The 20-year old Cosima Soulez-Larivière won First Prize at the Bartók World Competition in the category violin. Out of the 44 registered contestants, three were shortlisted for the Grand Final, the French-Dutch Cosima Soulez-Larivière, the Japanese Takagi Ririko and the Hungarian Ágnes Langer. The young musicians were judged in all rounds by the international jury headed by the violinist Salvatore Accardo. Second Prize was won by Takagi Ririko, while Ágnes Langer came third.
The University of Oregon fired British conductor Matthew Halls, Artistic Director of the Oregon Bach Festival, over a racist joke. The news went throughout the world. Now, American media report that the University pays the sacked musician $90,000 if he remains silent about the cause of the dismissal. Indeed, it looks like if the joke was not the real cause why Halls had to leave, a mere two months after his contract was extended, with an increased salary. Read More →
Ben Glassberg
The 55th international competition for young conductors in Besançon ended yesterday evening with the victory of the British conductor Ben Glassberg, 23, who obtained all the prices, the Grand Prix de direction 2017, the audience Awards (Coup de cœur du public) and the Coup de Coeur from the orchestra, the Orchestre national de Lyon. The jury was chaired by conductor Leonard Slatkin. Read More →
In the former cinema at Place d’Italie in Paris, closed 11 years ago, a new cultural project comes to enrich the cultural diversity of the French capital. Focussing mainly on theatre and other visual art forms, the program also comprises concerts (Saint-Saëns’s Carnaval des Animaux being played during the opening days, on September 28 and 29 by the Prague Philharmonia, with Gerard Depardieu as narrator. Read More →
In 2016/17, Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater earned close to 30 Million Euros from the sale of tickets, General Manager Vladimir Urin told the Russian press. The occupancy rate of the opera house was 97.8%.
Die Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern haben mit 82 000 Besuchern erneut die Zuschauerzahlen gesteigert. Das sind über 2000 Besucher mehr als 2016. 80 der 131 Konzerte an 84 Orten waren ausverkauft, im Schnitt waren 91 Prozent der Plätze besetzt, teilte das Festival mit.
Das Philharmonische Orchester der Stadt Trier soll vom Bundeskanzleramt bis zu 375 000 Euro aus dem Etat der Kulturstaatsministerin Monika Grütters erhalten. Das berichtet der ‘Trierische Volksfreund’ aufgrund einer Aussage des CDU-Bundestagsabgeordneten Bernhard Kaster. Die Mittel stammen aus dem Förderprogramm ‘Exzellente Orchesterlandschaft Deutschland’.
Eckart Preu
The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra concluded its first season under music director Eckart Preu with double-digit increases in attendance and ticket sales. And their Summermusik in August had its total attendance increased by 22 percent, and several smaller events quickly sold out. Sales of Festival Passes, which provided entry to all or several events, rose by 42 percent.
Nachdem Generalmusikdirektor Ryusuke Numajiri im Januar 2016 erklärt hatte, seinen Vertrag am Theater Lübeck am Ende der Saison 16/17 vorzeitig beenden zu wollen, gestaltet sich die Suche nach einem Nachfolger weiterhin höchst problematisch. Read More →
Charles Dutoit
(c) ICMA /Martin Hoffmeister
Es waren das ‘Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’ unter Charles Dutoit und die legendäre Pianistin Martha Argerich, die die diesjährige Saison der Luxemburger vor ausverkauftem Saal eröffneten. Alain Steffen berichtet. Read More →
