Excitement certainly abounds in our office when the BBC Proms programme is announced. This year was no different, from Joyce DiDinato closing the season, Marin Alsop becoming the first female conductor to lead the Last Night of the Proms, to a number of our clients performing in this year’s lineup.

Another great asset to this year’s Proms was the inclusion of new commissions, along with more national and world premieres in the programme. Whilst it is still less than 20% of the Proms that include new commissions, it is still a fantastic effort by the BBC to bring new works to a new, and very wide, audience. We hope that this number continues to grow in future!

This year’s BBC Commissions include works by Julian Anderson, Frederic Rzewski, John McCabe and Charlotte Seither. A definite highlight of the Proms will be the BBC co-commission of Mark-Anthony Turnage, with the Royal Philharmonic Society and New York Philharmonic: Frieze in Prom 38.

One of the 8 UK premieres this year is Colin Matthews’ Turning Point in Prom 21, performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the baton of Thomas Søndergård, in his Proms debut. Also appearing in this Prom is violinist Daniel Hope, who is playing Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

Daniel Harding conducts works by Mozart, Schumann and Sibelius at Prom 23 with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, while pianist Anika Vavic makes her Proms debut at Prom 64 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski, also performing Prokofiev.

Prom 19 is a performance of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde including tenor Andrew Staples with the BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Symphony Orchestra.

We salute all of these great performers with a ‘Toi toi toi!’ and look forward to the summer and another great year of BBC Proms programming.

(Written on April 18, 2013 )

The WildKats have been especially busy this January with a number of exciting events to both organise and attend, accompanied by numerous previews, reviews and interviews from national newspapers to specialist classical music press. Let’s have a look at some of the stand-out events…

On 10th January, violinist Daniel Hope performed alongside composer and pianist, Ludovico Einaudi, in Stockholm’s first ever Yellow Lounge. Established in Berlin seven years ago, the Yellow Lounge promotes ‘classical clubbing’, where international classical musicians perform with top DJs in unexpected spaces. The event was streamed live on the Deutsche Grammophon website. More and more events are being streamed live online, making concerts and recitals accessible both physically and economically, and reaching out to new audiences. Cellist Guy Johnston performed Walton’s Cello Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic on 14th, which was streamed live on BBC Radio 3.

Several of our clients had opening nights in January, including Silent Opera’s L’Orfeo. The first performance received huge amounts of press and publicity, specifically a BBC News report answering ‘What is Silent Opera?’. Silent Opera is still ongoing and tickets can still be purchased here – don’t miss out! The Silent Opera team appeared on Channel 4′s Sunday Brunch this weekend, watch it online here. Meanwhile in Milan, Daniel Harding had his opening night for La Scala’s Falstaff: a fantastic production of Verdi’s famous opera, staged in the same opera house it received its first ever performance. The esteemed conductor also performed with the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra in Munich, Baritone Christian Gerhaher, receiving a great review from Süddeutsche Zeitung. Andrew Staples also performed in Munich with Daniel, receiving outstanding reviews for his performance. Another highlight of January for WildKat was the premiere of Raymond Yiu’s The London Citizen Exceedingly Injured at the Barbican, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Raymond also wrote a guest blog for Gramophone last month, discussing challenging perceptions of British classical music.

January was a highly successful time for AyseDeniz Gokcin who was applauded worldwide for her Lisztified EP. The young Turkish pianist was featured in an article by Prog Rock Magazine Online, which was shared hundreds of times through Facebook and Twitter. The article has continued to spread, through major music websites and social media in Hungary, Spain, Finland, Brazil, Greece, the Netherlands, Turkey and many more. Classic FM then published a news story on her success, bringing the article back around in a full circle. Another triumph we celebrated was another award for production company Accentus Music, who have been awarded a second International Classical Music award for John Cage – Journeys in Sound.

In anticipation of his upcoming CD release of Franck & Strauss Violin Sonatas, Augustin Dumay was featured in BBC Music Magazine discussing the recording of the album. Another event for the violinist was the Gala Concert at The Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where Augustin mentors the young string players. Young musicians of the Music Chapel performed works by Bloch, Liszt and Schubert, alongside the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Octopus Symphonic Choir and British conductor Christopher Warren-Green.

The WildKats had a number of great recitals to attend in January; such as Kimiko Ishizaka’s flawless performance of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, an intimate performance of works by Tom Smail at Susanne Kapoor’s home, along with a unique event from Samson Marzbani where he performed improvised piano pieces, before the audience received a preview premiere of his new work: Un Jour Infini.

Finally, the busiest of all has been our Founder and Managing Director, Kat Alder, who has been travelling across the world visiting our international clients performing all over the world; from Berlin to Austria, Munich to New York, and a few visits back to London.

Although January was so busy, February has a lot of exciting projects in store. Keep up to date with WildKat news through our Facebook, Twitter and daily posts from our blog.

(Written on February 4, 2013 )

WildKat PR are happy to welcome Hampstead Arts Festival and Okeanos.

Okeanos is recognised for its mix of Western and Japanese instruments and musical versatility. The group are classically trained, however they are known for the Japanese influence over their music. Okeanos is praised for its pioneering work in creating new opportunities for young composers and have premiered over 100 compositions.

Along with many exciting projects lined up for the future, this weekend, Okeanos is performing at the Barbican as part of the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Total Immersion weekend, Sounds of Japan. The ensemble’s performance will feature in the exploration of Japanese music – both traditional and contemporary. For more information on Okeanos’ concert and the Total Immersion weekend, visit the Barbican website here.

Our other new client is the Hampstead Arts Festival, who also work hard to encourage young talent in music, but also literature. Having relaunched in 2012, Hampstead Arts Festival hopes to bring together local and international musicians, establishing itself as a high-profile cultural event. The Festival will take place this Autumn. Have a look at their website here.

(Written on January 31, 2013 )

Raymond Yiu’s most recent commission, The London Citizen Exceedingly Injured, will receive its world premiere at the Barbican tomorrow evening. The piece will be performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, alongside works by Elgar and Haydn, with the London Premiere of Qigang Chen’s Reflet d’un temps disparu. The Hong Kong-born composer describes The London Citizen Exceedingly Injured as a ‘symphonic game’, using the nursey rhyme Oranges and Lemons as inspiration for the composition, as well as Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture, which will also be performed at the concert.

To purchase tickets for the concert, visit the website here or tune in to BBC Radio 3 tomorrow at 7:30pm.

Photo credit: Malcolm Crowthers

(Written on January 17, 2013 )

Raymond Yiu’s most recent commission, The London Citizen Exceedingly Injured, will receive its world premiere at the Barbican on Friday 18th January. The piece will be performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, alongside works by Elgar and Haydn, with the London Premiere of Qigang Chen’s Reflet d’un temps disparu. The Hong Kong-born composer describes The London Citizen Exceedingly Injured as a ‘symphonic game’, using the nursey rhyme Oranges and Lemons as inspiration for the composition, as well as Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture, which will also be performed at the concert.

To purchase tickets for the concert, visit the website here or tune in to BBC Radio 3 at 7:30pm.

(Written on January 10, 2013 )

Classic FM

New In Harmony project launches in Leeds

Children at a primary school in Leeds will enjoy a new programme of music tuition and regular performance opportunities in 2013, thanks to the In Harmony project which launched today at Windmill Primary School.

Carols for Christmas winners announced

The winners of the national Carols for Christmas competition have been announced. Choral legends John Rutter, Stephen Cleobury and David Hurley selected winning pieces to be workshopped and performed on 18 December.

Gramophone

BA have agreed to grant Steven Isserlis’s cello air miles (or Avios points, as they’re called)!

The Met’s first authentic Aida

Norman Lebrecht on the world’s first Afro-American opera singers

The Wagnerian

Dijon Opera announce new Ring Cycle in 2013 – in two days!

Dijon Opera have announced that in 2013 they will perform an entirely new, fully staged Ring Cycle in a festival lasting just two days! Each day will see performances of two of Wagner’s Dramas: Rheingold and Walkure on day one followed by Siegfried and Götterdämmerung on day two.

Wagner makes the front pages of the Italian media – again

One hundred and fifty years after they helped forge their home nations’ ideas of pride and patriotism, Wagner and Verdi have proved they can still provoke a bust-up between Germany and Italy.

Classic FM

(Written on December 10, 2012 )

Classic FM

Rieu’s tour waltzes to Australia and New Zealand in 2013

King of the Waltz André Rieu confirms plans to tour in Australia and New Zealand in October 2013.

Video game music album set for repeated chart success

The Greatest Video Game Music 2 is currently topping the UK classical iTunes chart after being released yesterday.

Slipped Disc

Just in: Dude is Musician of the Year, 2013

It’s the Musical America awards – probably the most prestigious in  music-biz terms in the US.

Do something NOW for kidnapped conductor. This means you.

Rodolfo Cazares, conductor at Bremerhaven, has been held by Mexican bandits for 16 months. The Mexican authorities are doing little or nothing to procure his release. Various musical visitors have spoken up on his behalf, but progress seems to be stalled.

CMU (found on Musical Chairs)

Fazer and BBC Symphony Orchestra launch Children In Need single

Fazer and the BBC Symphony Orchestra yesterday launched this year’s Children In Need charity single, recorded as part of the Beeb’s occasional Urban Classic project.

The Strad

£50,000 award for Eliza Carthy

Folk fiddler and singer receives Paul Hamlyn Foundation award for composers

New film about Bronislaw Huberman

Documentary tells story of how violinist founded Palestine Symphony Orchestra

New Music Box

Blanton Soundspace: Space and Symmetry

Seventy-six Trombones, sir? Clearly you are not trying hard enough. Steve Parker’s recent Soundspace installment at the Blanton Museum searched for symmetry in a variety of ways, and nice round numbers like 80 seem to have fit the bill.

New Music Box

(Written on November 7, 2012 )

Classic FM

‘Fifty Shades of Grey- The Classical Album’ set for release on EMI 

EMI are releasing an album of classical music chosen by author E L James.

Charles Ives’ house to be demolished?  

Developers are looking to purchase Charles Ives’ house.

Beethoven, Bach manuscripts up for auction 

Original manuscripts by Beethoven, Bach and Rameau are to be auctioned in October at Sotheby’s in Paris.

Arts Journal- Slipped Disc 

Just in: BBC signs another maestro 

The BBC Symphony Orchestra announced that Semyon Bychkov would join their roster of conductors.

Research: More Germans attend Classical Concerts than pop and rock 

A New survey detects an increase in audiences of classical concerts.

Amid Olympic confusion, Wales launches anthem app 

The Welsh have launched an app to teach you how to sing their national anthem properly.

The Guardian- Blog 

A guide to Olga Neuwirth’s music

Tom Service guides us through the music of Olga Neuwirth

BBC News 

Marvin Hamlisch, composer of The Sting and A Chorus Line, dies aged 68 

The composer Marvin Hamlisch, who wrote the scores for films and shows including The Sting and A Chorus Line, has died in Los Angeles, aged 68.

(Written on August 8, 2012 )

Classic FM 

Mozart Manuscript Found after 200 years

Lost score by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart worth £50,000 is found in a library in Nantes, Western France.

Twitter activity exploded when the LSO and Mr. Bean took to the stage during the 2012 Olympic games opening ceremony. 

Most popular on twitter during Olympic Ceremony was the LSO and Mr Bean’s rendition of Vangelis’ Chariots of Fire.

Classical Chamber group covers Lana Del Rey 

Aston, a group made up of six classically trained musicians from the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney cover Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die. 

Arts Journal- Slipped Disc

Just in: Musicians’ Federation calls for world boycott of Malaysian Philharmonic auditions  

Nine players have been sacked by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra’s new administration provoking international consequences.

Just in: BBC chief drops out of Proms for a second time 

Jukka-Pekka Saraste replaces Jiří Bělohlávek as chief conductor.

Very sad News: head of Semper Oper, Dresden, has died  

Ulrike Hessler dies at age 57.

Guardian- Music Blog 

A guide to Per Nørgård

Tom Service guides us through the music of Per Nørgård.

BBC Music Magazine

Bob Chilcott 

Elizabeth Davis talks to Bob Chilcott, composer of The Angry Planet ahead of his Proms premiere.

(Written on July 31, 2012 )

The Telegraph

Proms 2012: top classical musicians pick their favourite Prom

Mark Elder, Tamsin Little, Sarah Connolly and more pick the Proms 2012 they are most looking forward to.

The Independent

‘Ow’ Liza and the BBC Proms is doing ‘My Fair Lady’?

Eliza Doolittle will screech in Cockney and sing posh as the quintessential London musical “My Fair Lady” makes its BBC Proms debut on Saturday in a lavish production that owes a debt to Hollywood.

BBC Music Magazine

A Proms fanfare

The BBC Proms kick off tonight at the Royal Albert Hall with a world premiere performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Canon Fever.

LA Times

Singers brave heat wave for Philip Glass premiere in Times Square

Happy returns for Glassmost took place recently with a performance in Times Square. His 1997 opera “Monsters of Grace” was reworked into a piece for soloist and an  eight-part chorus commissioned by NPR.

Arts Journal – Slipped Disc

Koreans come first and third in Vienna singing contest

A 22 year-old tenor Beomjin Kim took first prize and soprano Sang-Ah Yoon came third in the 31st Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition.

Deutsche Grammophon signs Canadian star

It was only a matter of time before a label locked on to Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the first Canadian conductor to achieve international renown.

Gramophone

Maxime Tortelier named Bournemouth Symphony young conductor in association

Son of Yan Pascal Tortelier to work closely with BSO’s Kirill Karabits .

(Written on July 13, 2012 )