Telegraph

Simon Rattle, interview: ‘of course the orchestra is stroppy’

Sir Simon Rattle often finds himself caught between German and British culture – but he relishes the challenge, he tells Ivan Hewett, ahead of two Proms.

Guardian

Mittwoch aus Licht – review

Mittwoch aus Licht consists of four scenes, framed by a purely electronic Greeting and Farewell. It’s famous, notorious even, for including as one of those scenes the Helicopter Quartet, first performed in 1995, in which the four members of a string quartet take to the skies with their instruments in four helicopters, and sound and video images of their aerial playing is transmitted to the audience on the ground.

Classic FM

German customs demand €380k for return of violin

Customs at Frankfurt airport have seized an antique violin from a Japanese violinist and are demanding a total of €380k in unpaid duty.

Guitarist Gary Ryan awarded RCM Fellowship

Gary Ryan, composer of Birds Flew Over The Spire, is awarded a fellowship from the Royal College of Music

New York Times

Melodies, Immersive and Vibrant: Mostly Mozart Festival with Stephen Hough and Andrew Manze

There are many reasons to like Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival. But one of the best is its subtle yet crucial transformation of the chronically woeful Avery Fisher Hall, the home base of the festival’s orchestra, which played a program of Bach, Mendelssohn and Mozart on Tuesday evening, led by Andrew Manze, making his festival debut.

The Telegraph