The Guardian

How composers from Mozart to Bach made their music add up

Works from The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute to Schumann’s Lyric Suite betray their creators’ fascination with numbers.

The Telegraph

Sex, jealousy and strings

A star-studded new film explores the intense inner world of the string quartet. Yet the truth, says Ivan Hewett, is even more startling.

Classic FM

John Eliot Gardiner on birthdays, Bach and bath towels

Classic FM’s David Mellor and John Eliot Gardiner discuss the various exciting projects Gardiner has in store for his 70th year, as well as what the future may hold.

Gramophone

La Nuova Musica record Vivaldi and Handel Dixit Dominus settings

Harmonia Mundi album is due for release on April 8.

Gramophone

English National Opera names new chairman

Businessman Martyn Rose takes up post on May 1.

Planet Hugill

Maclean’s Magazine

Montreal without Nagano?

From La Presse‘s Claude Gingras comes the news, that Kent Nagano, the music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, will leave town when his second contract expires in 2016.

The Guardian

(Written on April 5, 2013 )

The Independent

English National Opera’s beards smell “like wet dog”

…and The Barber of Seville requires 28 of them

The Guardian

The Rest Is Noise festival: the third instalment – Paris

The Southbank Centre’s head of classical music introduces the third part of the Rest Is Noise season – with the action switching to Paris and the worlds of Josephine Baker and Stravinsky

Helen Boaden offered BBC audio and music job

Bob Shennan had been favourite to take the post, but director of news is being lined up for role under new DG Lord Hall

The Guardian Music Blog

Guardian launches Tracks of the Week music service with Rough Trade stores

Want six new music tracks handpicked by the folk at Rough Trade and the Guardian landing in your inbox each week? Better still, for the service’s first month, everything is free if you sign up now

Classical Music Magazine

Michael Brewer found guilty of sexual abuse of former pupil who committed suicide during trial

Mike Brewer, former director of music at Chetham’s School of Music and a founder of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, has today been convicted of sexual abuse at Manchester Crown Court.

Gramophone

London celebrates Richard Wagner’s bicentenary with ‘Wagner 200’

2013 festival, running from May to December, features many of the city’s leading cultural institutions

Classic FM

Thomas Newman’s Skyfall wins BAFTA for Original Music

Composer Thomas Newman has been awarded the BAFTA Film Award for Original Music, beating competition from John Williams, Dario Marianelli and others.

NPR Deceptive Cadence

Remembering Pioneering American Conductor, Poet And Anime Inspiration James DePreist

Pioneering American conductor, National Medal of Arts winner and poet James DePreist died early this morning in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 76 years old.

Limelight Magazine

Julie Andrews to tour Australia

The legendary performer will appear on stage with an old pal from the Sound of Music.

Music Week

Could Amazon sell secondhand digital music?

A patent for re-selling digital content has been granted to online retailer Amazon.

British artists claim one in seven US artist album sales in 2012

British artists secured 13.7% of US artist album sales last year, helped on by the success of acts such as One Direction, Adele and Mumford & Sons.

The Independent

(Written on February 11, 2013 )

The Times

Soprano Barbara Hannigan: pitch perfect 

Why this Canadian soprano is setting the opera world on fire with her extraordinary vocal range and joyous precision

Classical Music Magazine

Welsh rights dispute: BBC and PRS accused of price fixing

Dafydd Roberts asks ‘whether the BBC-PRS agreement is price fixing’ as Welsh musicians’ dispute with PRS rumbles on.

BBC News

BBC plans Bollywood-style live opera for Bradford

A live Bollywood-style production of the opera Carmen is to be produced by the BBC in Bradford.

Wired

Coding project aims to deepen the experience of streaming classical music

A Sheffield based media company has created a prototype web project that tells the story behind classical music using a combination of HTML 5 and Javascript.

Slipped Disc

Richard Wagner museum is reopened by Jewish band

Germany’s oldest Richard Wagner museum, dating back to 1907, is in a hunting lodge in Graupa, 20km east of Dresden.

Breaking: Sacked oboist wins appeal. Welsh Opera faces huge bill

Sandy Johnston, the oboist sacked by Welsh National Opera, has succeeded in the Employment Appeal Tribunal against an earlier ruling on his dismissal.

The Guardian

Arts Council considers opera shakeup as ENO posts £2.2m loss

English National Opera falls into red after losing £1.3m funding and filling only 71% of seats

Despite HMV’s inability to make high street music retailing pay, some independent record shops are seeing increased sales

Music Industry News Network

Pop Still On Top As British Music Buying Tastes Revealed

Classical, Hip Hop and Reggae all made gains in 2012. Big sellers including Andre Rieu’s Magic Of The Movies and Andrea Bocelli’s Opera helped Classical claim a four-year share high in 2012 of 3.7%.

BBC News

(Written on January 17, 2013 )

The Independent

Monteverdi gets the Silent Opera treatment

Jessica Duchen visits Trinity Buoy Wharf for the rehearsals for Silent Opera’s L’Orfeo. The article can also be read on Jessica’s blog here.

When a wet tenor wowed Woody Allen

Fabio Armiliato’s recent experience in itself reads almost like a Woody Allen film.

Gramophone

Sir Simon Rattle to step down as Berlin Philharmonic chief conductor in 2018

Conductor announces he will not extend his contract when it expires in five years’ time

Classic FM

Funding for Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 4 reaches halfway

Virtual Choir 4 has reached $50,000 in donations, halfway to its target of $100,000.

Pianist’s classical Pink Floyd is unlikely hit

A young Turkish pianist and graduate of the Royal Academy of Music has become an unlikely sensation after recording a Lisztian interpretation of the works of Pink Floyd.

The Guardian

Royal Opera House reveals new direction on eve of chief executive’s departure

Shows based on Oscar Wilde and Iain Banks works among those announced as Tony Hall gets ready to join BBC

Benjamin Britten at 100 – time for a new appraisal?

A more relaxed attitude may be emerging towards the colossal musical legacy of Britain’s modern titan of the opera

The Telegraph

ENO accounts are ‘shockingly bad’

English National Opera has £2.5million deficit and 2012 audiences were down nine per cent on previous year.

Slipped Disc

Just in: Vienna’s Jews honour the Philharmonic chairman

Just as the orchestra is besieged once more with allegations of sexual and racial discrimination, the Vienna Philharmonic chairman, Clemens Hellsberg, has received a notable award from the city’s Jewish community.

BBC News

Celebrating Doctor Who pioneer Delia Derbyshire

Twelve years after her death, a group of artists and musicians are preparing to celebrate the work of electronic music pioneer, Delia Derbyshire.

Classic FM

(Written on January 14, 2013 )

Classic FM

Daniel Hope and Ludovico Einaudi for joint webcast

Daniel Hope and Ludovico Einaudi are to perform together in a Stockholm concert to be live-streamed on the internet.

Gramophone

BBC Radio 3 to broadcast every opera by Wagner, Verdi and Britten in 2013

Radio station celebrates composer anniversaries with 140 hours of operatic music

Slipped Disc

Sotheby’s quits instrument auctions

The London auctioneer, one of the leading showcases for mult-million Stradivarius and Guarnerius sales, has shut down its precious instrument business to concentrate on the more profitable fine art market.

Power shifts at Universal as Max gets more headroom

Max Hole, the former rock band manager who revitalised classical labels Decca and DG in the past two years, has emerged much strengthened from an executive shuffle.

Classical Music Magazine

PRS instigates a New Music Biennial

PRS for Music Foundation has announced the formation of a New Music Biennial, starting in 2014, and is inviting organisations to submit project ideas for funding.

The National (found on Arts Journal)

Off-Key: On Paul Elie

Glenn Gould, the virtuoso pianist and great interpreter of Bach, once described the way recordings of music “insinuate themselves into our judgments, and into our lives,” thereby giving recording artists “an awesome power that was simply not available to any earlier generation.”

BBC Media Centre

Baroque Music To Tell Story Of Historic Houses: BBC Radio 3 In Partnership With The National Trust

In Spring 2013, from 3 March-1 April, as part of the BBC’s commitment to music programming, BBC Radio 3 and the National Trust present six live concerts and a live drama placing baroque performance in its historical context.

The Telegraph

The opera challenge for new man Baz

New Arts Council England chief Sir Peter Bazalgette should see that a leaner, cheaper English National Opera could offer a lot more than it does at present, argues Rupert Christiansen.

Slipped Disc

(Written on January 8, 2013 )

The Guardian

Access all arias: Die Walküre at the Royal Opera House

What does it take to put on one of the biggest operas? The Royal Opera House installs Big Brother-style cameras. Nicholas Wroe goes backstage

Philip Glass opera shows Walt Disney’s fantasy world in a new light

New work performed by English National Opera portrays a darker side to the cartoon king

Gramophone

David Robertson extends tenure as St Louis Symphony music director

Contract extension runs until the end of the 2015-16 season

The Independent

IoS classical preview of 2012: Plan ahead to catch composers’ anniversaries, rarities and evergreens

As the Southbank Centre braces itself for a year of Noise (see feature, page 58), and opera-lovers contemplate a feast of Britten, Verdi and Wagner, lutenist Paul O’Dette explores the melancholy and wit of 450-year-old John Dowland on Thursday at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Slipped Disc

Vienna Philharmonic ‘blocks access to archives’

A row has erupted in Vienna over claims by the Philharmonic that it has nothing more to hide about its Nazi past.

Fees may soar as orchestras face shortage of concertmasters

Browsing the jobs section of das Orchester, magazine of the German orchestral sector, we were amazed by the number of vacancies advertised for concertmasters.

Evening Standard

Cover-up by Opera Holland Park infuriates the locals

Friends of Holland Park are protesting about a planning application for Opera Holland Park to leave its huge canopy over Holland House, once the home of Charles James Fox, all year round.

3 News (Found via Google)

Opera flash mob delights local market

For nearly two decades people who want to make their names in classical opera in New Zealand have headed to a special place to learn from the best.

LA Times

They conduct classical, but they love pop and rock too

Ever wonder what longhairs listen to when they let their hair down? Once upon a time, when conductors were regarded as remote intellectual titans, no one would have thought to ask.

The Guardian

(Written on January 7, 2013 )

Gramophone

Aldeburgh Music announces details of year-long Britten centenary celebrations

Special events pay tribute to the British composer and Aldeburgh Music founder

The Guardian

Jocelyn Pook: inspired by mental illness

‘Working on this piece I realised that the notion of hearing voices naturally lends itself to musical ideas and exploration’

Daily Mail

‘There’s pressure to show more flesh’: Soprano Laura Wright says classical music world wants to add wow factor by using risque outfits

Her stunning voice saw her hand-picked by The Queen to record a song.

The Telegraph

Pippa Middleton, the BBC and Lance Armstrong head up list of this year’s opera sinners

BBC executives, Pippa Middleton, and Sally Bercow are to be named as the sinners of the year the public would be glad to see the back of in the English National Opera’s production of the Mikado.

Carmen: It ain’t over till the nude lady sings

A lusty new production of ‘Carmen’ by Calixto Bieito embraces the growing trend for red-hot opera

Limelight Magazine

Peter Maxwell Davies talks “spooky” opera, Australian wine

Sydney Chamber Opera stages haunting work The Lighthouse by Master of the Queen’s Music.

Classic FM

Tallis Scholars announce 40th anniversary world tour

John Brunning talked Whitacre, Tallis, and 50 Shades of Grey with Tallis Scholars director Peter Phillips as the renowned choir prepare for their 40th anniversary world tour.

Alaska Public (found on Musical Chairs)

Inmate Orchestra Gets Ready for Concert

The all-female Hiland Mountain Orchestra is rehearsing for its annual concert in December.  The string ensemble has gained national recognition for being the first women’s prison inmate orchestra in the nation.

Classic FM

(Written on November 26, 2012 )

Gramophone

James Ehnes to work with Wells Cathedral School students

Celebrated violinist will give an afternoon of open masterclasses with six students

Classic FM

André Rieu records with Jermaine Jackson?

The King Of The Waltz André Rieu invited Jackson 5 star Jermaine Jackson into his personal studio and has hinted at a possible recording project

Robots play Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’

Boffins at the Georgia Robotics and InTelligent Systems lab have taught roving robots to play Beethoven.

The Guardian

An opera for my resistance fighter aunt

Elisabeth von Thadden was executed by the Nazis in 1944. Christopher Fox on the story behind his new musical memorial

Classical Music Magazine

ENO could sell naming rights to London Coliseum

English National Opera has contracted brand and sponsorship agency Capitalize to develop its corporate partnerships and sponsorship opportunities – with naming rights to the London Coliseum, ENO’s home since 1968, potentially available to the right bidder.

Grant to study community impact of Liverpool’s In Harmony

An international research project has been awarded a grant to examine the impact of Liverpool’s In Harmony project on the community.

Slipped Disc

Nearly 40,000 sign petition for kidnapped conductor

Rodolfo Cazares has been held by Mexican gunmen for 450 days. It is not certain whether he is still alive and the Mexican government has gone into a deep siesta on the subject.

A tenor reports on the bomb that went off near the Israel Opera

The Berlin-based tenor Arnold Bezuyen was in rehearsal at Israel Opera when a bomb went off on a bus nearby today.

Classic FM

(Written on November 22, 2012 )

Classic FM

Lang Lang performs with John Legend for Dom Perignon event

Classical pianist Lang Lang and R&B singer-songwriter John Legend have collaborated in performance at a special event in New York hosted by Dom Perignon.

The Guardian

‘Opera virgins’ lured by scheme for first-timers at Coliseum

English National Opera launches effort to attract new audience with production of Don Giovanni

The Telegraph

The Queen’s concert is hit by discordant note

The Queen’s Medal for Music gala concert is due to provide a fitting send-off to the Diamond Jubilee, but one of its stars will be missing.

András Schiff: climbing two Himalayan peaks one after the other

Virtuoso pianist András Schiff is tackling Beethoven and Bach cycles in the toughest challenge of his career, says Ivan Hewett.

Classical Music Magazine

Glasgow’s Sistema Scotland outpost gets £1.325m boost  

Sistema Scotland’s new project in one of Glasgow’s most deprived areas has been awarded £1.325m from the Scottish government.

Slipped Disc

Breaking: Palestinian music school is bombed to rubble

The photograph that you see below has been sent to Slipped Disc by Neil van der Linden,  a Dutch colleague who helped organise a music school in, or very close to, these premises six years ago. The building collapsed after repeated shelling.

The Independent

Nicola Benedetti: The ‘classical babe’ with a cause

The violinist wants to share her music with more than an elite crowd

The Guardian

(Written on November 19, 2012 )

Gramophone

2012 Paul Hamlyn Foundation Awards for Artists announced

Three composers and five visual artists each receive £50,000 over three years

Classic FM

Sting and Lee Hall support In Harmony North East

Sting and Lee Hall have pledged their financial support to the In Harmony North East Project.

Elliott Carter dies aged 103

The Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer known for his avant-garde music died in New York last night.

Howard Shore’s The Hobbit soundtrack details released

Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore’s soundtrack for The Hobbit: And Unexpected Journey now has an official track-listing and artwork.

The Guardian

The Pilgrim’s Progress: Vaughan Williams’s masterpiece returns at ENO

On the eve of its comeback performance at English National Opera, conductor Martyn Brabyns explains why it has taken more than 60 years to bring this opera back to the stage

Slipped Disc

Chinese composer wins Russia’s Shostakovich award

Tan Dun says he wants to rebuild bridges between the two nations. He called Russia ‘the homeland of music’, which ought to go down well in the US, where Tan Dun completed his studies and lived for two decades.

The Arts Desk

Opinion: why arts education matters

Michael Gove’s plan to marginalise the arts spells disaster, argues one of theartsdesk’s writers from the frontline

The Daily Mail

That looks a little fiddly! Musician gives up his cello to make the smallest violins in the world… and they’re yours for £1,000

David Edwards gave up his professional music career to become a miniaturist, making pieces for doll’s houses

(Written on November 6, 2012 )