The set work for the ARD competition is for solo viola – but not exclusively. Some special bells are used in the first movement. How exactly do they sound, and what is the challenge for the perfomer?
The bells are tied to the player’s foot, and they have to play them at the same time as the music, without any stamping noises on the floor. Playing another instrument as well as the main one is not only a musical act for me. It is also a challenge, because you have to coordinate your physical balance as well as the spiritual balance of different sounds. Read More →

John Adams: Doctor Atomic; Gerald Finley (Dr. Robert Oppenheimer), Brindley Sherratt (Edward Teller), Andrew Staples (Robert Wilson), Julia Bullock (Kitty Oppenheimer), Jennifer Johnston (Pasqualita), Aubrey Allicock (General Leslie Groves), Marcus Farnworth (Frank Hubbard), Samuel Sakker (Captain James Nolan), BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams; 2 CDs Nonesuch 7559 79310-7; Aufnahme 04/2017, Veröffentlichung 06/2018 (157'15) – Rezension von Uwe Krusch

Dies ist die zweite Einspielung der zweiaktigen Oper ‘Doctor Atomic’. Sie entstand unter der Leitung des Komponisten John Adams. Die Aufnahme des im postminimalistischen Stil gehaltenen Werks präsentiert erneut Gerald Finley in der Rolle des Robert J. Oppenheimer. Das Werk befasst sich mit emotionalen Spannungen und Ängsten der am Manhattan-Projekt Beteiligten während der Vorbereitungen zum Test der ersten Atombombe. Read More →

Organized by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the second Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition was certainly an inspiring event. Remy Franck looks retrospectively on the competition, the final of which he attended in the Chinese megalopolis. Read More →

With the idea of creating stronger links with its audience, Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla has launched the ROSSClub. « ROSSClub is a community about the Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla. It will bring together all music lovers who want to live music close up and be in direct contact with the orchestra », the management says. Read More →

With its new Music Director Fabio Luisi, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will implement a new strategic plan. Key initiatives include ‘Women in Classical Music’, designed to elevate the role of women in classical music and increase female representation in the field. The idea is to create dialogue about and opportunities for female musicians at all stages in their careers. Read More →

ICMA Jury member Bernadette Beyne passed away last Sunday, 29 July, at the age of 69. Founder, in 1993, of the Belgian music magazine Crescendo, together with Michelle Debra, Bernadette Beyne was editor in chief of the magazine. Read More →

British conductor and keyboard player Richard Egarr, 54, will step down as Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) at the end of the 2020-21 season, following fifteen years in the post. Egarr took up the post of Music Director in April 2006, succeeding AAM founder Christopher Hogwood. Egarr was recently appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague from 2019. Read More →

Lucilin, the Luxembourg based ensemble for contemporary music has announced that in 2017 it reached 16.000 visitors through 42 performances (16 in Luxembourg, 26 abroad). 22 concerts were sold out. Read More →

The Venice Symphony (Florida) has announced the appointment of American conductor Troy Quinn, 34, as Music Director from the 2018-19 season. Quinn completed his three-year tenure as Music Director of the Juneau Symphony with his final concert on June 3, 2018. Read More →

The Leeds International Piano Competition announced that the new Yaltah Menuhin Award will be presented to the 2018 Competition pianist who demonstrates the greatest collaborative and empathetic qualities in the chamber performance of the semi-final. Read More →