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Europe:
Pablo Heras-Casado (pictured) makes his UK operatic debut on 12 February with English National Opera at London's Coliseum, conducting a new production of The Elixir of Love directed by Jonathan Miller.
Hüseyin Sermet makes his London recital debut in the International Piano Series on Tuesday 9 February in the Queen Elizabeth Hall playing Liszt’s Piano Sonata as well as works by Chopin and Alkan.
International Piano Series >>
Andreas Scholl sings the title role in Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Salle Pleyel in Paris under William Christie and Les Arts Florissants - to be recorded live for Decca. Cast also includes Cecilia Bartoli, Natalie Stutzmann and Philippe Jaroussky. Concerts on 9, 12 & 14 February.
Salle Pleyel >>
Pekka Kuusisto continues his tour with the Britten Sinfonia and tenor soloist Mark Padmore in the UK, visiting Cambridge, Cockermouth, Dartington, Southampton and Norwich, as well as Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
Susanna Mälkki conducts Lilli Paasikivi and the Ensemble intercontemporain in Schoenberg’s arrangement of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at the Cité de la musique in Paris on 9 February; in Grenoble on 11 February she will conduct the Ensemble in works by Alvarez, Jodlowski and Romitelli
Cité de la Musique >>
Christopher Seaman conducts the Trondheim Symfoniorkester on 11 February to perform works by Mozart and Bruckner, with soloist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
Trondheim Symfoniorkester >>
Rumon Gamba conducts Ravel’s Bolero, Borodin’s Polovetsian Dances and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Icelandic Opera Choir in Reykjavik on 11 & 12 February featuring soloists Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir, Mark Tucker and Jón Svafar Jósefsson
Klara Ek gives a further performance as Ilia in Den Jyske Opera's production of Idomeneo conducted by Tobias Ringborg on 11 February
Den Jyske Opera >>
Barry Banks sings further performances of Edgardo in David Alden's acclaimed production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at English National Opera on 8, 11 & 14 February
English National Opera >>
Neeme Järvi is with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande for two concerts, in Lausanne and Geneva on 11 & 12 February. The programme features Nikolaj Znaider performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Shostakovich's Symphony No.10
Alice Sara Ott performs Bach's Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 with the Zürcher Kammerorchester under Muhai Tang on 9 February at the Tonhalle Zurich. She will then play Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in a joint concert with Akiko Suwanai who performs Bruch's Violin Concerto with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Sakari Oramo on 13 February in Stockholm.
North America:
Andrey Boreyko returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra for concerts on 12, 13, 14 & 16 February with a programme featuring Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Louis Lortie
Philadelphia Orchestra >>
Prior to taking his orchestra to Carnegie Hall on 15 February, Paavo Järvi conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at the Music Hall on 12 & 13 February. The programme includes Ravel's Five Nursery Songs from Mother Goose, Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Radu Lupu and Lutosławski's Concerto for Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony >>
Stephen Hough will perform recitals this week in the United States: firstly in Logan, Utah, on 11 February, and in Houston, Texas, on 14 February
Perry So continues his extended period with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with three more concerts this week; first at the Wilshire United Methodist Church including a series of Mozart arias with Danielle Walker, before moving on to the Walt Disney Concert Hall for two weekend concerts, conducting Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, Debussy’s Nocturnes, and Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé
Christopher Warren-Green returns to the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra for his first concerts as their Music Director designate. The programme features works by Verdi and Rachmaninov
Rossen Milanov returns to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra conducting Bolcom, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky on 12 & 13 February
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra >>
Janine Jansen begins a tour with Mariss Jansons and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra this week. She performs the Sibelius Violin Concerto in Murcia, Valencia, Madrid and Zaragoza before travelling to the US for concerts in Washington and Carnegie Hall, New York.
Australasia:
Vladimir Ashkenazy joins the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to start off their "Mahler Odyssey" with an all-Mahler programme, including his Symphony No. 1, with performances on 10, 11, 12 & 13 February at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
Sydney Symphony Orchestra >>
Orla Boylan returns to West Australian Opera to make her debut in the role of Ellen Orford at the Perth International Festival in performances of Peter Grimes conducted by Richard Mills on 9, 11 & 13 February
West Australian Opera >>
Europe
Neeme Järvi (pictured) is on tour with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Frank-Peter Zimmermann this week. The programme, performed in Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Stockholm, features Brahms's Violin Concerto and Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra
Valeriy Sokolov travels to Brunico in Italy this week to perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, conducted by Ivor Bolton
Sutiroler Kulturinstitut >>.
Stephen Hough will give recitals of Bach, Fauré and Chopin at the Eglise de Rougemont in Gstaad, Switzerland on Monday 1 February and at Uppingham School, Rutland on Saturday 6 February
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet joins Orquestra Sinfonica de Navarra to perform Debussy's Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra under the direction of Antoni Wit. Concerts take place on 4 & 5 February at Auditorio Balaurte de Pamplona, Spain
Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra >>
Xian Zhang makes her debut with the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, conducting two performances of Elgar's Enigma Variations and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Nikolai Lugansky. Concerts take place at Dr Anton Philipszaal on 5 & 6 February
Residentie Orkest >>
Following his appointment last Autumn as Chief Conductor of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester, Krzysztof Urbański returns to Norway to make his debut with the Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester on 4 & 5 February with a programme featuring Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with Nikolaj Znaider.
Klara Ek makes her role debut as Ilia in Den Jyske Opera's production of Idomeneo conducted by Tobias Ringborg on 5 February
Den Jyske Opera >>
Rumon Gamba conducts the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra on Sunday 7 February at the Konserthuset. The programme consists of Mozart’s Symphony No. 6 and Lindberg’s The World of Montaugretta (with soloist Sharon Bezaly), followed by Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 3
Teo Gheorghiu gives a special recital in the Kammermusiksaal of the Beethovenhaus Bonn on Friday 5 February where he also receives the Beethoven-Ring award. Presented by the "Bürger for Beethoven" Society to one young soloist or conductor for excellence in Beethoven interpretation during the festival, previous recipients of this award include Gustavo Dudamel, Julia Fischer and Lisa Batiashvili.
Lan Shui begins a tour of Spain with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, giving concerts in Vigo, Leon, Logrono, Zaragoza, Castellón de la Plana and Madrid. They will be performing works by Nielsen, Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky
Barry Banks sings Edgardo in David Alden's acclaimed production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the English National Opera, premiering on 4 February
English National Opera >>
Bo Kristian Jensen sings further performances of Tamino in Mikael Melbye's production of Die Zauberflöte in Copenhagen on 2, 4 & 6 February
Det Kongelige Teater >>
Sakari Oramo conducts Mahler's Symphony No.3 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra at Finlandia Hall on 5 February as part of a series celebrating Gustav Mahler's 150th anniversary
Osmo Vänskä concludes his Sibelius Symphonies cycle with the London Philharmonic Orchestra with two concerts on 3 & 5 February at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
North America
Stefan Asbury is in America this week, conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group in a Green Umbrella Series concert on 2 February at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Joining Asbury are baritone Thomas Meglioranza and soprano Kiera Duffy.
Los Angeles Philharmonic >>
Perry So extends his period as one of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Dudamel Fellows, conducting a concert on Wednesday 3 February at the Wilshire United Methodist Church. The programme features Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony and arias from Le nozze di Figaro with soprano Danielle Walker.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard again performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine at Carnegie Hall (1 February), before joining Pierre Boulez and The Cleveland Orchestra to perform both Ravel's Piano Concertos in three concerts at Severance Hall in Cleveland (4, 6 & 7 February). The Concertos are recorded live and will form part of a new Deutsche Grammophon release alongside Ravel's Miroirs, also recorded in Cleveland.
Middle East
Lisa Batiashvili continues her tour with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Beethoven's Violin Concerto under Zubin Mehta on 1 February in Jerusalem and 3, 4 & 5 February in Tel Aviv
The beginning of Osmo Vänskä's four-concert exploration of Sibelius’ music with the London Philharmonic Orchestra has received rave reviews from the London critics.
Writing in The Times, Richard Morrison gave the concert five stars, hailing the performance as “the best possible advertisement for the rest of Osmo Vänskä’s Sibelius cycle”. Morrison commented: “The ferocious string writing was delivered with thrilling assurance, cohesion and power… Vänskä is a wiry human dynamo: lean, whippy and indefatigably energetic. His interpretations are the same. He never stops probing and pushing”.
Andrew Clark of the Financial Times was just as enthusiastic: “Vänskä knows how to rattle the bones of the First Symphony, taking the first and third movement at a ferocious speed and inspiring the LPO to playing of rapturous virtuosity and sensitivity”. Clark went on to praise Vänskä’s “back-to-the-score interpretation based on minute attention to tempo and dynamic markings”, concluding “it was fascinating to watch a hyper-animated Vänskä tear apart the Symphony’s runic myths and reveal the volcanic temperament at its core.
Meanwhile, Fiona Maddocks called the concert “exhilarating” in The Observer, highlighting Vänskä’s “infectious, mercurial energy” whilst adding “This is a series to cherish”.
The Guardian’s Andrew Clements attended the performance of the Second and Third Symphonies: “Vänskä understands better than anyone how to manage Sibelius's favorite transitions between movements of different speeds. The slow movement of the second… had a powerful, almost operatic intensity, which Vänskä revealed as the symphony's true emotional heart. More such revelations, no doubt, are still to come.”
Miraculous Logic: The Music of Jean Sibelius continues until Friday 5 February at Southbank Centre.
Read the reviews:
The Guardian
The TImes
HarrisonParrott is delighted to announce that Vladimir Ashkenazy and Evgeny Kissin's EMI recording of the Prokofiev Piano Concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra has won a Grammy Award in the category of “Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (With Orchestra).
Jonathan Nott’s recording relationship with the Bamberger Symphoniker and Swiss label Tudor Records goes from strength to strength with the announcement on 24 January that their acclaimed recording of Mahler's Symphony No.9 topped the Symphonic Works category at the 2010 MIDEM Classical Awards. Having already won the 2009 International Toblacher Komponierhäuschen Prize, the recording was chosen over Zoltán Kocsis’ Bartók disc with the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra on Hungaroton and Mariss Jansons’ BR Klassik release of Mahler’s Symphony No.7 with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is to receive the 2009 Schallplattenkritik ‘Honorary Prize’. Awarded by an association of 114 music critics, writers and editors in the German-speaking countries, the prize celebrates outstanding achievement on CD and DVD. Previous winners include Thomas Hampson, Alban Berg Quartett, Jordi Savall and Elvis Costello. An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, Aimard’s next release for the label will feature both Ravel’s Piano Concertos with the Cleveland Orchestra and Pierre Boulez.
Alice Sara Ott's new recording of the Tchaikovsky and Liszt Piano Concertos has shot to No.7 in the iTunes combined album chart in Japan. Her two other albums also feature highly in the charts, with her collection of Chopin Waltzes appearing at No. 21 and her May 2009 recording of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes at No. 35. All are released by Deutsche Grammophon.
Mikko Franck's recording of Debussy’s Images, Printemps and L’Apres-midi d’un Faune with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (on RCA) has just been named as one of the “Choc de l’Année“ Recordings of the Year for 2009 by Classica Magazine (France).
Although only 30, Franck is no stranger to commendations for recordings, with his CD of Sibelius’s En Saga and Lemminkainen Legends with the Swedish Radio Symphony winning the Diapason d’Or as well as a nomination for a Grammy Award (Best Orchestral Performance) in 2001.
HarrisonParrott are delighted to announce the signing of South Korean bass Simon Lim for worldwide management.
Born in 1982, after graduating from the Yeungnam University (Korea), Lim moved to Italy to perfect his singing studies. In the last two years he has won several Italian competitions as well as making his La Scala debut in 2007/08 season in the title role of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro under the baton of Giovanni Antonini. Subsequently at La Scala he has performed as Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo under Daniele Gatti (2008/09 season) and, more recently, the role of Cesare Salzaparigli in Donizetti’s Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali under Marco Guidarini.
The German clarinettist and composer Jörg Widmann has been awarded the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centre’s Elise L. Stoeger award, given every two years in recognition of significant contributions to the field of chamber music. In particular, his cycle of five string quartets cemented Widmann’s place amongst the most respected and exciting of today’s chamber composers, with his works regularly performed by orchestras including the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and The Cleveland, Berkeley Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestras.
Widmann’s contributions as a chamber clarinettist are equally celebrated, working regularly with groups such as Artemis, the Vogler, the Pacifica and the Minguet Quartets, performing both his and other composer’s works.
Visit Chamber Music Society for detailed information on the award including an interview with Widmann.
HarrisonParrott are delighted to announce that Tamara Stefanovich (left), Pierre-Laurent Aimard (middle), Vladimir Ashkenazy (right) and Harry Christophers have all been listed as nominees in the 52nd Grammy Awards.
Both Tamara Stefanovich and Pierre-Laurent Aimard feature in the “Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)” nominations for their rendition of Bartók’s Concerto for Two Pianos, Percussion and Orchestra – together with the London Symphony Orchestra and Pierre Boulez - in a collection of the Hungarian composer’s concertos recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. Vladimir Ashkenazy's acclaimed EMI recording of Prokofiev Piano Concertos with Evgeny Kissin and the Philharmonia Orchestra is also nominated in this category, with both conductor and soloist considered for the award.
Harry Christophers and The Sixteen’s recording of Handel’s Coronation Anthems has been nominated for Best Choral Performance. Released on the Coro label, this CD has garnered widespread admiration.
John Adams, Stefan Asbury (Left), Oliver Knussen (Middle) and Sakari Oramo (Right) are all featured in “The ten best classical albums of the Noughties”, a list of the decade’s top ten recordings, compiled by critics Neil Fisher and Richard Morrison.
Julian Anderson’s Book of Hours, a Gramophone award-nominated album released on the NMC label, features both Sakari Oramo and Oliver Knussen, conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, respectively. Oramo makes another appearance in this list with a collection of works by Magnus Lindberg released by Ondine, where he conducts the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, together with clarinettist Kari Kriikku.
Stefan Asbury conducts MusikFabrik in Wolfgang Rihm’s Chiffre-Zylkus (Cipher Cycle), released on CPO, The Times describes it as “arresting, violent, and persistently dramatic… Stefan Asbury conducts the virtuoso players of MusikFabrik with assurance”. John Adams is also included in the list, with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Robertson performing his acclaimed Doctor Atomic Symphony, released on Nonesuch Records.
Lawrence Foster (left), Valeriy Sokolov (centre) and Kasper Holten (right) have all been included in Gramophone Magazine’s Critics’ Choice section for Christmas. The list was compiled by a number of renowned critics and represents their pick of the best releases available this Christmas.
Lawrence Foster's recording of works by Goerge Enescu with Valeriy Sokolov, Svetlana Kosenko and Orchestre Philharmonique du Monte Carlo was Andrew Farach-Colten’s chosen Christmas release, describing Foster’s conducting as “white hot”. This CD was recorded for Virgin Classics.
Decca’s DVD of The Copenhagen Ring, directed by Kasper Holten, is critic Ken Smith’s Christmas Choice. Previously a winner of Gramophone’s “DVD of the Year” award, this acclaimed production was described in Mike Ashman’s review as having “more heartbreaking emotion in Wagner’s drama than almost any since Patrice Chereau’s”.
HarrisonParrott is delighted to announce that The Royal Swedish Academy of Music has awarded its Interpreter Prize to virtuoso clarinettist Martin Fröst, citing: "As soloist and chamber musician, explorer and presenter of new and traditional repertoire he has the world at his feet. Constantly exploring new aspects of musical creativity, he has inspired a succession of composers to write works for him that have proved exciting and important additions to the clarinet repertoire." Fröst will receive the award on 30 November in a ceremony with His Majesty King Carl Gustav at The Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
The Interpreter Prize was established in 2007 and is awarded annually to a truly innovative artist or ensemble of the highest musical calibre.
The renowned French pianist Hélène Grimaud is now a cultural ambassador of the famous Swiss watch-making company, Rolex, joining such illustrious names as
Placido Domingo, Gustavo Dudamel, Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel.
HarrisonParrott are delighted that two young artists, conductor, Benjamin Bayl and keyboard specialist, Mahan Esfahani have joined the roster for worldwide management.
Benjamin Bayl's (pictured left) flair for early and classical repertoire has gained the support of such notable names in the field as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Ivor Bolton and Trevor Pinnock. Until recently he was Assistant Conductor to the Budapest Festival Orchestra and for four seasons Assistant Artistic Director to the Gabrieli Consort. Having established relationships with many of the important opera houses, he has just conducted a critically acclaimed production of Ariodante for English Touring Opera and in December will conduct performances of Bach's Christmas Oratorio with Symfoniorkestern Norrlandsoperan. He will be working with The English Concert in Spring 2011 and his next opera project will be L'incoronazione di Poppea in 2011/12 in Copenhagen for the Nordic Early Opera Network.
25 year old Mahan Esfahani (pictured right) is quickly gaining international attention as one of the most exciting early keyboard specialists around. Currently one of the BBC New Generation Artists and a recipient of the Borletti Buitoni award he is working as both soloist and chamber partner in repertoire which ranges from the 14th to 19th Century. Working with most of the BBC orchestras, he will also be giving a live BBC Radio 3 lunchtime solo recital in the Wigmore Hall in April 2010 and has been asked to perform the inaugural recital on Wanda Landowska's newly restored harpsichord in the Library of Congress, Washington in May 2010.
Janine Jansen (pictured right) is joined by Martin Fröst for the opening of her Carte Blanche Series at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, which includes the premiere of an exciting new project called DoublePoints. The programme amalgamates music, dance and lighting design and is based on Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, a new composition by Martin Fröst for solo clarinet as well as compositions for duo and trio (with pianist Itamar Golan). The trio music featured includes Bartók's Contrasts and Stravinsky's L'histoire du soldat. The music receives its visualization from cutting-edge Dutch choreographers Emio Greco and Pieter C Scholten, and lighting designer Henk Dannen. The long-awaited Carte Blanche opening will take place on 26 October 2009.
17-year-old Teo Gheorghiu has just been awarded the Beethoven-Ring in recognition of his contribution to this year's Beethovenfest in Bonn. Awarded by the "Bürger for Beethoven" Society to one young soloist or conductor for excellence in Beethoven interpretation, previous recipients include Gustavo Dudamel, Julia Fischer and Lisa Batiashvili. Although only entering his final year at the Purcell School in London, Teo already has a busy performing career with appearances during the summer at the Verbier, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Ohrid Festivals, as well having recently released his first recording for Deutsche Grammophon.
Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Director Kasper Holten received awards in the Instrumental and DVD categories respectively. The annual ceremony, described as the Oscars of the classical music world, was held at London’s Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane on Friday 2 October.
Bavouzet’s fourth volume of a multi award-wining cycle of Debussy’s solo piano works on Chandos impressed the critics, beating off stiff competition from Nelson Freire and Steven Osborne. His success closely follows his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra under conductor Valery Gergiev last month. Future concerts include appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra (Vladimir Ashkenazy) and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Vasily Petrenko), and the premiere of a new piano concerto by Bruno Mantovani with the Orchestre National de Lille.
Kasper Holten’s production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen for Det Kongelige Teater– aka The Copenhagen Ring – finished first in the DVD category ahead of filmed productions of The Minotaur and Billy Budd. Staged between 2003 and 2006, Holten’s production offered a startling and fresh interpretation of Wagner’s epic tetralogy, and has received unanimous critical acclaim. The production is the first new version to be released by Universal since the centenary Ring directed by Patrice Chereau. Future projects for Kasper include a film version of Mozart’s Don Giovanni entitled JUAN.
We are delighted to announce that, from the start of 2010/11, Krzysztof Urbański becomes Chief Conductor of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester.
"From my first rehearsal only a few weeks ago with the orchestra, I felt immediately a very close contact with the musicians : they listened carefully to what I was asking them to do and responded with much enthusiasm and clarity, and our concert together was a real triumph for us all. I am very much looking forward to starting some real work with the orchestra in September, and also look forward to three years of very intensive and enjoyable music making together".
Future dates for the 26-year old Polish conductor include debuts with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Bamberger Symphoniker, MDR Sinfonieorchester (Leipzig), and the NDR Radiophilharmonie (Hannover); in addition to the Philharmonia Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, and the Tokyo and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras. He’ll also return to the NDR Sinfonieorchester (Hamburg), Radio Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt) and the Göteborgs Symfoniker.