Philharmonie Luxembourg
(c) Wade Zimmermann

Following an invitation by the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) will hold its annual General Assembly, January 18-20, in Luxembourg. Read More →

Charles Dutoit
(c) Bruno Fidrych

According to a press release from the RPO, the Royal Philarmonic and Charles Dutoit have together decided to bring forward his resignation from his role as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. Charles Dutoit had already announced in June 2017 that he would stand down in October 2019; this will now take place with immediate effect. Read More →

Das ‘Lucerne Festival’ hat heute die Absage der Konzerte des ‘Simon Bolivar Orchesters’ aus Venezuela unter Gustavo Dudamel im September 2018 mitgeteilt. Das ist ein weiteres Zeichen dafür, dass dieses Orchester, einst Aushängeschild des Musiklebens in Venezuela, quasi am Ende ist. Die Regierung des Diktators Maduro hat es zugrunde gerichtet.

Sebastien Rouland
(c) Ledroit-Perrin

Der französischer Dirigent Sébastien Rouland wird neuer Generalmusikdirektor am Saarländischen Staatstheater, als Nachfolger von Nicholas Milton, der seit 2014 am Saarländischen Staatstheater tätig war. Er wird im August 2018 sein Amt antreten. Das teilte das Theater heute mit. Read More →

Georges Bizet

The council of the French department Yvelines has announced to acquire the house of Georges Bizet in Bougival for one million €. The council says that it will put « all the expertise of its services at the disposal of the development of the ambitious cultural and tourist project of Bougival ». On this site will be created a European Music Centre (CEM) designed and chaired by Portuguese baritone Jorge Chaminé. Read More →

Dieter Oehms
(c) Dorothee Falke

Das deutsche Label OehmsClassics ist jetzt Teil der Naxos-Gruppe. Eine entsprechende Vereinbarung zur Übernahme der Geschäftsanteile wurde bereits unterzeichnet, teilt das Label mit. Read More →

Seine Musicale
(c) Insula Orchestra

In November, rumours said, the Artistic Director of the new hall La Seine Musicale in western Paris, Jean-Luc Choplin, would possibly quit his position only a few months after the hall’s inauguration. Read More →

Russian bass Alexander Vedernikov is dead, his son, conductor Alexander Vedernikov told Russian media. Alexander Vedernikov Sr. was born on December 23, 1927 in the village of Mokinino in the Kirov region. After he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1955, he was soloist of the Leningrad Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet (now Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg). He won First Prize at the International Schumann Competition in Berlin in 1956. Read More →

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
(c) Maxim Schulz

The Elbphilharmonie Hamburg opened on 11 January 2017. One year later it publishes impressing figures. Some 850.000 people attended over 600 concerts, more than 4.5 million visited the Plaza terrace that offers a fabulous panorama of the city. Nearly 70,000 visitors took part in guided tours of the concert halls, and the Elbphilharmonie’s music education programme attracted over 60,000 people of all ages as participants.

Irish National Opera (INO) launches tonight (9 January) with a gala concert at Dublin’s National Concert Hall. The new company which was created through the merging of Wide Open Opera and Opera Theatre Company, will present seven operas in its first year, five of them new productions, and tour to 13 venues in Ireland and London’s Barbican Centre. Read More →