The Independent

Stephen Fry to Ignite his passion for opera at festival

Stephen Fry has been named as the curator of an annual opera festival.

The Guardian

A disease called Richard? Wagner as mental health menace

In his time the composer’s ‘dangerously stimulating’ music was blamed for melancholy, hysteria, hypnosis and even triggering orgasm

Gramophone

BBC Radio 3 celebrates music of the British Isles

Month-long focus runs throughout June

The Spectator

Four recordings of Beethoven’s Ninth on a £10 app

Last weekend my iPad sucked me deeper into Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony than I thought possible.

BBC News

Titanic violin real, hospital CT scan suggests

A violin thought to be the one played by the band leader of the Titanic as it sank has been declared genuine following a CT scan at a hospital.

Southern Pro Musica set to provide classical music in Guildford

A £60,000 grant for a freelance chamber orchestra to provide classical music in Guildford is set to be approved on Thursday.

BBC News

(Written on May 24, 2013 )

The Independent

Germany celebrates bicentennial of Richard Wagner

Germany celebrated the 200th birthday of Richard Wagner, the 19th-century composer.

BBC News

New free schools include East End music school

A music school for deprived teenagers in east London and two schools for autistic children are among the latest free schools in England to be approved.

The Spectator

Four recordings of Beethoven’s Ninth on a £10 app

Deutsche Grammophon and Touch Press have released an app, that gives you four complete performances of the Ninth.

Classic FM

National Children’s Orchestras receive musical donation

Auction house Brompton’s is donating a cello to the orchestras, as well as £6,000 from the sale of a violin, in celebration of the orchestra’s 35th anniversary year.

Gramophone

Obituary: Anders Eliasson, composer

Sweden is mourning Anders Eliasson, who until his death on Monday night was arguably the country’s greatest living composer.

Classical Music Magazine

Henri Dutilleux, composer: 22 January 1916-22 May 2013

Henri Dutilleux, who has died at the age of 97, was a fiercely independent composer who left an exclusive catalogue of works that are steeped in the languid sensuousness of Debussy yet touched by the hand of modernism.

Classic FM

(Written on May 23, 2013 )

The Guardian

Wagner anniversary revives German debate over controversial composer

New productions, statues and books commemorate Richard Wagner, who still divides Germany 200 years after his birth.

The Times

Life as a page-turner: is this the worst job in music?

“If you do a brilliant job, you’re completely anonymous,” says the pianist Steven Osborne. “If you make one mistake, there’s nothing you can do redeem yourself. Everyone will remember.” But Osborne isn’t talking about his own job.

Classic FM

Scottish Opera unveils huge new 2013/14 season

(Written on May 22, 2013 )

The Guardian

From fact to fantasie: discovering the real Schumann

Robert Schumann’s tragic life has long coloured our view of his music. But as pianist Jonathan Biss concludes a year long series of concerts, he finds a composer betrayed by his biography.

The Telegraph

Carrie Cracknell interview: ‘I’m no opera expert, but I didn’t hesitate to take on Wozzeck’

Young director Carrie Cracknell has worked on devised, experimental and classical theatre but now she’s moved on to opera.

The Times

Walter Scott fans attack Royal Opera’s view of Highlanders as smelly savages

Hairy, smelly savages, or noble warriors? A fierce argument over Sir Walter Scott’s real views on Highlanders has opened a bitter divide between the writer’s supporters and the opera world of Covent Garden.

Classic FM

Vasily Petrenko in Tim Lihoreau’s Wednesday Web Chat

Join the conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in our weekly web chat. 

Gramophone

Gramophone June 2013 issue now on sale!

Hear excerpts from all of the months’ Gramophone Choice recordings on the Gramophone Player.

Classical Music

BBC Young Musicians 2014: Open for entries

The BBC’s Young Musician 2014 has launched, unveiling Nicola Benedetti as an ambassador and introducing a new award for young jazz musicians.

Classical Source

Simon Halsey Will Step Down As Berlin Radio Choir’s Principal Conductor In 2016

Simon Halsey will not be extending his contract as principal conductor of Rundfunkchor Berlin after its current term ends in summer 2016.

(Written on May 21, 2013 )

The Telegraph

Roch Modrzejewski: Opera’s guitar hero

With his virtuosic new recording of opera tunes, Poland’s Roch Modrzejewski has revived a much-neglected corner of the guitar repertoire, says John Allison.

Financial Times

Interview, Neeme Järvi, conductor

The music director known for his improvisatory approach is a ‘man of 100 projects’.

Classic FM

Classical music, colours and emotions linked

What colour is Mozart’s Requiem? A new study has confirmed a link between emotion, classical music, and colour.

National Portrait Gallery appoints choir in residence

Classic FM’s Sam Pittis talks to artistic director Gregory Batsleer about this “exciting new venture for choral music”.

Gramophone

Andris Nelsons named Boston Symphony Orchestra music director

At the age of 34, the conductor is the youngest music director of the prestigious orchestra in over 100 years.

HRH The Prince of Wales launches new Royal College of Music Award

The President’s Award recognises a student’s outstanding work in the community.

Planet Hugill

June at the Barbican

June in the Barbican opens with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s contribution to Britten 100 with a performance of Britten’s Owen Wingrave directed by Kelly Robinson.

The Telegraph

(Written on May 20, 2013 )

BBC News

National Portrait Gallery to have choir in residence

The National Portrait Gallery in London is to have a choir in residence – a first for any museum in the UK.

The Times

Late composer Claude Vivier goes underground

Some things are meant to be. One is that the last piece of music Claude Vivier wrote, but never finished, would be played in a disused Tube station.

The Telegraph

Five great classical music scandals

A century since the Rite of Spring caused a riot in Paris, Ivan Hewett picks five other classical and opera scandals.

Classical Music Magazine

Exhibitors’ 70% increase is vote of confidence in Classical:NEXT

Delegate numbers are up 20% for the second outing of Classical:NEXT, the music congress that opens in Vienna on 29 May.

Classic FM

Big audience boost for Classic FM

More than 200,000 new listeners have tuned in to Classic FM in the past three months, according to new radio listening figures published today.

Gramophone

Gramophone Hall of Fame 2013 announced!

We welcome 50 new influential and inspiring individuals to our list of those who have changed classical music

Classical Source

Lufthansa Looks Forward To Celebrating 30 Years Of The Lufthansa Festival Of Baroque Music In 2014

Lufthansa German Airlines has confirmed it looks forward to celebrating 30 years of the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music in 2014, a momentous year which also marks the 300th anniversary of the Hanoverian succession to the British throne.

The Times

(Written on May 17, 2013 )

The Guardian

Ariadne ducks the bombs at the Glyndebourne festival

This year’s Glyndebourne opener Ariadne auf Naxos is getting a radical relocation, to a Blitz-time hospital. Director Katharina Thoma tells Tom Service how she drew on the history of the Sussex mansion.

The Telegraph

Guillaume Dufay – Ce Moys de May

The latest in Ivan Hewett’s 50-part series on short works by the world’s greatest composers.

Financial Times

London tightens grip on arts donations

London’s tightening grip on arts philanthropy was laid bare in new research which showed that arts organisations in the capital secured 90 per cent of donations from private individuals.

The Independent

Glyndebourne survived the Second World War by opening its doors to evacuees from east London

The opera venue’s act will be honoured at this year’s festival reports Jessica Duchen.

Classic FM

Biggest ever Stradivarius exhibition hits Oxford

Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum will host the world’s largest exhibition of antique Stradivarius violins in June.

Gramophone

Watch Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker in a cinema near you

The great Italian maestro returns to Berlin.

(Written on May 16, 2013 )

The Guardian

Staging of Stockhausen’s helicopter string quartet scores key prize

Royal Philharmonic Society praises rare performance of Mittwoch aus Licht by Birmingham Opera Company

The Telegraph

Singing in English: It’s harder than you think

Rupert Christiansen visits The Association of English Singers and Speakers to explore the many difficulties of singing in English.

The Times

Rossini’s opera, La donna del lago heads a tartan takover at ROH

Not many opera directors would admit that their latest production had been inspired by Mel Gibson’s Braveheart or the preposterous sci-fi fantasy Highlander

The Times of India (via Musical Chairs)

Letter found from Britain’s greatest opera composer’s drawer shows his love for Ravi Shankar

Curators sifting through thousands of objects belonging to Britain’s musical geniuses composer Benjamin Britten and opera singer Peter Pears have stumbled upon an ink written page in their private diaries where the duo recalls their experience of having heard Pandit Ravi Shankar perform live.

BBC News

How does the oldest grand piano sound?

The oldest-surviving English grand piano, one of the first ever made, was built by the piano maker Americus Backers in London in 1772 and has now been returned by English Heritage to the home of its former owner, the Duke of Wellington.

Classical Source

Barbican Launches Beyond Barbican With A Summer Of World-Class Arts Across East London

The Barbican today launches Beyond Barbican with a summer of arts events outside the walls of the Barbican Centre featuring pop-up performances, commissions and collaborations across east London.

Limelight Magazine

Arts proven to combat Alzheimers

New British study proves the benefits of the Arts in treating patients with debilitating mental disease.

Gramophone

Dame Janet Baker hosts the 2013 RPS Awards

Awards for Karabits, Philharmonia and the Heath Quartet

The Telegraph

(Written on May 15, 2013 )

The Guardian

Tuning in to a Tuscan music festival

Where once gunfire tore apart the Tuscan estate of La Foce – as told in Iris Origo’s memoir War in the Val d’Orcia – now classical music brings people together.

Classic FM

Classic FM scoop Brand Of The Year at Sony Radio Academy Awards

Classic FM has been given the Brand Of The Year award at the 2013 SonyRadio Academy Award, as well as scooping a Silver award in the Best Promotional/Advertising Campaign category.

Legendary rock guitarist cites Paganini, Bach as influences

The Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, known for his extreme technical proficiency, has cited Paganini, Bach and Vivaldi as his main inspirations in his new autobiography.

Gramophone

BBC Proms reports record opening day ticket sales

Over 114,000 tickets are sold for the London summer festival on the first day of booking.

Classical Music Magazine

Hallé goes for matinées in 2013/14

The Hallé’s season plans for 2013/14 at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester include a major switch in scheduling for its most popular series: the ‘Opus One’ concerts.

Planet Hugill

17-19 May: Sacconi Chamber Music Festival

May 17 to 19 sees that Sacconi Chamber Music Festival filling Folkestone with some fine chamber music. The festival is organised by the young Sacconi Quartet, who open on Friday 17 May with a concert of quartets by Haydn, Ireland and Beethoven.

Classical Music Magazine

(Written on May 14, 2013 )

The Guardian

Cecilia Bartoli sings Bellini’s Norma: exclusive album stream

Listen exclusively to a new period-instrument recording of Bellini’s tragic opera that, with Cecilia Bartoli as the priestess, reveals the heroine as a woman of flesh and blood.

The scratch orchestra of Kinshasa

The members of the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste – the world’s only all-black orchestra – are self-taught and started out playing homemade instruments. Now the band’s founder is to be given a major international accolade.

The Telegraph

Proms booking ‘fiasco’ as BBC announces record-breaking sales

The booking system for this year’s BBC Proms has been condemned as a “fiasco” as customers waited more than four hours for tickets inly to find out touts selling them for £1,250 elsewhere.

The Times

Vladimir Jurowski, the Zen maestro of opera

Emma Pomfret meets Vladimir Jurowski, Glynedebourne’s spellbinding Russian conductor. Just don’t call him a ‘prodigy’.

Gramophone

Operatic stars join forces to record songs of John Denver

Album features such names as Plácido Domingo, Danielle de Niese, René Pape and Thomas Hampson.

The Washington Post (via Arts Journal)

Ballets Russes drove audiences away from modern music? Just the opposite.

The premiere of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” in 1913 is often cited as a flash point in the divide between new music and its audience. From this point on — so the claim goes — the chasm widened between composers pursuing their own agendas and audiences wishing they could just be left alone to hear Mozart.

The Telegraph

(Written on May 13, 2013 )