Antonello Manacorda
Success in the Philharmonie Antonello Manacorda’s Berlin concert on 10 January, with Kammerakademie Potsdam, received a wonderful review from Frederik Hanssen in Der Tagesspiegel. The concert featured Beethoven’s 4th and 5th Symphonies, and took place in Berlin Philharmonie’s Kammermusiksaal.
A very strong Beethoven interpreter, this programme prefigures Manacorda’s Beethoven project entitled Alles Beethoven!, taking place next month with Kammerakademie Potsdam. They will be exploring all 9 symphonies, from 13 to 16 February 2014, in Potsdam’s Nikolaisaal.
One of top 10 CDs of 2013 Antonello Manacorda’s latest CD – Schubert Symphonies 5 and 6, with Kammerakademie Potsdam – has been selected by Manuel Brug as one of major German newspaper, Die Welt’s, top 10 CDs of 2013. And deservedly so!
Roman Rabinovich
Hot off the press! Highly successful Wigmore debut Roman Rabinovich recently made his debut in the Wigmore Hall’s main piano series. He performed to an almost-full hall, and the audience was extremely appreciative, calling him back for several encores. You can read a detailed review of the concert in Seen and Heard International: please click here. It was a challenging and wide-ranging programme, featuring Couperin, Haydn and Ravel (Rabinovich’s own arrangements of movements from Daphnis and Chloe) in the first half, and Chopin’s Op.28 Préludes in the second half. Roman Rabinovich handled it with technical wizardry, exquisite articulation, beautiful tone, elegance and thoughtfulness, and undoubted musicality.
Itamar Zorman
We are delighted to announce that we have signed violinist, Itamar Zorman, for European management. Known as Der Violinen-Flüsterer, Zorman performs in the USA, Europe, Israel and Japan, and is becoming known for the emotional intensity of his performances, coupled with his technical virtuosity. Please look out for future news , and take a look at this page to find out more.
Christian Baldini
Fantastic reviews of recent concert with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Argentina, in Buenos Aires Visit this link to read the review (in Spanish), in one of Argentina’s major newspapers, La Nacion. Amongst much else, the critic wrote that, ‘The orchestra responded to the conductor’s demands with undeniable warmth. The hands of this still only young man from Mar del Plata injected animation and life. He didn’t force the tempi and showed himself to be faultless. His refinement did not clash with his professionalism, shown in the way he realised the dynamic progressions. The orchestra reached unexpected heights, in terms of their sound, and all the sections shone. Almost as soon as the concert began, everyone knew that there was a very accomplished conductor on the podium.’ There was also a review by one of Buenos Aires’ most influential critics, Pablo Bardin, which you can read here (in English).
In search of the new generation of conductors “¿Quiénes prometen hoy convertirse en los sucesores de esas renombradas batutas?” asks the Argentinian music critic and journalist for La Nación, Cecilia Scalisi. In a recent article, Scalisi counts Christian Baldini (“un argentino que sueña”) amongst the most promising young conductors of today ( in the national Argentinian newspaper, La Nación). Click to read the full article online or as a pdf.
Llyr Williams
Mozart and Janácek with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Llyr Williams has been performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23 K.488 and Janácek’s Concertino with the Scottish Chamber Orchesta and director Alexander Janiczek. The team have received an excellent review in The Scotsman!
Praise for Llyr Williams’ new residency in Glasgow: Beethoven Project Along with the Elias Quartet and bass-baritone Stephan Loges, Llyr Williams is immersing himself in Beethoven over the next three seasons, with the first installment having taken place in September 2013 and receiving high praise in The Herald newspaper. Together, the artists are exploring the sonatas, songs and string quartets, in an imaginative series of talks and concerts, exploring Beethoven’s early works right through to the late ones. Further details can be found here.
Mitsuko Uchida
In Fono Forum magazine This month, Mitsuko Uchida features on the cover of Germany’s Fono Forum magazine, with a lengthy interview inside. To read it, in German, please click here.
Latest solo CD now released Just released is Mitsuko Uchida’s latest solo disc, featuring music written by Robert Schumann, towards the end of his life. The disc was recorded at the Reitstadl in Neumarkt earlier this year summer, using two of Uchida’s own pianos. To find out more and purchase this recording, please visit Decca’s website. Click here to listen to a few clips. The disc is already receiving critical acclaim, with journalists describing it as captivating, personal and new-minted. It was BBC Radio 3′s Disc of the Week on the 12th October CD Review programme.
Philippe Bach
Philippe Bach’s current plans include a production of Rigoletto at Das Meininger Theater , with the opening night on 18 October 2013. He will also be touring with the Kammerorchester Basel , harpist Xavier De Maistre and mezzo Lilia Tripodi at the end of November, with plans including a concert in Madrid.
Joseph Swensen
New appointment It has just been announced that Joseph Swensen will be Professor of Music (violin) at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, from autumn 2014 onwards. Mr Swensen has been a Visiting Professor since autumn 2013. For more information please click here.
Success in Scotland Click here to read a super review in the Scotsman of Joseph Swensen and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s latest project: a beautiful French programme, featuring harpist Sivan Magen and principal flute Alison Mitchell.
Joseph Swensen welcomed in the new year in Newcastle, performing two New Year’s Day concerts with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, with both the baton and the violin. Plans for the rest of this season include conducting engagements with the London Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole Toulouse, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, including a tour to the Herrenchiemsee Festival in Germany. On the violin, Swensen will give his first performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in around 20 years, with the Riverside County Philharmonic in California, under the baton of Tomasz Golka. If you have heard his 1992 recording of this work with Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (available on the Red Seal label), you will know that something very special can be expected.
