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29. January 2024

David Philip Hefti’s “Des Zaubers Spuren” (February 2024)

The world premiere of “Des Zaubers Spuren” by David Philip Hefti performed by the Scharoun Ensemble, for which the work was composed, can now be listened to on the SRF concert podcast. “Des Zaubers Spuren” is a tribute to Franz Schubert, as Schubert’s music has left audible and “inaudible” traces in Hefti’s work, as the composer says.

Concert from 15.09.2023, St. Mauritius Church, Zermatt (Zermatt Festival)

Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto for oboe and violin in C minor BWV 1060
David Philip Hefti: Des Zaubers Spuren (2023, world premiere) Commissioned composition for the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin
Alban Berg: Seven early songs (arranged by Reinbert de Leeuw)
Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D. 417 “Tragic”

Zermatt Festival Orchestra
Scharoun Ensemble Berlin
David Philip Hefti, conductor
Wolfram Brandl, violin
Jonathan Kelly, oboe
Christiane Karg, soprano

The complete concert is available for unlimited listening here.

17. January 2024

Kent Nagano’s first concerts in 2024 (January 2024)

Kent Nagano’s first concerts in 2024 will take him to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on January 13 for the Dutch premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alaraph ‘Rite of the Heartbeat’ with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. On January 18 & 19, Kent Nagano will conduct the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich with a world premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Piano Concerto and on January 28, Kent Nagano will return to Berlin to the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester (DSO), whose chief conductor he was and is now associated with as honorary conductor. The program includes Hildegard von Bingen’s Responsorium ‘O vis aeternitatis’, performed by singers from the Rundfunkchor Berlin, and Mahler’s 7th Symphony.

5. January 2024

Kent Nagano’s concert engagements at the beginning of the year 2024 (January 2024)

Kent Nagano’s first concerts in 2024 will take him to Amsterdam for the Dutch premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alaraph ‘Rite of the Heartbeat‘ in January, which can be listened to here, as well as to the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra with a world premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Piano Concerto and then to Berlin at the end of January with Mahler’s 7th Symphony to the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester.

At the Hamburg State Opera, Kent Nagano conducts the performances of Peter Grimes in February and the resumption of Lady Macbeth in May, as well as several concerts with the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra in the Elbphilharmonie. In June, a special semi-staged production of Olivier Messiaen’s Saint Francois d’Assise will be performed three times at the Musikfest Hamburg.

In November 2023, an episode of the YouTube channel Living the Classical Life with Kent Nagano was released:

4. January 2024

Latest Manfred Honeck & PSO recording “Tchaikovsky & Schulhoff” listed as best recordings of the year 2023 (January 2024)

The most recent recording of the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Schulhoff’s Five Pieces was listed by The New York Times, New Yorker, and Gramophone as one of the best recordings of the year. The CD was released in July 2023 on Reference Recordings.

Find more information on referencerecordings.com and pittsburgsymphony.org

21. December 2023

Omer Meir Wellber conducts Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Ella Milch-Sheriff’s “The Eternal Stranger” at New Year’s Eve concerts at the Wiener Konzerthaus (December 2023)

Omer Meir Wellber will conduct the New Year’s Eve concerts at the Wiener Konzerthaus on December 30 and 31, 2023 and January 1, 2024. The program includes Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which the Wiener Symphoniker and the Wiener Singakademie traditionally perform at the turn of the year. On December 30, there will also be the Austrian premiere of “The Eternal Stranger”, a monodrama by Israeli composer Ella Milch-Sheriff with actor Eli Danker, who is well-known from film and television.

December 30 Vienna, Konzerthaus
Wiener Symphoniker
Ella Milch-Sheriff: The Eternal Stranger. Monodrama for an actor and orchestra
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125
Omer Meir Wellber, conductor

December 31, January 1 Vienna, Konzerthaus
Wiener Symphoniker
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125
Omer Meir Wellber, conductor

30. November 2023

Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama with the Haydn Orchestra in Bolzano (December 2023)

On December 5 and 6, Kent Nagano conducts the Haydn Orchestra with Mari Kodama at the piano in the Bolzano Concert Hall. The program includes works by Haydn and Ligeti, two very different composers who both use humor, irony and the fun of surprise in their music. 2023 would have been Ligeti’s 100^th anniversary.

György Ligeti: Poème symphonique / Musical Ceremonial for 100 Metronomes
György Ligeti: Musica Ricercata n. 11 “Omaggio a Girolamo Frescobaldi”
Haydn: Sonata in C major Hob. XVI/48
György Ligeti: Concerto for piano and orchestra
Haydn: Symphony No. 102 in B flat major, Hob. I: 102

23. November 2023

Dresdner Musikfestspiele program 2024: “Horizons” (November 2023)

Next year’s edition of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele with its theme “Horizons” will take place from May 9 to June 9, 2024.

Jan Vogler, cellist and Intendant of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele, is focusing on variety and new discoveries in the program of the 47th festival:

“The reception of classical music is changing. It could be the biggest transformation for almost a hundred years. We let ourselves be inspired by this and explore new horizons with our fantastic audience in 2024. I am looking forward to the most colorful festival year since the festival was founded.”

The opening concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Klaus Mäkelä and the closing concert with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Jakub Hrůša form a classical framework for a whole festival month in which classical music meets pop, jazz and dance.

Other highlights of the festival include the concert with Jan Vogler (cello) and Daniel Hope (violin) with Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin under the direction of Anna Rakitina and performances by Sting and jazz singer Laufey.

As part of a special concert, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra will perform under the direction of Jaap Van Zweden with a new composition by Daniel Lo and pianist Alexandre Kantorow.

22. November 2023

Omer Meir Wellber: I Capuleti e I Montecchi premiere and stream on 26.11.23 (November 2023)

Today, Omer Meir Wellber will conduct the premiere of Vincenzo Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.

The performance of the opera on Sunday, November 26, 2023 will be streamed live on teatromassimo.it from 5.15 pm (CET) and will be available for 30 days.

“We are opening the season with a ‘Sicilian’ masterpiece such as I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Bellini’s favorite opera”, says Omer Meir Wellber, “with a combination of music and dance created with director and choreographer Idan Cohen (…). The protagonist couple, Romeo and Juliet, are entrusted to two female voices, as in Bellini’s score, with Romeo being “en travestie”. A stylistic choice that has to do with the customs of the time and which also has a political value today, as it shows how similar the characters of the two conflicting parties are, both vocally and as human beings.”

“The setting of the opera is a dystopian taxidermic museum with infinity mirrors, masterfully designed by Riccardo Massironi. The costumes designed by Edoardo Russo enhance the atmosphere and contribute to the portrayal of the young female lovers in this unique setting,” adds Idan Cohen.

November 22 Palermo, Teatro Massimo Premiere

Vincenzo Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Idan Cohen – director
Further performances: November 23, 24, 25, 26, 28

21. November 2023

Midori plays Bernsteins Serenade: WDR Concert-Stream (November 2023)

Here you can watch Midori’s recent concert in Germany: Bernstein’s Serenade for violin, strings, harp and percussion with the WDR Symphony Orchestra and Constantinos Carydis recorded on September 22 at Cologne Philharmonie is now available on YouTube and on the WDR Symphony Orchestra’s website.

Midori just finished her US tour with the Festival Strings Lucerne having played in Atlanta, Iowa City, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, among others. Her next stop is Korea: she will perform Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in Seoul on November 25 .

13. November 2023

Two ICMA and one Grammy nomination (November 2023)

We are delighted that two of our artists’ CDs have been nominated for international awards this week:

Midori’s recording of the Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Warner Classics) has been nominated for the International Classical Music Award 2024 in the chamber music category. The latest CD recording by Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Schulhoff: Five Pieces, released on Reference Recordings, has also been nominated for the ICMA in the Symphonic Music category. The finalists will be announced on December 8 and the winners of the ICMA will be announced on January 18, 2024.

In addition, the PSO’s Tchaikovsky / Schulhoff-CD under the direction of Manfred Honeck has been nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Engineered Album, Classical” with sound engineer Mark Donohue of Soundmirror for his work as “engineer and mastering engineer”. The Grammys will be awarded on February 4, 2024 in Los Angeles.

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