A new production of Richard Strauss’s Salome has raised a storm of protest in Belfast. The staging features a short scene – 10 seconds – where Salome is totally nude. The audience had been warned before the show, so that people who thought they could be offended had the choice to give their tickets back.
Director Oliver Mears told the Belfast Telegraph he was surprised by the controversy over the on-stage nudity: « I think we’re all a little bemused that nudity is still an issue in this day and age, especially given the well-known context, and the fact that it is 10 seconds in an opera of one hour and 35 minutes. »

‘Alma und das Genie’ nennt sich ein Musical über Alma Mahler, das am Montag, 2. Februar im Berliner Theater des Westens uraufgeführt wurde. « Wiens Jahrhundertmuse ist zurück! » sagen die Produzenten und Schauspieler Nini Stadlmann und Tom van Hasselt vom Ensemble ‘Stammzellformation’: « Sie hatte sie alle. Alle Künste und deren Alpha-Männer: Musik (Mahler, Zemlinsky), Malerei (Klimt, Kokoschka), Literatur (Hauptmann, Werfel), Architektur (Gropius). Read More →

Michal Klauza
(c) M. Heller

Michal Klauza (41) has been appointed Music Director of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw. He takes over from Lukasz Borowicz who held the post for eight years. Klauza studied conducting at the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw as well as at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg. In 1998-2003 he worked at the National Opera in Warsaw. From 2004 until 2008 he served as Associate Conductor of the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff. Since 2009 he has served as Associate Conductor of the National Polish Radio SO in Katowice.

In the Netherlands, an organization is presenting itself under the name of ICMA 2015 – International Classical Music Auditions, with a corporate identity resembling very much to the one of the International Classical Music Awards, ICMA. The ICMA’s President, Remy Franck, said: « We are upset that music professionals are using our name, internationally known since 2010, and present it with a logo very similar to ours for their own purposes. I would like to underline that ICMA International Classical Music Awards has absolutely nothing to do with that organization, and we only can hope that the possible confusion will not harm the international recognition and independence of ICMA International Classical Music Awards. »

Selten hat eine politische Entscheidung im Kulturbereich einen derartigen Sturm der Entrüstung ausgelöst wie die Ankündigung der Stadt München und des Freistaates Bayern, trotz aller deutlichst gemachter Versprechungen, keinen neuen Konzertsaal in München zu bauen, sondern ab 2020 den Saal des Gasteig zu renovieren. Read More →

The ICMA Board: Serhan Bali, Martin Hoffmeister, Remy Franck, Pierre-Jean Tribot., Michelle Debra

During their General Assembly in Leipzig, last weekend, the ICMA Jury members elected the ICMA Executive Board for the next three years. The current board members, Remy Franck as President, Michelle Debra and Pierre-Jean Tribot as Vice Presidents as well as Martin Hoffmeister were confirmed, while the vacant seat of Stephen Hastings was taken by Serhan Bali, editor in chief of the Turkish magazine Andante. Read More →

Neue Entwicklung: die Stadt München wird keinen neuen Konzertsaal bekommen. Stattdessen planen Stadt und Freistaat Bayern zusammen einen akustisch hochwertigen Konzertsaal in der alten Hülle der Philharmonie im Kulturzentrum Gasteig, die entsprechend umgebaut werden soll. Dies teilten Ministerpräsident Horst Seehofer und Oberbürgermeister Dieter Reiter am heutigen Montag mit.

Mahlers Komponierhäuschen in Toblach
Photo: Remy Franck

Vom 18. bis 30. Juli 2015 finden in Toblach / Dobbiaco (Südtirol/Italien) die Gustav-Mahler-Musikwochen bereits zum 35. Mal statt. Verantwortlich für den musikalischen Teil ist erneut Josef Lanz. Er hat auch für dieses Jahr ein anspruchsvolles und abwechslungsreiches Programm mit lokalen und internationalen Künstlern zusammengestallt. Im Rahmen des Festivals findet auch die Verleihung des Mahler-Schallplattenpreises ‘Toblacher Komponierhäuschen’ statt. Pizzicato-Chefredakteur Remy Franck ist erneut Mitglied in der Jury, deren Vorsitz Attila Csampai hat. Read More →

Danish National Opera invites the audience to be a key part of a performance of Così fan tutte. Once the audience is in their seats and the doors are closed, everyone is invited to vote for a classic or a modern staging. The volume of the audience’s applause determines the choice and shortly afterwards the curtain rises … Read More →

Aldo Ciccolini

French-Italian pianist Aldo Ciccolini, who won the Lifetime Achievement Award of ICMA in 2013, died today, aged 89. He was born in August 1925 in Naples. He began his performing career playing at the Teatro San Carlo at the age of 16. The ICMA Jury said in 2013: « A pianistic legend in his own lifetime, Aldo Ciccolini has been performing all over the world for more than seventy years now. His numerous recordings, some of which offer a generous overview of a composer’s works, have gained ever-increasing critical recognition with the passing decades. At a very advanced age he continues to share his passion for music with audiences and his profound knowledge of the repertoire with his pupils. ICMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 honors a great musician and an extraordinary personality. »