The Guardian

The fantastic Dr Dee: angels, magic and the birth of modern science

As Damon Albarn’s opera opens in London, Carole Jahme wonders why Dee has been written out of the history of science.

The Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel – live stream

Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra performed at London’s Royal Festival Hall with conductor Gustavo Dudamel on 23 and 26 June.

The Times

Delius takes Hassan on the Golden Road

On July 7 Frederick Delius’s Hassan is staged in Cheltenham.

MUSO

Edward Gardner among artists given Queen’s birthday honours

English National Opera director Edward Gardner has been named among the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, being awarded an OBE for services to music.

BBC Music Magazine

Arts Council awards Catalyst Endowment funds

The Arts Council has awarded ‘Catalyst’ awards to a host of music organisations including the Hallé and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE).

Arts Journal – Slipped Disc

Bayreuth’s American Siegfried has died

Jean Cox was not the first American to sing at the Wagner shrine but he was surely the first to fly a bombing mission before he took to the stage.

Gramophone

Performing musical saw in a potato barn

The SCO’s principal cellist prepares for the East Neuk Festival.

New Music 20×12 issues three more releases

Hear excerpts from works by David Bruce, Emily Howard and Michael Wolters.

Jamie Philips appointed assistant conductor of the Hallé

21-year-old succeeds Andrew Gourlay in September.

(Written on June 27, 2012 )

The Telegraph

Online piano star Valentina Lisitsa gets Royal Albert Hall debut

YouTube star and and virtuoso pianist Valentina Lisitsa signs record deal and will play a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Jessica Duchen

A Music World Fair

This year’s International Wimbledon Music Festival is ‘A Music World Fair’ – a tremendously international job, lighting up South West London with performances by the Kopelman String Quartet, Alina Ibragimova, Nicholas Daniel and Sam West, Christine Brewer, Zuill Bailey, Cristina Ortiz, Mark Padmore and many more.

NY Times

Philadelphia Orchestra Submits Plan to Cut Debt

The Philadelphia Orchestra has laid out its plan to erase debts and cut costs in a major step toward exiting bankruptcy court.

The Guardian

King Priam, a pacifist’s opera, can still shed light on the trauma of war

Half a century after its first showing, Michael Tippett’s libretto based on the lliad is a fitting work for today.

Fischer-Dieskau’s 12 best recordings

Martin Kettle’s pick of the great baritone’s recorded output.

LA Times

Glenn Dicterow leaving New York Philharmonic, joining USC faculty

Glenn Dicterow, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic for more than 30 years, will be leaving the venerated orchestra and joining the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles.

New West Symphony names Marcelo Lehninger as new music director

Marcelo Lehninger, the young Brazilian German maestro who serves as an assistant conductor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has been named music director of the New West Symphony, which is based in Thousand Oaks.

Classical Music Magazine

Classical singles chart greeted with scepticism by industry

The launch of a weekly classical singles chart, the first of which will be released on 28 May, has been greeted enthusiastically by crossover artists but more sceptically by the core classical sector.

Gramophone

Anne-Sophie Mutter receives Distinguished Leadership Award

Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter has been awarded the Atlantic Council’s 2012 Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award, recognising her as ‘one of the most significant leaders of our society’.

(Written on May 25, 2012 )