Musicians of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (Minnesota) have ratified a two-year extension of the current contract, which was set to expire June 30, 2016. The two-year extension will become effective July 1, 2016, extending the expiration date to June 30, 2018. Nearly all terms and conditions of the current contract will remain unchanged in the extension, except for increases in musician compensation. Read More →
Andrew Gourlay
(c) Natalia-Espina Lopez
32-year-old conductor Andrew Gourlay has been named as Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (OSCyL) in Valladolid. The will take up the appointment in January 2016, filling a position formerly held by Lionel Bringuier. His appointment flows naturally from the success of his work over the past two seasons as the Spanish orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor. Born in Jamaica, with Russian ancestry, Andrew Gourlay grew up in the Bahamas, Philippines, Japan and England. A trombonist and pianist by training, he studied conducting at the Royal College of Music
Katrin Lena Heles
Der Verwaltungsrat der Stiftung zur Förderung junger Künstler in Luxemburg, die aus der Stiftung der IKB International zur Förderung junger Künstler in Luxemburg hervorgegangen ist, hat den diesjährigen Preis an die Luxemburger Sängerin Katrin Lena Heles vergeben. Der Preis war 2015 dem klassischen Gesang vorbehalten. Read More →
Sergey Simakov (*1985) hat beim ‘International Conducting Competition Jeunesses Musicales’ in Bukarest den 1. Preis gewonnen. In insgesamt vier Wettbewerbsrunden hatten sich 50 junge Dirigenten aus der ganzen Welt einer siebenköpfigen Fachjury unter dem Vorsitz von Mark Stringer präsentiert. Neben dem Preisgeld in Höhe von 2.500 € erwarten den Preisträger Konzertengagements mit den Philharmonischen Orchestern von Craiova, Timişoara, Sibiu, Iaşi und dem Orchester der polnischen Stadt Kielce. Sergey Simakov wird seit 2012 durch das Dirigentenforum des Deutschen Musikrates gefördert.
The Juilliard School has announced plans for The Tianjin Juilliard School. The new school in Northern China is anticipated to open in 2018 in a new facility designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, a New York-City based architectural firm. Read More →
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Am morgigen 1. Oktober startet die Süddeutschland-Tour der Musiktheaterproduktion ‘Zaide. Eine Flucht’, die Anfang August beim Hohen Friedensfest in Augsburg Premiere hatte. Sie vereint Künstlerinnen und Künstler, die aus Syrien, dem Irak und Nigeria geflohen sind, mit einem europäischen Opernteam. Diesmal geht es in der Mozart-Oper ‘Zaide’ um eine junge Frau, die nicht lieben darf, wen sie mag. Read More →
Two weeks after the expiration of their old contract and with the help of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the orchestra’s Board announced the ratification of a new three-year collective bargaining agreement, effective September 14, 2015, through September 16, 2018. Read More →
Grigory Sokolov
Having read our article about Grigory Sokolow refusing the Cremona Music Award over an obvious incompatibility with Norman Lebrecht, the organizer sent us the following message which gives some background and their point of view. Read More →
In June it was announced as a serious option, today the Belgian group Pias Recordings confirmed that from 1 October on, Harmonia Mundi belongs to its portfolio. Within the group, Eva Coutaz will be a consultant for Harmonia Mundi productions. Pias was until now, not active in the field of classical music.
Jean-Yes Ossonce
(c) Christophe Gaye
French conductor Jean-Yves Ossonce has announced that he will quit his job as music director of the Grand Théâtre Lyrique et Symphonique in Tours at the end of the current season. In a letter to the mayor of Tours, he said, that after 16 years at the helm of the theatre and 20 years with the orchestra, he thought that the time has come for a change.
