DISTANT BELOVED – SIMON O’NEILL (TENOR)
& TERENCE DENNIS (PIANO)
DEBUT ALBUM ON DECCA CLASSICS BY WORLD-LEADING NEW ZEALAND HELDENTENOR IS OUT NOW (REVIEW BELOW)
LIEDER BY BEETHOVEN, SCHUMANN, RICHARD STRAUSS AND WAGNER
Articles & Interviews
The master list of news, features and interviews
Adrian Partington Introduces the 2019 Three Choirs Festival in Conversation with John Quinn
2019 Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester
In remarks accompanying the pathfinder prospectus for the 2019 Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester the Artistic Director, Adrian Partington, commented: ‘Themes and anniversaries aren’t necessarily the best influences on successful programmes.’ I wouldn’t disagree, but even so, it’s surely appropriate that the highly attractive 2019 Festival programme, which has now been launched in full, reflects one or two notable anniversaries. This year the Festival will run from 26 July to 3 August.
CONDUCTOR MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV IN CONVERSATION WITH GREGOR TASSIE
Maxim Emelyanychev interviewed by Gregor Tassie
When the 29-year-old Russian musician Maxim Emelyanychev was appointed Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Principal Conductor designate last spring, many were not so surprized for the young conductor had astounded many concertgoers when he stepped in at the last moment for a SCO concert of Schubert’s ‘Great’ C major symphony. It was his lively and entertaining conducting, in addition to his relationship with his musicians, that ensured his appointment.
A New Initiative is Announced Supporting the Development of Female Conductors
The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme is delighted to announce two new Women Conductors Courses beginning in May 2019, in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) and National Opera Studio (NOS).
R.I.P. IN MEMORIAM ANDRÉ PREVIN (1929-2019)
A statement from the London Symphony Orchestra about André Previn (1929-2019)
The London Symphony Orchestra is deeply saddened to hear of the death of its Conductor Emeritus André Previn. His relationship with the LSO spanned over 50 years, with his appointment as Principal Conductor in 1968 marking the start of a new era for the Orchestra. Under his leadership, the LSO performed to large audiences in the concert hall and on television, through André Previn’s Music Night, the show that turned Previn into a star and the LSO into a household name. He introduced new repertoire to the Orchestra, and many of the recordings made together remain definitive versions today.
CHRISTOPHE ROUSSET IN CONVERSATION WITH COLIN CLARKE
I meet Christophe Rousset in a café that is part of the Strasbourg opera complex; pop music (rap? hip-hop?) issues forth from the speakers; a stark contrast to the subject of our interview, Legrenzi’s opera La Divisione del Mondo. The interview takes place just a couple of hours prior to the last performance at Strasbourg, after which the production moves on to fresh venues.
VENEZUELAN MUSICIAN GABRIELA MONTERO IN CONVERSATION WITH GREGOR TASSIE
Pianist and composer Gabriela Montero interviewed by Gregor Tassie
Gabriela Montero’s brilliant music-making and her dazzling freeform arrangements of classical piano works have placed her among the most fascinating musicians in the world today. Her compositions reflect upon the stormy events of recent years in her homeland and her defence of human rights across the globe. Gabriela Montero is the first appointed Amnesty International Honorary Consul for Human Rights. Several of her compositions have won wide-spread praise together with her recordings including her Grammy award for her Ex Patria poem for piano and orchestra. In February 2019 she tours the United Kingdom for a series of concerts from Scotland through to London in which she will play the premiere of her new piece Babel with the award-winning Scottish Ensemble.
PIANIST MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN IN CONVERSATION WITH GEOFFREY NEWMAN
THE GREAT CANADIAN ARTISTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN
Pianist Marc-André Hamelin has emerged as one of the marvels of the twenty-first century. Few living pianists can match his transparency of articulation, rhythmic and tonal control and cunning virtuoso strength, and these characteristics are resoundingly illustrated in his recordings and concert performances of a vast range of nineteenth- and twentieth-century repertoire. His early – and indeed enduring – contribution lay in bringing technically-challenging works of lesser known and often forgotten composers to public attention, placing them on the world stage in the best light for others to absorb and study. In recent years, he has applied his interpretative and technical acumen to more mainstream literature with great success.