment, the Standing Grand will be light and compact enough to bring the fullness of a grand piano’s sound into modern homes, practise rooms and small venues.  Read More →

Joseph Haydn: Symphonien Nr. 44, 75, 92 für Klavier solo, arrangiert von Carl David Stegmann; Ivan Ilic, Klavier; 1 CD Chandos CHAN20142; Aufnahme 02/2019,    Veröffentlichung 08/2019 (68'42) – Rezension von Remy Franck

Carl David Stegmann (1751-1826) startete seine Karriere als Schauspieler und Sänger, was auch seine Haupttätigkeit blieb. Als Komponist schrieb er Ballette, Singspiele und Bühnenmusiken. Für seinen Freund, den Verleger Nikolaus Simrock, transkribierte er zwischen 1811 und 1814 Haydn-Symphonien, von denen drei Stück auf dieser CD in Ersteinspielungen zu hören sind. Read More →

Is it true that, in 1983, you wrote a letter to President Reagan to stop him warring with Mikhail Gorbachev?
I did. How did you know that!? [Gasps] I was thirteen and, you know, it was at the height of the nuclear cold war, and it didn’t make sense to me at all. I sat down, and I typed out a letter and wrote, “Dear President Reagan, I just don’t understand the complexity of this situation” I was saying in (probably) simpler terms: “I’m sure if you and Gorbachev could sit down and talk it out, person to person, you could sort everything out. I’m sure of it”. And I got a response. “The President loves hearing from young people, and we appreciate your feedback” and all I’d say is that a few years later the wall fell – So, you know… Read More →

The Spanish guitarist Alberto Ponce passed away on 25 July at the age of 84. Ponce grew up under the guidance of his father, also a guitarist, and of Emilio Pujol, who led him to study at the Lisbon Conservatory and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana di Siena. Read More →

George de Decker: Wit In Wit - Goldberg Variations Revisited; Geert Callaert, Klavier, zugespieltes Band mit Instrumentalbeiträgen; 2 CDs Antarctica Records AR 012; Aufnahmen 01/2018, Veröffentlichung 05/2019 (160'42) – Rezension von Uwe Krusch

Das Studium der Goldberg Variationen von Johann Sebastian Bach und schon existierender Auseinandersetzungen mit diesem Werk haben George de Decker zu einem eigenen Ansatz geführt. In diesem als ‘Weiß in Weiß’ betitelten Werk mit der doppelten Dauer des Originals setzt Decker sich sehr persönlich mit dem Werk auseinander. Read More →

Herbert Howells: Te Deum + An English Mass + Magnificat + Cello Concerto + Paen + Master Tallis’s Testament + Rhapsody Nr 3; Guy Johnston, Cello,The Choir of King’s College Cambridge, King’s Voices, Britten Sinfonia, Christopher Seman, Stephen Cleobury; 2 CDs King’s College KGS0032, Aufnahme 2018-2019, Veröffentlichung 06/2019 (103'37) - Rezension von Guy Engels

37 Jahre leitete Stephen Cleobury den Choir of King’s College. Im Herbst zieht er sich zurück und hinterlässt als Vermächtnis eine stattliche Zahl von Aufnahmen, denen er nun eine letzte Produktion hinzugefügt hat: Musik von Herbert Howells. Das Doppel-Album präsentiert ganz unterschiedliche Facetten von Howells‘ Schaffen. Allein das macht die Aufnahme interessant und spannend. Read More →

After 40 years, Stephen Gunzenhauser, 77, will retire as conductor of Lancaster Symphony (Pennsylvania) following the 2019-20 season, the Orchestra said. He was appointed in 1979. Read More →

Researchers of EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) have completed a first analysis of Beethoven’s writing style, applying statistical techniques to unlock recurring patterns, the school communicated. Read More →

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 →