On Friday, 22 February, Midori will be guest at the Komischen Oper Berlin. Togehter with the Orchestra of the Komischen Oper Berlin, conducted by Hermann Bäumer, she will perform Schumann’s Violinkonzert.
The concert in detail:
22 February, 20h – Berlin, Komische Oper
Orchestra of the Komischen Oper Berlin, Hermann Bäumer
Schumann: Violin Concerto
You can find further informtion here.
Omer Meir Wellber conducts the revival performances of Wagner’s Tannhäuser on Sunday, 17 February at the Semperoper Dresden. Further performances take place on 2 and 10 March 2019.
Those will be Omer Meir Wellber’s first opera performances, since he became Principal Guest Conductor at the Semperoper in September 2018.
Find further information on the Tannhäuser here.
On 14 February, Midori attends the 42nd annual Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) of the U.N. During the Governing Council’s opening ceremony, Pope Francis addresses heads-of-state, government ministers, and policy and development leaders. Midori performs for an audience of dignitaries including the Pope and speaks about her field visit to an IFAD-funded project in Viet Nam last December with her non-profit Music Sharing. Other special events, panels and interactive sessions include guests like 15-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg or Rwandan choreographer Sherrie Silver. The complete Governing Council is webcast. Here you can also read a webstory about Midori’s visit in Viet Nam, including a video.
On 14 and 15 February 2019, conductor Kent Nagano will be guest with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich and will stand at the rostrum of the orchestra for two concerts in the Herkulessaal.
On the program will be works by Messiaen and Berlioz. BR-KLASSIK will broadcast the concert on Friday, 15 February live. Click here for the intermezzo talk for the live broadcast with Kent Nagano, already online on the homepage of BR Klassik.
Find here further information on both concerts.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director Manfred Honeck have recently revealed their new season 2019/20:
In autumn 2019 they will embark on an 11-concert, 10-city, five-country European Tour.
Further highlights include the performance of the work Fountain of Youth by Pulitzer Price winner Julia Wolfe, a PSO co-commission together with Carnegie Hall and the New World Symphony, which will have its PSO premiere as the opening work of the 19/20 season under the baton of Manfred Honeck. Julia Wolfe is Musical America Composer of the Year 2019. Also the Beethoven anniversary in 2020 will be honoured by the orchestra, among others with a concert version of Fidelio as well as with the Missa Solemnis together with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.
Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan or Latvian violinist Baiba Skride will make their debuts with the PSO among others. Renowned artists, like Gil Shaham, Hélène Grimaud, Augustin Hadelich and Yefim Bronfman will return to the PSO.
Winner of the prestigious Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance in 2018, the Pittsburgh Symphony and Music Director Manfred Honeck will join forces again with recording weekends in January and June of 2020. Works to be recorded for future release include Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. The latest CD with Beethoven‘s Symphony No. 3 „Eroica“ and Strauss‘ horn concerto No. 1 is nominated for the Grammy 2019, this time in three categories “Best Orchestral Performance”, “Best Engineered Album, Classical” and “Producer of the Year, Classical”.
Music Director Manfred Honeck about the new season: “This season promises to be a compelling musical journey that will inspire and provoke Pittsburgh and audiences beyond. At heart, we are all humans and need to share love, laughter, sadness and joy. At the center of this stand-out season is the exceptional artistry of our Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians and the power of great music to stir the soul. We are excited to introduce you to new works and new musical voices, and to discover new ways with signature works and with returning friends. I’m particularly looking forward to exploring the meaning and the stories behind the music of Mozart and Beethoven, two of the most significant and profound musical giants and visionaries.”
Find here further information on the new season of the PSO and Manfred Honeck.
»3 Composers – 3 Continents« – Under this motto, composers Nico Muhly from the USA, Sven Helbig from Germany and Zhou Long from China are currently composing a cello concerto for German cellist Jan Vogler, a universal collaborative work in three movements, which will be performed and worldpremiered by Jan Vogler and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra (WDR), conducted by Cristian Măcelaru, the orchestra‘s designated Chief Conductor at the Dresden Music Festival 2019.
Jan Vogler says about the creation of this work:
“It is a very special opportunity to work with three different composers in parallel. Zhou Long, Sven Helbig and Nico Muhly wonderfully complement each other – China, Germany & Europe and the USA – the piece spans three very big cultural circles of our time, and the music allows us to travel to three different continents. This is not only exciting, but also very original and imaginative. Our world today could be just like this particular cello concerto: colourful, rich in contrast and in happy cultural coexistence.”
The concert will be recorded by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk and broadcast at a later date.
On 31 January 2019, the brand new “Espace OSM” will open its doors to the public. Adjoining the Maison symphonique, this new space aligns with the OSM’s ongoing outreach, educational, and socio-recreational mission, marking its 85th anniversary in a truly meaningful way!
The venue will be open before concerts begin, enabling the public to discover the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and classical music in new ways! The Espace OSM is entirely free of charge, with exhibitions and installations that trace the OSM’s amazing history, providing visitors with the experience of a living, modern and forward-looking orchestra. The Espace OSM is also equipped to host various events and temporary exhibitions, as well as offering additional opportunities to bring the orchestra closer to its public and to different members of the community. Throughout its variously equipped areas, the Espace OSM engages visitors in an OSM experience that transcends the concert hall.
Find here more information on the new Espace OSM.
On Thursday, 24 January 2019 German cellist Jan Vogler will play a concert with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI in Torino. He will perform the cello concerto The Map by Chinese composer Tan Dun, who will conduct the concert himself.
Find here further information on the concert.
From 22 until 30 January, 2019, Kent Nagano and the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg will go on a concert tour, starting in Madrid, followed by performances in Oviedo and Santander, three concerts at the “Festival de Música de Canarias” and a final performance at Basel, Switzerland. Kent Nagano will present works by Johannes Brahms. Soloist for the violin concerto is the young German virtuoso Veronika Eberle.
January 22, 2019, Madrid, Auditorio Nacional de Música, 19.30
January 23, 2019, Oviedo, Auditorio Principe Felipe, 20.00
January 24, 2019, Santander, Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria, 8.30 pm
January 26, 2019, Tenerife, Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín, 8:00 pm
January 27, 2019, Gran Canaria, Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, 8:00 pm
January 28, 2019, Fuerteventura, Palacio de Formación y Congresos, 20.30
January 30, 2019, Basel, Musical Theater Basel, 19.30
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) has long been in the shadow of the Big Five. Wrong, says music journalist Alain Steffen in his new book “Let’s talk about …”. Alain Steffen tells the story of the orchestra since its beginning in the year 1894 until today and talks among others with former chief conductors Sir André Previn and Mariss Jansons. Manfred Honeck has been Music Director of the orchestra since 2008. Under his baton, the PSO gained international fame. Manfred Honeck leads the musicians to worldwide stages and major festivals.
Interviews with musicians, conductors, composers and soloists, like Hélène Grimaud, Thomas Hampson and Anne-Sophie Mutter will give insights into the way the orchestra works and will illustrate its unique sound language. A tour diary takes the reader to the concert hall and behind the scenes.
The book has been published in German language at Rombach publishing house. Find here further information.