Itamar Zorman
We are delighted to announce that violinist, Itamar Zorman, has won a prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Please click here for more information. The Borletti-Buitoni Trust helps outstanding young musicians to develop and sustain international careers with awards that fund tailor-made projects.
Philippe Bach
Philippe Bach conducting Der Rosenkavalier Amongst much else, Philippe Bach is currently conducting Der Rosenkavalier at Das Meininger Theater, in a new production directed by Rudolf Frey. The MDR network has made a short film about this production for their programme, “music” – Kultur-Angebote aus Mitteldeutschland. You can watch the film here.
Joseph Swensen
Fantastic review of concert with London Philharmonic Orchestra Joseph Swensen recently worked with the London Philharmonic and violinist Liza Ferschtman. They performed a big Romantic programme (Wagner-Bruch-Tchaikovsky) to a full house at Brighton Dome, which was received with standing ovations from the audience. The Brighton Argus newspaper wrote a very complimentary review, which can be read here.
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.
Christian Baldini
Recording with the Scharoun Ensemble During the Scharoun Ensemble’s recent tour of California, they collaborated with Christian Baldini, for a recording project and concert at the Mondavi Center in Davis, CA.The Ensemble is made up of very fine players from German orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic and Staatskapelle Berlin, and they worked together with Baldini on 3 new pieces by Californian composers.
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.
Mitsuko Uchida
USA tour Mitsuko Uchida is currently undertaking a large tour of the USA, performing solo recitals in Chicago, Berkeley, La Jolla and Carnegie Hall, and working with the Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestras. Click here and here to read reviews of Uchida’s Schumann Concerto with Muti and the Chicago Symphony. And to read a review of Uchida’s Berkeley recital, featuring Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, please click here. In Cleveland, the 4th installment of their live Mozart concerti series will be recorded, with Uchida directing K.456 and K.459 from the piano. The disc will be released later this season on the Decca Classics label.
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.
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 prefigured Manacorda’s Beethoven project entitled Alles Beethoven!, which took place in February with Kammerakademie Potsdam. They explored all 9 symphonies 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
Marathon US tour Pianist Roman Rabinovich is coming to the end of an extensive USA tour, with Haifa Symphony and conductor Boguslaw Dawidow. The tour encompassed almost 30 concerts, and 4 different concerti (Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov No.s 2 and 3, and Beethoven No.3). They have enjoyed good audiences and critical acclaim. A detailed interview with Rabinovich recently appeared in the Huffington Post. Please click here to read.
Llyr Williams
New live video footage is available These videos were captured during a recital in Liverpool (UK) in September 2013, and feature Beethoven’s Sonatas Op.14 No.2 and Op.53 Waldstein, and Wagner and Verdi opera transcriptions. Click here to watch them.
Forthcoming plans for Williams include: 3 solo Beethoven recitals at the Gilmore Festival, in the USA, in April/May; his recital début in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw in May; and in September, his 3rd CD on the Signum Records label will be released – an unusual (and wonderful) disc, featuring Wagner and Verdi transcriptions by Liszt, as well as some transcriptions created by Llyr Williams himself.
