Gramophone

Non-stop Beethoven at Berlin’s Konzerthaus

A 12-hour Beethoven marathon welcomes Iván Fischer as chief conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin

Classic FM

Nigel Kennedy UK tour dates confirmed for spring 2013

Nigel Kennedy has confirmed plans to tour the UK in April and May 2013.

Slipped Disc

Barenboim, 70 tomorrow, launches music academy for the Middle East

He has raised 20 million Euros from the German Bundestag and another 8.5  million from private donors.

Just in: Last chords tonight for South Africa’s failing orchestra

The Johannesburg Philharmonic gives its last concert tonight before closure. It has been placed under bankruptcy protection and is emitting airy talk of reorganization.

A famous quartet is silenced by a musical thief. Your help is urgently required

We’ve just had a call from the organisers of the Brodsky Quartet’s 40th anniversary tour of Holland.

Daily Mail

Classic FM goes to war on Radio 3 ‘copycats’: Station accuses BBC of stealing string of ideas following rival network’s revamp

Global Radio Network accuses BBC of trying to steal Classic FM listeners

Daily Express

Opera Chief is name in the frame to be new BBC boss

LORD Patten has wasted no time in searching for a new BBC boss. He is believed to have sounded out Royal Opera House chief Tony Hall.

Opera Now

Don’t miss the spectacular 2013 Verona Festival centenary season

For opera lovers, the Arena di Verona offers the most dramatic setting for a truly memorable evening.

Berliner Morgenpost via Slipped Disc

(Written on November 15, 2012 )

The Guardian

The Shard will open to the wrong music

The London Philharmonic is to mark the inauguration of the corporate monolith with Fanfare for the Common Man. Surely Elgar’s visions of the end of the empire would be a better choice?

LA Times

George Fenton’s influences

The British composer, who’ll be conducting his own score for ‘Frozen Planet’ at the Bowl this week, numbers Henri Mancini, Mark Rothko and the Beatles among his influences.

‘Prometheus’ seeks out classical music in deep space

In space, no one can hear you scream — but everyone can hear the classical music loud and clear.

Jessica Duchen

Musicians against playing for free at the Olympics

A Facebook group, Musicians Against Playing for Free at the Olympics, has been started by Ashley Slater (formerly of Loose Tubes).

Music + Art = Magic?

About the correlation of music and art in the Impressionist era, and why it was that it took about 20 years for composers to cotton on.

Arts Journal – Slipped Disc

The lady who thought Bach was alive

The Times today carries a fond obituary of Lina Lalandi, founder of the (defunct) English Bach Festival who died on June 8, aged 91.

London street-mugged pianist makes her live comeback next week

Alexandra Dariescu was fortunate to escape without serious injury when she was violently mugged for her phone in broad daylight on a London street. She has not let it get her down.

If you’re booked by the Johannesburg Philharmonic, watch out: they don’t play

We’ve been sent a translated article from the Afrikaans press and another from an English-language paper reporting continuing chaos and mismanagement at South Africa’s premier orchestra.

The Times

Piece created in prison makes the big city stage

This is the world premiere of Beyond This, a 12-minute piece composed by a group of prisoners under the guidance of the composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and Sara Lee, the artistic director of Music in Prisons.

Gramophone

NY Philharmonic teams with medici.tv stream landmark concert

Performance available to stream online for 90 days from July 6.

Obituary: Brigitte Engerer, pianist

The French pianist Brigitte Engerer was never a household name – and virtually unknown in Britain where she rarely performed – but was a popular and highly respected figure in the profession.

Sir Mark Elder awarded Leeds University honorary degree

Presentation ceremony will be held during Leeds International Piano Competition.

(Written on July 6, 2012 )

Over the past month, the young conductor Alessandro Crudele has been leading orchestras in South Africa, building upon his already excellent reputation in a new territory. He has conducted the Johannesburg Philharmonic and the KZN Philharmonic in thirteen concerts across Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.

South Africa’s leading English language newspaper The Citizen has praised Alessandro’s conducting, saying: “Crudele gave a highly dramatic interpretation [of Tchaikovsky's tone poem, Francesca da Rimini], replete with the enormous dynamic contrasts that the composer demands”. artSMart celebrated Alessandro’s resonant performance and Pretoria News noted Alessandro’s “flair for buoyant music making”.

Alessandro concludes his tour of South Africa tomorrow evening when he will conduct a concert of Ravel, Saint-Saëns and Sibelius in Pretoria.

For more information regarding Alessandro Crudele and any of his engagements, please visit his website or contact our Berlin Office.

(Written on November 11, 2010 )

Alessandro Crudele will embark on his tour of South Africa tomorrow, 6th October in Johannesburg. The tour, which lasts for five weeks, will see Alessandro perform with two of South Africa’s critically acclaimed orchestras, the Johannesburg Philharmonic and the KZN Philharmonic. Alessandro will lead the orchestras across Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, performing a wide repertoire (listed below). Check out Alessandro’s website and facebook to keep up to date with him whilst he is on tour.

Before he left for South Africa, we caught up with Alessandro to ask some questions about his time as a conductor and as a young musician.

South Africa Tour Dates:
Wed 6th October – Johannesburg (Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Brahms)
Thu 7th October – Johannesburg (Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Brahms)
Wed 13th October – Johannesburg (Vivaldi, Rodrigo, Weber, Brahms)
Thu 14th October – Johannesburg (Vivaldi, Rodrigo, Weber, Brahms)
Sun 17th October – Pretoria (Vivaldi, Rodrigo, Weber, Brahms)
Wed 20th October – Johannesburg (Respighi, Chopin, Tchaikovsky)
Thu 21st October – Johannesburg (Respighi, Chopin, Tchaikovsky)
Sun 24th October – Pretoria (Respighi, Chopin, Tchaikovsky)
Thu 28th October – Durban  (Haydn, Mozart)

Thu 4th November – Durban (Offenbach, Beethoven)
Wed 10th November – Johannesburg (Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Sibelius)
Thu 11th November – Johannesburg (Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Sibelius)
Fri 12th November – Pretoria (Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Sibelius)

(Written on October 5, 2010 )