Mit dem Preisträgerkonzert endete gestern Abend in Berlin der diesjährige Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerb. In diesem Jahr wurde er in den Fächern Violine und Klaviertrio ausgetragen, und Studierende 20 unterschiedlicher Nationalitäten nahmen am Wettbewerb teil. Hier eine Übersicht der Preisträgerinnen und Preisträger. Read More →

Peter Ewaldt, Erster Kapellmeister am Salzburger Landestheater, ist am Wochenende im Alter von 65 Jahren verstorben, melden die ‘Salzburger Nachrichten’. Ewaldt war ein Salzburger Urgestein. Am Mozarteum ausgebildet, wirkte er als Assistent bei den Salzburger Festspielen u.a. für Herbert von Karajan. Seit 1981 arbeitete er als Erster Kapellmeister am Salzburger Landestheater.

Corum, Montpellier

One of the most important French festivals, Festival Radio France Montpellier Occitanie is risking to lose €200.000 from its funding by the Region, the newspaper Midi Libre reports. This subvention was by now as high as €2,5 million and represented 65% of the total budget. Festival manager Jean-Pierre Rousseau said, that all the contacts for 2017 are signed and that he will not be able to save money on the artistic side.

Russian pianist Anatoly Katz died on 21 January in Saratov at the age of 81. Born in St. Petersburg, he graduated in Saratov, where he later would teach and become Artistic director of the Saratov Regional Philharmonic. His piano playing was known for its extraordinary culture of sound. Anatoly Katz has played many solo and symphonic programs in Russia and abroad.

I, Remy Franck, am a journalist and as such « among the most dishonest human beings on earth », Donald Trump said on Saturday. The Potus is angry because the press showed with unquestionable evidence that the crowd attending his inauguration was considerably smaller than the one which greeted President Obama. Read More →

Das Stadttheater Trier sucht zurzeit einen neuen Generalmusikdirektor, der ab  2018 die Nachfolge des Franzosen Victor Puhl antreten soll. Es wird eine märchenhafte Entscheidung: Vier Kandidaten werden in den kommenden Wochen je eine Vorstellung von Humperdincks Oper ‘Hänsel und Gretel’ dirigieren. Read More →

Petr Nekoranec

Czech tenor Petr Nekoranec, 24, won First Prize at the 54th edition of the International Singing Competition Francisco Vinas in Barcelona. Since September 2014, Nekoranec has been a member of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and it’s Opera Studio. Read More →

Kahchun Wong
(c) Michael Trippel

Kahchun Wong, 30, gebürtig aus Singapur, wird als Nachfolger von Howard Shelley neuer Chefdirigent der Nürnberger Symphoniker. Sein Kontrakt beginnt mit der Saison 2018/19 und läuft über vier Jahre. Wenn alles nach Planung geht, könnte er also den neuen Konzertsaal in Nürnberg eröffnen, der 2022 fertig sein soll. Read More →

The new Potus (President of the United States) is willing to close the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, considering arts in general as a waste. Red this shaking commentary of American arts insider Drew McManus which will lead you to several other articles on the same subject. Even though the federal funding of music projects is minimal, the Potus’s idea of changing the tax rules for donations is the real threat.

Frédéric Chopin
(c) Polish Institute Paris

A previously unpublished portrait of Fryderyk Chopin has been discovered, according to the Polish Radio. It was discovered by Chopin-enthusiast Swiss physicist Alain Kohler in the living room of another fan of the composer and is likely a reproduction of a daguerreotype taken around 1847. There exist only two other portraits of Chopin, reproductions of which the originals were lost in World War II. The newly discovered photo is now at the Polish Institute in Paris. Read More →

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