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

Rieu’s tour waltzes to Australia and New Zealand in 2013

King of the Waltz André Rieu confirms plans to tour in Australia and New Zealand in October 2013.

Video game music album set for repeated chart success

The Greatest Video Game Music 2 is currently topping the UK classical iTunes chart after being released yesterday.

Slipped Disc

Just in: Dude is Musician of the Year, 2013

It’s the Musical America awards – probably the most prestigious in  music-biz terms in the US.

Do something NOW for kidnapped conductor. This means you.

Rodolfo Cazares, conductor at Bremerhaven, has been held by Mexican bandits for 16 months. The Mexican authorities are doing little or nothing to procure his release. Various musical visitors have spoken up on his behalf, but progress seems to be stalled.

CMU (found on Musical Chairs)

Fazer and BBC Symphony Orchestra launch Children In Need single

Fazer and the BBC Symphony Orchestra yesterday launched this year’s Children In Need charity single, recorded as part of the Beeb’s occasional Urban Classic project.

The Strad

£50,000 award for Eliza Carthy

Folk fiddler and singer receives Paul Hamlyn Foundation award for composers

New film about Bronislaw Huberman

Documentary tells story of how violinist founded Palestine Symphony Orchestra

New Music Box

Blanton Soundspace: Space and Symmetry

Seventy-six Trombones, sir? Clearly you are not trying hard enough. Steve Parker’s recent Soundspace installment at the Blanton Museum searched for symmetry in a variety of ways, and nice round numbers like 80 seem to have fit the bill.

New Music Box

(Written on November 7, 2012 )

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 )