Month: January 2025

Long Live Puccini! La Scala overcomes adversity to perform 100 years to the day after he died

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ItalyItaly La Scala per Puccini: Jonas Kaufmann, Luciano Ganci (tenors), Anna Netrebko, Mariangela Sicilia (soprano), James Vaughan (piano). Filmed (directed by Stefania Grimaldi) at La Scala, Milan, 29.11.2024 and available on ARTE Concert until 28.3.2025. (JPr)

[l-r] James Vaughan, Jonas Kaufmann, Mariangela Sicilia, Luciano Ganci, and Anna Netrebko

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Geoffrey Newman in conversation with conductor Andrew Litton

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Conductor Andrew Litton talks to Geoffrey Newman

Andrew Litton © Steve J. Sherman

Born in New York City in 1959, Andrew Litton is currently Music Director of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Litton shot to international attention in his mid-twenties after winning the BBC/Rupert Foundation International Conducting Competition in 1982 and quickly became Assistant Conductor at the National Symphony of Washington under Rostropovich. He then took on successive Principal Conductor appointments with the Bournemouth Symphony (1988-1994), Dallas Symphony (1994-2006), and the Bergen Philharmonic (2003-2015). He also directed the Minnesota Orchestra’s summer festival from 2003-2017. Litton has now recorded over 140 CDs, primarily on the Virgin, Delos and BIS labels. He is also known for his virtuosity on the piano and his love of jazz and Gershwin. This interview tracks the conductor’s development and his achievements in detail. It took place coincident with his appearance with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in October 2024 (review here).

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