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 )

Arts Journal: Slipped Disc

Early Music Giant Calls It Quits.

Gustav Leonhardt has told the Paris journal Le Nouvel Observateur that he has given the last concert of his life.

BBC Music Magazine

Sir Mark Elder Becomes Principal Artist With The Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment.

Conductor to join Sir Simon Rattle and others in the prestigious role.

The Times

Girls Aloud In The Cathedral Choir Stalls.

Alexandra Coghlan on the appointment of Caroline Trevor to the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir and the role of women in church choirs.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/music/classical/article3256946.ece

(Written on December 14, 2011 )

Royal Philharmonic Society

Presentation of Honorary Membership to Mark Elder

Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society has been awarded to Sir Mark Elder CBE, Music Director of the Halle Orchestra.

Slipped Disc: Norman Lebrecht

Outrage: UK immigration bans Korean pianist from London festival 

Pianist Sunwook Kim is unable to keep his appointment to play at the Wimbledon Music Festival

New York Times

Orchestra keeps up hunt to fill its top job 

At least six people have turned down the opportunity to be the NY Philharmonic’s top executive 

The Times

Toby Spence on his role in Eugene Onegin

Toby Spence played the rake offstage and on. Now, the tenor loves gardening and his new role swings both ways.

Slipped Disc: Norman Lebrecht

Classical covers to cry for 

Classical KUSC has come up with a list of the Worst Classical Albums of All Time. Ever. Really.

(Written on November 21, 2011 )

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

The Guardian

The five symphonies that changed music.

Ahead of a new four-part series exploring how the symphony has shaped our history and identity, Mark Elder chooses the form’s five key works.

New York Times

Philharmonic and Glass Meet for Movie Night

However much credit Alan Gilbert may deserve for beginning to update the New York Philharmonic repertory, the slowness with which it has come to the music Philip Glass says a lot about its distance from today’s repertory.

The Times (£)

La Sonnambula at Covent Garden

Funny thing, sleepwalking — especially in Bellini’s opera. You can sleepwalk each night without nearest and dearest ever knowing. Out for the count, you still talk and sing. Even a freezing alpine snowdrift, touched with bare feet, won’t break the spell. Marvelous. Ridiculous. That’s opera.

The Financial Times

La Sonnambula , Royal Opera House, London

It is interesting to speculate what kind of opera Bellini might have written if he had been alive today. Surely he would not have tried anything as simple as La sonnambula? This modest tale of a girl who goes sleepwalking before her wedding and almost loses her loved one belongs in an altogether more innocent age.

(Written on November 4, 2011 )

It’s that time of year again and the BBC Proms are almost upon us. We want to know what/who you are excited about seeing, and give you our picks of this year’s Proms Festival. Each WildKat has been limited to three Unmissable events… not an easy feat.

Kathleen:

Prom 5: Martha Argerich performs Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Despite turning 70 in June, Argerich is still the grand dame of the piano and at the top of her game. She’s having a really busy year which includes releasing a DVD on ACCENTUS Music of the world premiere of Rodion Shchedrin’s Romantic Offering, a double concerto for Piano, ‘Cello and Orchestra, which I am also really excited about [shameless plug - sorry]!

Prom 29: I saw Dudamel recently in LA, and he is such an amazing animator and conductor. His skill and talent is still so fresh despite having been in the spotlight now for a number of years. I’ve lived with the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra and Gustavo in South America, and just love their passion for music making.

Prom 46: Being a violinist myself I am a sucker for this kind of repertoire. I think the husband and wife team of Viktoria Mullova and Matthew Barley promises to be a sizzling late night Prom. Be sure to book tickets in the Gallery so you can lie down and just enjoy!

Victoria:

Well, I wanted to pick SBYO/Dudamel too, but Kat beat me to it. Mahler 2 is possibly my favourite work of ALL TIME, so I will definitely back her up on that selection.

Prom 28: I love a bit of Renaissance choral music (Kat says this makes me a geek), and Victoria is one of my favourites (not least because he has an excellent name). This late night Prom will be a great chance to hear the fantastic Tallis Scholars perform.

Prom 55: Here comes another plug for one of our artists…The WildKats are all very excited about working with Bass-Baritone Luca Pisaroni and he is performing at Glyndebourne Festival this year in the role of Argante in their new production of  Handel’s Rinaldo. I’m looking forward to seeing the company bring this production to the BBC Proms with a talk beforehand from Handel expert Ruth Smith and writer, critic and Handel biographer Jonathan Keates.

Prom 67: Sarah Connolly. Do I need to say more…? OK, I don’t, but I will. One of Britain’s foremost mezzo sopranos will perform Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the LSO and conductor Sir Colin Davis. Also make sure to check out the bass, Matthew Rose. I caught him at the Proms two years ago singing Handel’s Messiah, and he was INCREDIBLE.

Credit: Peter Warren

Vicky:

Prom 9: I really struggled to pick just three of the BBC Proms I am looking forward to this year, but this one definitely makes the cut!  With a programme of works by Sibelius, Bartok and Janacek performed by the Hallé Orchestra under Mark Elder, this promises to be an amazing concert.  Pianist András Schiff joins the orchestra in performance of Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

Prom 18: In this Prom the amazing flautist Emmanuel Pahud performs two flute concerto world premieres by Elliott Carter and  Marc-André Dalbavie – a performance not to be missed!  BBC National Orchestra of Wales performs a programme of Beethoven alongside these world premieres, under the baton of Thierry Fischer.

Prom 22: I’m a bit of a Rachmaninov fan so I was pretty excited when I saw this Prom!  Gianandrea Noseda leads the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in an all-Rachmaninov programme, with his famous Vocalise and his grand choral work The Bells.  This is a musical feast of Russian choral music and song – I can’t wait!

(Written on May 26, 2011 )