BBC Music Magazine

Tenor Rupert Charlesworth wins the Handel Singing Competition 2013

Arias from Rodelinda, Theodora and Belzhasser impressed adjudicators at this year’s competition.

BBC Music Magazine

Orchestrapaedia

Gramophone

(Written on April 18, 2013 )

The Independent

Independent podcast: Saimir Pirgu

Quality voices will always be a rare and valued commodity. The young Albanian tenor Saimir Pirgu falls into that category.

The Guardian

Saint and sinner: the Nelson Mandela opera

Tribesman, activist, icon – all the phases of Nelson Mandela’s life are o display in a new opera.

Gramophone

Bach cantata manuscript goes on public display at Christie’s in London

Rare chance to view Bach’s musical hand before ale on June 13.

New York Times

Video Preserves Hints of Future for a Director

Just out of Harvard, the director Peter Sellars made his name in the early 1980s. But what do you do when your defining work is made before you’re 30? An answer is found in Mr. Sellars’s haunting 2010 staging of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion”.

Arts Journal – Slipped disc

Russians squeaks it in tight Nielsen contest

Olga Volkova, a pupil of Zakha Bron in Cologne, took first prize in the Carl Nielsen competition in Odense.

Eminent Italian maestro is dead

We’re receiving reports of the death of Piero Bellugi, music director of the RAI orchestra from 1967 and, until his death, artistic director of the opera in Palermo, Sicily.

The Times

Salonen, bringer of interactive conducting at the Science Museum

Do you ever dream of guiding the the Philharmonia through a full-blooded performance of The Planets? Dream no longer.

(Written on June 11, 2012 )

The Telegraph

Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade: Vivaldi’s Olympic opera returns

L’Olimpiade is one of Vivaldi’s 50 or so largely obscure operas, most of which have never been performed.

The Guardian

Accordion wrestling – squeezy does it

In the 40s and 50s, accordion wrestling was huge in Finland. Meet the man who brings it here.

A guide to Judith Weir’s music

Lightness, wisdom and imagination. Welcome to the rich musical world of Judith Weir.

LA Times

Bone flutes found in German caves point to roots of creativity

Make jokes about flute players all you want, but it’s looking more likely that our earliest musical impulses may have been fed by a variation on just such an instrument.

Johnny Mandel has composed quite a life in music

The songwriter, 86, convenes an orchestra for a weekend gig.

Classical Music Magazine

Creative Scotland drops ‘flexible funding’, meaning uncertain future for ensembles

Scottish music organisations including Aberdeen’s Sound festival, the Hebrides and Red Note ensembles, and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, are facing an uncertain future following a financial review by funding body Creative Scotland (CS).

Muso

Composers sought for year-long collaborations

Applications are now open for the 2012/13 Adopt a Composer scheme, which pairs Making Music member groups with up-and-coming composers for a year-long collaboration that results in a new piece.

Winners of NCEM Composers Award announced

Young composers Alex Woolf (16) and Benjamin Rowarth (20) have been named the winners of the NCEM Composers Award 2012, in the under 18 years category and the 19 to 25 years category respectively.

Jessica Duchen

Off to Munich

Tomorrow I’m heading for the new classical music trade fair, Classical:NEXT, in Munich. The Classical:NEXT programme is jam-packed with intriguing talks, showcases, performances and screenings.

Gramophone

Jonas Kaufmann withdraws from Royal Opera House Les Troyens

Tenor suffering from a kong-running infection.

(Written on May 30, 2012 )

The Telegraph

Thomas Blumire: young composer who defies barriers

At 19, Thomas Blumire is a promisingly talented and already accomplished composer, currently hoping to study for a degree in music.

Ian Bostridge on Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: ‘I’d never have sung without him’

English tenor Ian Bostridge tells how the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau came to inspire him.

Classical music dead? Nico Muhly proves it isn’t

The Manhattan-based composer Nico Muhly – the hottest talent in contemporary classical music – is so attracted to everyday drone noise that he’s composed an album in tribute.

The Guardian

How Maurice Sendak helped me stage his operas

Months before his death, the children’s author met director Netia Jones to discuss opera versions of his famous stories.

ArtsJournal – Slipped disc

‘I don”t do crossover’, says YouTube’s most watched pianist

One of the things I like best about Valentina Lisitsa is her lack of guile.

Gramophone

Baritone Derek Hammond-Stroud has died

The English singer Derek Hammond-Stroud has died; he was 86.

Obituary: Alexander Arutiunian, composer

Alexander Arutiunian has died at the age of 91 in Yerevan, the city of his birth.

LA Times

Jazz impressions with Chris Botti

Trumpeter Chris Botti tours constantly with his instrumentals. He dishes on his career, his latest album, ‘Impressions’, and musical collaborations.

(Written on May 29, 2012 )

The Telegraph

Franciscan Friar becomes first to sign major record deal

A Franciscan tenor has become the first ever friar to sign a major recording contract, after music executives heard him sing in his native Italy.

Interview: composer Jonathan Dove talks about his new opera, The Walk From the Garden

Jonathan Dove tells how Adam and Eve meets Paradise Lost in his new opera, The Walk From the Garden, premiering at Salisbury Festival.

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: touchstone of perfection

Ivan Hewett pays tribute to the masterful German classical singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who has died aged 86.

The Guardian

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was a revolutionary performer

Fischer-Dieskau reorientated our listening experience, writes Daniel Barenboim in a personal tribute to the great baritone.

A guide to John Zorn’s music

Anything and everything goes in Zorn’s constantly evolving musical world: his pieces are a vision of what happens when postmodern practices become something much more meaningful.

World’s youngest conductor? Boy, 14, to direct Venezuelan orchestra

José Ángel Salazar, part of the country’s successful El Sistema music programme, is not old enough to earn a wage.

NY Times

Latest Met Aria: Bad Opera News Is No News

Opera News, 76 years old and one of the leading classical music magazines in the country, said on Monday that it would stop reviewing the Metropolitan Opera, a policy prompted by the Met’s dissatisfaction over negative critiques.

LA Times

Carl Davis joins L.A. Chamber Orchestra for a silent film special

Composer Carl Davis and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra take on the music of silent films at a Royce Hall event on Sunday night.

Gramophone

Dublin International Piano Competition winner announced

Nikolay Khozyainov has been named the ninth winner of the Dublin International Piano Competition. The 19-year-old Russian receives €15,000.

(Written on May 22, 2012 )

The Guardian

A guide to Elliott Carter’s music

Taking a close listen to the amazing work of 103-year old Elliott Carter.

Gramophone

Rosenblatt Recital Series moves to Wigmore Hall

New season opens with American tenor Lawrence Brownlee.

LA Times

Injured conductor Kurt Masur withdraws from concerts in June

Kurt Masur, the renowned German conductor, is withdrawing from concerts through the end of June after falling off the podium last week during a concert in Paris and injuring himself.

ArtsJournal – Norman Lebrecht

Another German orchestra appeals for survival

It’s the Bergische Symphoniker, serving the towns of Remscheid and Solingen for 16 years, since a prior merger.

Chichester Psalms creator goes to meet his maker

John Birch, organist at Chichester Cathedral who led the first UK performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Psalms, has died, aged 82.

The Times

Exclusive interview: opera star Toby Spence on recovering from cancer

After months spent keeping his thyroid cancer secret, opera star Toby Spence talks about the battle to regain his voice.

(Written on May 1, 2012 )

The Independent

Stuart Skelton: One man, two tenors

The Austrian heldentenor tells Anna Picard about cigars, being an ‘aryan hunk’, and the secret of singing in two places at once.

The legendary, and tragic, voice of a generation at war

Contralto Kathleen Ferrier was born 100 years ago. Jessica Duchen celebrates a very British love affair.

Conductor in hospital after fall

The world-famous conductor Kurt Masur is recovering in hospital.

The Guardian

The five myths about contemporary classical music

Contemporary classical music is devoid of melody and appeal, all noise and no fun. At least, that’s the cliche.

Gramophone

Capturing personality through music

BBC Radio 3 and National Portrait Gallery unveil Portraits Day.

Christie’s auctions Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin bow for record amount

Sale formed part of the company’s ‘Artistry of the Bow’ auction on April 26.

LA Times

Opera couples debate dual role as lover and colleague

Singers who are linked offstage sees pros and cons of working together on stage.

Jessica Duchen

Kathleen Ferrier – and the Kathleen Ferrier Award

Last night at the Wigmore Hall, the Kathleen Ferrier Awards for young singers held its finals.

(Written on April 30, 2012 )

The Guardian

Kathleen Ferrier – remembering one true voice

Just a single phrase of Kathleen Ferrier’s singing reveals a voice of extraordinary power and expression. She’s still an inspiration, nearly 60 years after her tragically early death.

The Observer

National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, St John Passion, Polyphony; Rigoletto – review

Fiona Maddocks reviews various musical events including the LA Phil, the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchesta and Gustavo Dudamel.

The Independent

Lesley Garrett: ‘I lost my voice in the middle of an opera; I thought my career was over’

Opera is the greatest artistic collaboration known to mankind, as it combines visual art, orchestral overtures, a powerful dance element, a vocal element and, most importantly, powerful drama.

International Conductors’ Academy of the Allianz Cultural Foundation, Royal Festival Hal

A showcase for three young conductors, a malfunction at the printers, and for the first time in my experience no programmes for the audience and the prospect of blind-tasting their talents.

The Telegraph

Colin Lee: Missing a tenor? Blame the accountant…

A modest tenor may sound like a contradiction in terms, but that’s how I’d describe Colin Lee. Even more exceptionally, he combines his international operatic career with work as a chartered accountant.

Can non-Christians appreciate Bach’s St Matthew Passion?

Bach’s St matthew Passion is  musical masterpiece. But can you understand it without sharing its creator’s beliefs?

The New York Times

Reconfigured Requiem with Words to the Force

For the Hungarian conductor Ivan Fischer the unexpected is the norm.

The Times

Why opera is booming in South Africa

This is an unlikely home for opera. Yet what was once condemned by the post-apartheid government as the white man’s colonial culture has been taken up with gusto by South Africa’s townships.

The Titanic Requiem at Westminster Central Hall, SW 1

Works inspired by the great ship run the full range, from Beryl Bainbridge’s first-class novel, Every Man for Himself, all the way down to Julian Fellowes in steerage.

Gramophone

The Halle perform Bernstein’s Wonderful Town in Salford

UK audiences would enjoy an opportunity to hear Wonderful Town played by a full-sized symphony orchestra; Sir Mark Elder, describes it as ‘essentially a big string section with a big band – a Wagner orchestra that swings’.

Jessica Duchan

Anderszewski wins Recording of the Year at BBC Music Magazine Awards

Here’s that exciting piano news we were waiting for: Piotr Anderszewski has won Recording of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards for his CD of Schumann’s Humoresque, Gesange der Fruhe and Studies for Pedal Organ.

Financial Times

Sound tracks

The London Olympics will be celebrated in new work by 20 composers. But what connects their music with sport?

Juliet Stevenson reading Melanie Reid’s text for ‘Spinal Chords’

(Written on April 16, 2012 )

The Guardian

James Gaddarn Obituary

James Gaddarn, who has died aged 87, spent his working life in the service of classical music, particularly choral music.

Jonathan Lemalu: How I Learned To Sing In Chinese

Bass-baritone Jonathan Lemalu loves a challenge, so how did he learn to sing in Mandarin for the premiere of Three Poems by Mu Xin?

LA Times

The LA And Brooklyn New Music Scenes, Competition Or Love-fest?

The real battleground is inter-borough. The New York Philharmonic doesn’t touch this stuff, according to Mark Swed.

New Yorker

Can The Kennedy Center Find New Life?

In 1971, the complex, bearing the name John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, made its début. But a mist of disappointment soon settled over the building.

Gramophone

Jeremy Denk To Release Debut Album For Nonesuch

Pianist records Ligeti and Beethoven

ENO’s Mini Operas Launches

Budding librettists are invited to open the competition.

Independent

Vittorio Grigolo: Romantic Hero Who’s Proud To Be A Popera Star

The Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo loves to mix up his music.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/vittorio-grigolo-romantic-hero-whos-proud-to-be-a-popera-star-7586221.html

(Written on March 28, 2012 )

Have you ever wondered what really goes on off stage at the world’s leading opera houses? Christopher Gillett’s memoir Who’s My Bottom? paints a scurrilous and funny picture of the best and worst aspects of working in the world of opera. Revealing personal experiences of frustration, money worries and humiliation Christopher accounts daily life for a “jobbing singer”.

WildKat PR are very excited to be managing an international press campaign for Christopher and Who’s My Bottom?

[In case you were wondering, the title is a doff of the hat to Christopher's somewhat signature role of Flute in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream which he has performed over 100 times.]

You can buy Who’s My Bottom? from Amazon, or for mac users, it is also available as an iBook.

(Written on March 19, 2012 )