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 )

Today is WildKat PR’s fifth birthday and we have been reflecting in the office on some of the many highlights – events and concerts we have attended, as well as musicians and organisations we have been privileged to work with.

An almost impossible task would be to narrow these past years down to just five highlights, as there have been so many, but we have done our best:

Kathleen: Blogging with Ivor Bolton

One of my earliest clients was the conductor Ivor Bolton. We were working with him over a particularly busy season at Salzburg Festival and encouraged him to keep a behind the scenes blog while he was there. At the time, no-one else was doing this, and Ivor  received so much interest and positive feedback for his writing – it opened him up to a much wider, international audience and led to press coverage across Europe.

Vesna: Working with AyseDeniz Gokcin

When we began working with AyseDeniz, she had very little press in the UK, but since working with her, her classical reworking of Pink Floyd pieces have gone viral online and helped draw a huge ‘non-classical’ audience to classical music, and she’s shown that projects can be unusual and innovative without being gimmick-y. AyseDeniz is an example of a brilliant classical artist who happens to love her instrument and other musical styles so much that she tried to extract all possible sounds from it.

Fleur: Visiting the IAMA Conference 

When I began working with WildKat PR as an intern I was fortunate to be able to attend some of the networking events at the IAMA Conference. I was able to meet leading members of the industry, and to talk about WildKat. It was nerve-wracking but enjoyable and opened up a whole new world to me, making me even more eager and inspired to pursue a career in the classical music industry.

Victoria: Attending a performance of Don Giovanni in Baden Baden

In 2011 I was lucky enough to attend one of the performances of Don Giovanni in Baden Baden which was recorded and later released on Deutsche Grammophon. There are so many reasons that this concert sticks out as one of the highlights of my WildKat career, firstly because of its incredible cast: Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Luca Pisaroni, Rolando Villazon, Joyce DiDonato, Mojca Erdmann and Diana Damrau conducted by Yannick  Nézet-Séguin. This was also the first time I’d travelled outside of the UK for work, Don Giovanni is my favourite opera of all time, AND afterwards I met my idol, Joyce. It’s the first and only time I have been professionally speechless.

Harriet: Silent Opera

As far as transport to concerts go, being taken by boat from Festival Pier to deepest darkest East London was a lovely experience and a great way to have a collective buzz from the whole audience before the show had even begun. The views down the Thames were breath taking and a hassle free trip meant for huge excitement for all when we finally arrived at the mysterious venue.

(Written on April 5, 2013 )

The Telegraph

Orchestras must ‘shed elitism’ to survive, says Universal Music boss

Head of Universal Music’s classical division tells orchestras to show emotion and leave the concert hall if they want to gain new fans.

‘Tyrannical’ Walt Disney gets an opera

The Perfect American, an opera by Philip Glass, opens in Madrid and shows Walt Disney as ‘a racist, misogynist megalomaniac’.

Slipped Disc

UPDATE: Classical editor has quit the New York Times

James Oestreich has finally accepted a buyout and will retire at the end of the month from the New York Times.

Deceptive Cadence NPR

Back Off The Bach To Drive Safely

Researchers in London claim that listening to classical music makes for unsafe driving — in fact, that it caused more erratic driving than hip-hop, heavy metal or not listening to music at all.

The Arts Desk

Barbican and Southbank 2013-14 seasons: still neck and neck 

Undaunted by the current climate, the biggest steerers of London’s concert scene sail on

Planet Hugill

Flicker – new opera on Locked-In Syndrome

Music can sometimes illuminate areas that text on its own cannot.

The Pacific Standard (found via Arts Journal)

Playing Music May Lower Blood Pressure

New research from the Netherlands finds neurocardial differences between young musicians and their non-musical peers

Opera News

Joyce DiDonato to Host Live, Web-Streamed Master Class at Juilliard School on 1/25

On Friday, January 25, mezzo-soprano, Joyce DiDonato, will host a master class with four students from The Juilliard School’s Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts.

Fast Co.Design

A Board Game Designed For Classical Music Buffs

Virtuoso may not have mass appeal, but it would liven up band class

Fast Co. Design

(Written on January 24, 2013 )

Gramophone

Joyce DiDonato releases a download-only album 

Former Gramophone Artist of the year mezzo Joyce DiDonato releases a ‘digital-only’ album on ITunes.

Arts Journal- Slipped Disc

‘Save Sibelius goes live and combative’ 

Users of Sibelius software are taking action after the owners shut down their London headquarters and stop development.

How the local German press are covering the kidnapped conductor 

Norman Lebrecht follows how the kidnapping of conductor Rodolfo Cazares is being documented by the local German press.

Richest violin contest is stunned at number of applicants… 

Having raised the prize money to 140, 000 Euros, The Joseph Joachim International Competition is inundated with applications from violinists all over the world.

The Guardian 

Glyndebourne timelapse: putting up the fairy Queen set  

David Levene gives us an insight into the workings of Glyndebourne with this timelapse video comprising of 3000 photographs taken over 12 hours.

Classic FM 

Scottish military wives for Christmas No. 1?

Following the success of the Military Wives, a group of Scottish singers is releasing an album in the hope of repeating their success.

Will Todd: Mozart would have used synthesizers 

Jubilee Composer Will Todd talks Mozart, synthesizers and performing for the queen with Classic FM’s Jamie Crick.

(Written on July 18, 2012 )

NY Times

Enduring Legacy of Encouragement

Establishing a career in opera has never been easy, and young singers need whatever help they can get. The great bass-baritone George London knew all about that.

The Telegraph

Schubert is needed now more than ever

The composer’s musical legacy contains more consolation for our loneliness than any other human creation.

LA Times

Getting ‘Moby-Dick’ opera up and sailing

Tenor Ben Heppner and composer Jake Heggie discuss the challenges of bringing Herman Melville’s American classic to San Diego’s Civic Theatre.

Gramophone 

A change of cellist for the Emerson Quartet

After 34 years, a new cellist joins the ensemble

BBC Music Magazine 

Peter Hill

The world-renowned Messiaen interpreter on why he’s branched out to Bach with his latest recording

Joyce DiDonato wins Grammy

Mezzo-soprano receives standing ovation at ceremony

http://www.classical-music.com/news/joyce-didonato-wins-grammy

(Written on February 14, 2012 )

Every day the WildKat team scan newspapers, websites and blogs for interesting classical music news, and now we’ve decided to publish our lists so that you can get a classical music news summary each day.  If you’ve read anything interesting each day that we’ve missed do feel free to comment and let us know!

Rory Bremner to parody Bullingdon club with translation of comic opera

Comedian Rory Bremner has made an English translation of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld for Scottish Opera, to mock the posh Oxford society which David Cameron and Boris Johnson were members of.

Music for all: latest from ISM

ISM wants the government to include music in the Baccalaureate.

The Mahler dream team

Leipzig and Chailly host perhaps ‘the ultimate’ Mahler Festival – the opening and closing concerts of the festival are going to be released on ACCENTUS DVD in September.

I’m thinking of tweeting the BBC Proms

Norman Lebrecht wonders if audiences and musicians should tweet during concerts to bring classical music up to date with the social media age.

Opera Star Joyce DiDonato’s Cinderella Story

The American mezzo talks about her masculine roles.

(Written on May 25, 2011 )