The Guardian

Happy 125th birthday, Concertgebouw

Amsterdam’s world-class orchestra and concert hall celebrate their 125th anniversary this week. Tom Service explains why the hall’s famously perfect acoustics create unexpected challenges for its players.

The Guardian

RPS awards: Stockhausen’s helicopters and the Guardian’s Tom Service

Nominations for the classical music industry’s most respected annual gongs, the Royal Philharmonic Society awards, have been announced

The Telegraph

David Mitchell on his ‘bonkers’ new 3D opera Sunken Garden

The novelist David Mitchell speaks to Sameer Rahim about writing the libretto for a spectacular occult-mystery-film-opera, Sunken Garden.

Classic FM

Soprano Julia Lezhneva on her fairytale career so far 

The talented 23-year-old soprano shares the highlights of her career so far with John Brunning, and talks passionately about Baroque vocal music.

Gramophone

Rosenblatt Recitals founder announces new summer music festival

Branscombe Festival will run from July 26-28, 2013.

Classical Music Magazine

Richard Hallam takes up ISM presidency

The Incorporated Society of Musicians has formally announced the appointment of music education specialist Richard Hallam as its president, an appointment which will last one year. Hallam takes over from choral conductor Suzi Digby.

The Guardian

(Written on April 12, 2013 )

Telegraph

Composer threatens to withdraw tax after latest opera rejected

Michael Nyman, who has worked as a film composer for 30 years, complained he had proposed to stage a work in Covent Garden but had been rejected.

Classical Music Magazine

RPS Awards announced, with Abbado and Pollini winning

Two Italians in London, Claudio Abbado and Maurizio Pollini have won major awards at the Royal Philharmonic Society awards held at the Dorchester Hotel in London on 8th May.

Sound and Music appoints new chief executive

Susanna Eastburn, currently music director at Arts Council England, is to be the new chief executive of Sound and Music.

LA Times

L.A. Philharmonic extends jazz contract with Herbie Hancock 

The L.A. jazz scene will continue to be led by a legend as the L.A. Philharmonic announced a one-year extension to Herbie Hancock’s contract as the Creative Chair for Jazz.

The New York Times

Don’t sing with your mouth full

Opera, of all the art forms, is singularly associated with food, whether because of the appetites of well-girthed singers or the sensual pleasures celebrated in its rich ragout of music, emotion and stagecraft.

Financial Times

Peak performances

Conductor Stephen Barlow talks about his musical career and his new challenge of putting the Buxton Festival on the map.

Gramophone

Yo-Yo Ma and Paul Simon named 2012 Polar Music Price laureates

This year’s Polar Music Prize has been awarded to cellist Yo-Yo Ma and singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Each laureate receives one million Swedish krona and will be presented with his prize by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Evening Standard

Get with the Proms programme 

Bookings opens on Saturday for the classical music extravaganza of the year – from Barenboim on the podium to a stage full of 600 singers.

The Guardian

Riccardo Muti to conduct Vatican concert in front of Pope Benedikt XVI

Italian maestro will lead Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera orchestra in playing Vivaldi and Verdi to mark pope’s seventh anniversary.

(Written on May 9, 2012 )