The Times

LPO/Jurowski at the Festival Hall, SE1

Introducing this concert, Vladimir Jurowski spoke for 15 minutes: much longer than the first piece, Webern’s Variations.

The Telegraph

Amy Dickson: Siren of seductive, late-night sax

Amy Dickson is used to playing concertos but adopted a cooler sound for her new disc, she tells Adam Sweeting.

The Guardian

James Rhodes: ‘Find what you love and let it kill you’

My life as a concert pianist can be frustrating, lonely, demoralising and exhausting. But is it worth it? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt.

City of London Festival

Former Edinburgh Festival Fringe Director appointed as new City of London Festival Director

The City of London Festival today announced the appointment of Paul Gudgin to succeed Ian Ritchie as Festival Director.

Classic FM

Chloë Hanslip in Tim Lihoreau’s Wednesday Web Chat

The acclaimed violinist will be joining More Music Breakfast presenter Tim Lihoreau on Wednesday 1 May at 9am.

Classical Source

Southbank Centre takes festival of 20th century music to Shanghai

Gillian Moore, Julian Johnson and Sara Mohr-Pietsch stage discussions on 20th Century music with performances by the Aurora Orchestra and Shanghai Conservatory with Rory Macdonald.

City of London Festival

(Written on April 30, 2013 )

Fiddler’s Tale is the title that violinist Daniel Hope gave his programme for Saturday Classics. In these programmes he presents a selection of recordings that reflect his life in music so far and also which follow the story of his priceless violin – the wonderful 1742 Guarneri del Gesu, known as the “Ex-Lipinski”.

The programme includes recordings by Pinchas Zukerman whom Daniel heard perform in London at the age of five and who inspired him to take up the violin (Antonin Dvorak’s Romance in F minor op. 11). You will also hear pieces by another key inspiration in Daniel’s life, Yehudi Menuhin (Franz Schubert;s Symphony no. 2 in B flat major D.125 – 3rd movement) and music from his adopted home city Vienna (Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 in A major op. 92 – 2nd movement with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Christian Thielemann). His choice of music also includes the original 1950s line up of the celebrated Beaux Arts Trio, with whom Daniel has also performed; and a recording from his violin hero David Oistrakh.

Fiddler’s Tale is being broadcast again on Saturday, 20th April on Radio 3.

(Written on April 18, 2013 )

Tonight, at 8pm CET, the first ever live stream of a Yellow Lounge performance will be broadcast to the Deutsche Grammophon website. Featuring Daniel Hope (violin) and Ludovico Einaudi (piano), the evening will take place at the Stockholm club O-Baren Sturehof.

The set list will feature pieces from Daniel Hope’s upcoming album Spheres, to be released on February 15th on Deutsche Grammophon; a curated anthology of music exploring the concept of “musica universalis”: the idea that planetary movement creates sound.

The first e-single from the album, I Giorni, by Ludovico Einaudi, was released in mid-December 2012 and will be performed tonight by Daniel Hope, a string ensemble and Ludovico Einaudi himself, alongside several other tracks from Spheres.

To view the live stream, from 8pm CET tonight, please click here.

For more information on Spheres please click here.

(Written on January 10, 2013 )

This week, Jessica Duchen publishes the first part of her extended interview with Augustin Dumay. In it, Dumay discusses his career as both a solo violinist and conductor as well as his new CD; Camille Saint-Saëns: La muse et la poete, Concerto No. 1, Symphony No. 1. He also discusses his collaboration with Maria João Pires:

“immediately it was something extraordinary.”

Read the whole interview here. Look out for part 2 of Augustin Dumay’s interview next Monday.

(Written on August 22, 2012 )

The Telegraph

Tamsin Little on Delius: regrets of a lost composer

Violinist Tamsin Little tells Ivan Hewett why she loves the music of Delius.

The opera voice: Gianni Schicchi by Puccini

If you were ever in doubt that opera could be hilarious then Puccini’s one-act opera Gianni Schicchi will convince you.

NY Times

Evelyn Lear, Versatile Soprano, Dies at 86

Evelyn Lear, an American soprano who became a star in Europe in the 1950s and later won acclaim in the United States for singing some of the most difficult roles in contemporary opera, died on Sunday.

Arts Journal – Slipped Disc

Chariots of Fire composer: ‘success breeds creative paralysis’

If you missed a rare interview with Vangelis in the sports pages of the Observer, you’ll want to catch up on the Greek composer’s thoughts on economic crisis and its relation to creative impotence.

Jessica Duchen

The Trouble with Sponsorship

More people these days are making their feelings known about where sport and the arts get their necessary lucre. And it’s not a moment too soon. But where do we go from here?

Gramophone

Opera experiment at the Sydney Opera House

Presenting Erich Korngold’s Die tote Stadt has compelled Australia’s national opera company to think outside the box – literally.

(Written on July 5, 2012 )

The Guardian

Harrison Birtwistle: the music of myth

Harrison Birtwistle’s music has always drawn on the rituals and stories of English folk. But is the bucolic Latitude festival ready for disembowelling and murder?

Jessica Duchen

An operatic top ten

What makes a really good opera production?

LA Times

‘Wilhelm Furtwangler: The Legacy’ is 107 CDs of musical hypnotism

The CD box shows the enigmatic German conductor’s passion.

Toscani collection illustrates conductor’s great heights

RCA’s remastered 48-CD set is irresistible.

Financial Times

The bright continent

Africa Utopia is the month-long showcase that its curator Baaba Maal has dreamt for a decade.

New York Times

Surround Sounds Through the Centuries

Alan Gilbert’s ‘Philharmonic 360′ at Park Avenue Armory.

Arts Journal – Slipped Disc

Abbado, injured in a fall, gives rare interview

The conductor, 79 last week, refused to permit photographs of his facial scratches and bruises but appeared otherwise in good health when he spoke to the Berliner Morgenpost.

The hot young violinist who’s dividing China in two

This is Li Chuan Yun, also known as  Chanyun Li, who many Chinese think is the country’s violin equivalent to Lang Lang.

Lang Lang contracts out his tweets and facebook page

Lang Lang signs to Inverne Price for Social Networking.

Gramophone

Fabulous Figaro as Glyndebourne returns to its boots

Seventh production in 78 years a visual and vocal treat.

Jean-Philippe Rolland joins at EMI Classics as A&R president

Succeeds Andrew Cornall from July.

(Written on July 2, 2012 )

The ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation) has awarded its Rising Star Award to the stunning Spanish violinist Leticia Moreno, for her exuberant talent and tantalising stage presence. The impressive violinist was a protégée of the late Mstislav Rostropovich, who praised her as ‘a passionate musician who pours heart and soul into every single note. A violinist of enormous energy and talent’. She has also performed with some of the most celebrated orchestras across Europe so far, from the Mozarteum Orchestra, the National Philharmonic of Russia to the Orquesta Nacional de España.

This is by no means her first award; she has previously won international competitions such as Concertino Praga, Sarasate and Kreisler. However, the prestigious ECHO award enables her to play for new audiences in some of Europe’s most renowned concert venues; an opportunity to wow them with her virtuosity, stunning technique, and on-stage personality.

Watch many of Leticia’s performances here.

Her next live performance is at the Rheingau Musik Festival on the 18^th of July, tickets are available here.

(Written on June 22, 2012 )

The extortionately priced sales of classical instruments have caused many a debate, and even a few controversies, over the years. Thefts most often bring to light the price of private instruments, particularly in the press. In 2010, acclaimed violinist Min-Jin Kym famously left her violin on the floor of a café whilst she ate lunch: the violin was stolen from under her feet. Unfortunately, the violin in question was a rare 314-year-old Stradivarius (one of only 450 worldwide) with an eye-watering price tag of £1.2 million pounds (The Telegraph).

Celebrated violinist Johannes Pramsohler, knows the value of his instrument, but thinks of it as just that: ‘literally an instrument’. Speaking to german-language ‘Südstern’, Johannes acknowledges the importance of knowing an instrument’s value so that it is looked after correctly, but says he chooses his instrument based on its sound: ‘it is inspiring, if a violin sounds as good as mine’. His violin of choice is a P.G. Rogeri from 1713, previously owned by the illustrious Reinhard Goebel. When asked about its monetary value, Johannes notes that there is a question to be asked of any violinist: ‘do you buy a house – or a violin?’ He has obviously chosen the violin, something he calls a ‘great investment’.

Obviously, there are those who could buy a private island, let alone a house, for the price of their violin. The recent asking price for a legendary Guarneri del Gesù design was £12 million pounds just a few years ago, the highest recorded price in history. However, to a player some might say that the importance of an instrument is priceless; it is their livelihood and a definite necessity. But in such an economically driven world it is hard for many to see this past the pound signs.

Johannes Pramsohler

(Written on June 19, 2012 )

The Telegraph

Milos Karadaglic: a guitar lesson from the classical maestro

A latecomer to the classical guitar, Adam Sweeting seeks inspiration from Milos Karadaglic, one of the best players in the world.

Classical Music Magazine

BBCSSO gets permanent leader, after long search, in Laura Samuel

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra has appointed Laura Samuel as its new leader.

John Ireland in Chelsea festival runs 21-25 June

The English composer John Ireland lived in Chelsea for more than 50 years and died in a converted windmill in Sussex in June 1962.

Gramophone

The accidental birth of ATMA Classique

Because Johanne Goyette couldn’t make a living on the ondes Martenot.

Arts Journal – Slipped Disc

Khatchaturian prize split between Russian and Japanese

The Japanese violinist Ayako Tanabe shared first prize with the Russian Pavel Milyukov. The grand prix went to another Russian, Fedor Roudine.

BBC Music Magazine

Music increases children’s empathy 

New research suggests importance of playing music together.

The Guardian

Portrait of the artist: Edward Gardner, conductor

In the interview, Edward Gardner points out: ‘Orchestras are going to become more female – boys aren’t learning instruments’.

(Written on June 14, 2012 )

WildKat PR is delighted to welcome world-famous violinist and conductor Augustin Dumay to its client roster. Dumay is Musical Director of the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie and Musical Director of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra in Osaka. This summer, he will be performing with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie and Maria João Pires, as well as a series of concerts with l’Orchestre de la Francophonie and Louis Lortie. WildKat PR will be managing a European-wide campaign covering Dumay’s latest CD release with Onyx Classics; Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.1, Concertos.

For more information please visit Augustin’s website here.

(Written on May 24, 2012 )