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18th September: Anna Netrebko hospitalised with COVID-19, Why are there so few female conductors? & Chung conducts birthday concert of the Staatskapelle

Friday 18th September 2020

Star soprano Anna Netrebko has been hospitalised with COVID-19

The opera singer, who back in May called for music fans to break social-distancing rules, posted on her Instagram last night (Thursday 17 September) and revealed she has been in hospital for five days, but “will recover soon.”

“Everything will be fine! The devil is not so terrible as it is described,” Netrebko insists in her post.

The soprano was admitted to hospital with pneumonia caused by COVID-19 after performing at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

She elaborates in her post: “I had two choices: One, to stay at home and be afraid to get infected, or two, to start working, driving around, performing at the risk of getting sick. I unconditionally chose two and do not regret anything.”

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Mais pourquoi y a-t-il si peu de femmes cheffes d’orchestre?

Le concours La Maestra s’ouvre ce mardi 15 septembre à la Philharmonie de Paris, avec pour but de faire connaître et d’accompagner des femmes cheffes d’orchestre.

Du 15 au 18 septembre se tient à la Philharmonie de Paris La Maestra, un concours pour sélectionner puis accompagner des femmes cheffes d’orchestre. On compte seulement 4 % de femmes cheffes d’orchestre dans l’Hexagone, une situation qui ne change que très lentement.

Ce sont des hommes qui sont à la tête des grandes institutions musicales, et donc ils engagent plus d’hommes que de femmes. Parce que c’est leur réseau, parce que ce sont leurs habitudes, explique la cheffe Claire Gibault, à l’initiative du concours.

Un pourcentage infime: en France et dans le monde, les cheffes d’orchestre sont rarissimes. 4 % dans l’Hexagone, selon les chiffres de la Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques. On y compte une seule femme cheffe d’un des 30 orchestres permanents, les orchestres les plus prestigieux, et ce depuis… le 1er septembre 2020. Il s’agit de Debora Waldman, tout juste nommée à la tête de l’orchestre d’Avignon, alors qu’on trouve pourtant autant de femmes que d’hommes dans les conservatoires. Au niveau mondial, la situation n’est guère différente, avec seulement 48 orchestres symphoniques permanents dirigés par des femmes, sur 778 (soit 6 %).

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But why are there so few female conductors?

The La Maestra competition opens on Tuesday 15 September at the Philharmonie de Paris, with the aim of introducing and accompanying women conductors.

From 15 to 18 September, a competition to select and then accompany female conductors is held at the Philharmonie de Paris La Maestra. There are only 4% of women conductors in France, a situation that is changing only very slowly.

“There are men who are at the head of the great musical institutions, and therefore they hire more men than women. Because it’s their network, because it’s their habits”, explains the conductor Claire Gibault, who initiated the competition. A tiny percentage: in France and throughout the world, conductors are extremely rare – 4% in France, according to figures from the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques.

There is only one woman conductor of one of the 30 permanent orchestras, the most prestigious orchestras, and this has been the case since the 1st September 2020. Debora Waldman has just been appointed head of the Avignon orchestra, even though there are as many women as men in the conservatories. At the global level, the situation is not much different, with only 48 permanent symphony orchestras conducted by women, out of 778 (or 6%).

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Myung-Whun Chung dirigiert Geburtstagskonzert der Staatskapelle

Im Sonderkonzert am 472. Gründungstag der Sächsischen Staatskapelle Dresden am 22. September 2020 präsentiert Myung-Whun Chung, Erster Gastdirigent des Orchesters, Dvořáks Siebte Symphonie im Kulturpalast. In Brahms’ Erstem Klavierkonzert ist Sir András Schiff, der erst vor wenigen Tagen seinen Einstand als Capell-Virtuos mit einem Klavier-Rezital in der Semperoper gegeben hat, erneut als Solist zu erleben. Das Programm des Sonderkonzerts ist anschließend auch beim Gastspiel der Staatskapelle in der Kölner Philharmonie zu hören.

Bereits am Sonntagabend, dem 20. September 2020, zeigt Myung-Whun Chung eine weitere Facette seines Könnens, wenn er als Pianist in Schuberts »Forellenquintett« im 1. Kammerabend der Saison mitwirkt – ein Zeichen für die engen Verbindungen zwischen dem Ersten Gastdirigenten und den KapellmusikerInnen. Beide Konzerte in Dresden sind bereits ausverkauft.

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Myung-Whun Chung conducts birthday concert of the Staatskapelle

In a special concert on the 472nd anniversary of the founding of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden on 22 September 2020, Myung-Whun Chung, Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra, presents Dvořáks Seventh Symphony in the Kulturpalast.

In Brahms’s First Piano Concerto, Sir András Schiff, who only a few days ago made his debut as Capell-Virtuos with a piano recital at the Semperoper, can once again be heard as a soloist. The programme of the special concert can then also be heard at the Staatskapelle’s guest performance in the Cologne Philharmonie.

Already on Sunday evening, 20 September 2020, Myung-Whun Chung will show another facet of his skills when he takes part as pianist in Schubert’s “Trout Quintet” in the 1st chamber evening of the season – a sign of the close ties between the Principal Guest Conductor and the Kapelle musicians. Both concerts in Dresden are already sold out.

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