Every day the WildKat team scan the newspapers and blogs online to bring you a digested list of the day’s classical music news.

Gramophone

At home with Sibelius

Hearing Finnish music on its own soil, and visiting Ainola

The Guardian

A fight at the opera as conductor quits Italy for new role in America

Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera theatre threatens to sue New York Met for poaching world-renowned Italian conductor Fabio Luisi

The New York Times

At Monk Competition, a Sound Worth Returning To

While emulating the late Thelonious Monk is not a requirement of the international piano competition that bears his name, his trademark dissonance was on display.

The Telegraph

Madam Butterfly, Mid Wales Opera, Theatr Hafren, Newton, review

Mid-Wales Opera’s version of Puccini’s Madam Butterfly bravely opts for a touch of kitchen-sink realism.

The Times

Not in Our Time at Cheltenham Town Hall

The spoken utterances of President George W. Bush aren’t a composer’s usual quarry when searching for texts — I can’t think why.

(Written on September 13, 2011 )

The fourth annual Kings Place Festival is taking place this weekend (8-11th September) and promises to deliver an outstanding array of performances – 100 to be exact – including classical and contemporary music, spoken word, dance, and even food demonstrations in the Green & Fortune Food Hall.

Following on from the immense success of last year’s festival, the line-up in 2011 is the strongest yet, and ticket sales are at an all-time high. An even larger number of free and family events are being presented, with highlights including the Aurora Orchestra teaming up with The Little Angel Theatre to produce Mozart with Puppets, poetry adventures with Apples and Snakes, as well as Indian dance classes and ‘a cappella’ choir events for all ages to enjoy.

Another exciting and innovative venture can be found in the foyer of Kings Place. A giant, touch-sensitive dance floor has been engineered by composer Philip Venables, and as well as featuring a professional dancer, adults and children alike are invited to try it out for themselves. WildKat PR had already visited the dance floor during the early stages of its construction, and were extremely impressed by the technology used to create such an intriguing installation.

World-class soloists from the classical music world will be showcasing their talents across the duration of the festival, performing music ranging from the early Baroque to more modern repertoire. Featured are pianists William Howard and Ivana Gavric, as well as string ensemble the Brodsky Quartet. Jazz fans can enjoy performances from acclaimed artists Robert Mitchell, Ayanna Witter-Johnson and John Etheridge, and comedy enthusiasts can see John Hegley and Ardal O’Hanlon performing their stand-up routines in front of a packed-out audience.

Situated in the heat of the Kings Cross area, the central London location makes the festival easily accessible by tube, overground and bus. There is sure to be something to suit every taste, and with every event costing £4.50 or nothing at all, it is excellent value for money; truly an event not to be missed.

Tickets can be bought online from the Kings Place Festival website, or purchased over the box office telephone line on 020 7520 1490.

(Written on September 7, 2011 )

The Arts Desk 

My Summer Reading: Violinist Vadim Gluzman 

Some violinists just play; others have a voice.

The Guardian

Salvatore Licitra obituary

Operatic tenor with exemplary phrasing, dramatic charisma and a rare sensitivity  

The Evening Standard

Big ideas for small opera

Unless the major institutions learn the lessons of smaller companies and get closer to their audiences they run the risk of reducing opera to a museum piece, director John Fulljames tells Nick Kimberley

The LA Times

Conductor James Levine cancels fall performances after new injury 

James Levine, the ailing music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, has suffered from recurring back problems in recent years that have forced him to cancel a number of appearances. On Tuesday, the company announced that Levine has had to withdraw from all fall appearances this season due to an accident last week that damaged one of his vertebrae.

The Times

Le nozze di Figaro at the Peacock, WC2

It is back to school week. But for the singers of British Youth Opera this month marks their final farewell from music college and graduate opera courses. 

(Written on September 7, 2011 )

LA Times

Music review: ‘Powaqqatsi’ at the Hollywood Bowl 

The full title of the second film in the “Qatsi” trilogy by director Godfrey Reggio and composer Philip Glass is “Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation.” The transformation was that of the southern hemisphere in the mid ’80s.

The Telegraph

Nigel Kennedy: My plan to put Vivaldi to an electro-beat

Violinist Nigel Kennedy tells about his new mixed-genre CD – and reveals the startling update he has in store for ‘The Four Seasons’ .

The Independent

Prom 60, Fray/Netherlands RPO/Zweden (Royal Albert Hall)

Bruckner and Mahler may attract the same kind of crowd, but as characters they have nothing in common.

Gramophone

New productions of Janáček, Mozart and Ravel in Glyndebourne’s 2012 line-up

Olympic summer season includes revival of Jonathan Kent’s The Fairy Queen

The New Yorker

Memories of Music at Auschwitz

Alex Ross discusses Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s opera “The Passenger,” a Holocaust drama that was completed in 1968 but had its stage première only last year.

(Written on September 1, 2011 )

BBC Music Magazine

Too much emphasis on recordings?

Nick Shave asks what’s happened to the traditional concert experience

LA Times

Technology is infringing on classical music

Invite smartphones and iPads into the music hall? That overlooks the point that a concert is a chance to untie the digital umbilical cord and replace it with chords that resonate.

The Telegraph

Edinburgh 2011: Orlando Paladino, Usher Hall

This Haydn performance made up in style what it lacked in substance.

The Guardian

Classical Machynlleth festival: Haffner Wind Ensemble – review

That Janáček in old age could write music so life-affirming seems miraculous; the intensity with which the Haffner players invested their playing suggested they felt as much, writes Rian Evans

The Times

On-screen opera: when do I clap?

As performances are increasingly transmitted live to cinemas, a dilemma raises its head: is it OK to applaud?

(Written on August 31, 2011 )

(Written on August 30, 2011 )