Catriona Morison, 31-year-old mezzo soprano from Scotland, is the first British winner of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.
CATRIONA MORISON WINS BBC CARDIFF SINGER OF THE WORLD 2017
Articles & Interviews
The master list of news, features and interviews
ANGELA BROWNRIDGE IN CONVERSATION WITH ROBERT BEATTIE
Angela Brownridge in Conversation with Robert Beattie
Angela Brownridge is one of the UK’s leading concert pianists. She has won rave reviews for her interpretations, being compared to giants of the piano such as Solomon, Cherkassky and Bolet. She was a child prodigy giving her first public recital at the age of 6 and her first concerto performance when she was 10 years old. She has performed with many of the world’s leading conductors and orchestras and she has an impressive and varied discography which includes the complete piano works of Barber and Gershwin. I spoke to her about her musical background and training, the pianists and artists whom she most admires, her love of jazz and improvisation, her view of piano competitions and her recording plans for the future.
THE GREAT CANADIAN ARTISTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH VIOLINIST JAMES EHNES
James Ehnes in conversation with Geoffrey Newman
There are few more celebrated musicians in the world right now than Manitoba-born violinist James Ehnes; and few listeners have failed to succumb to his tonal luster, silken lyrical lines and insightful virtuosity. After initial training with Francis Chaplin, the violinist made his solo debut at age 13 with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, followed by studies with Sally Thomas at Meadowmount and Juilliard (1993-97). Ehnes won the Peter Mennin Prize upon his Juilliard graduation, and subsequently received the first-ever Ivan Galamian Memorial Award and an Avery Fisher Career Grant, in addition to the highest Canadian honours. A turning point in Ehnes’ recording career came in 2006-2007 when his ‘homegrown’ recording of the Barber, Korngold and Walton concertos with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (under Bramwell Tovey) won both Juno and Grammy awards. This was followed by the widely-praised Onyx recording of the Elgar Violin Concerto with Sir Andrew Davis.
PIANIST KIRILL GERSTEIN IN CONVERSATION WITH GEOFFREY NEWMAN
Kirill Gerstein talks to Geoffrey Newman
Kirill Gerstein has become an increasingly esteemed visitor to North American and European concert halls, moving quite a distance from his original Gilmore Young Artist’s Award in 2002, his debut recording for Oehms Classics, and the initial intrigue over his jazz training. Gerstein was awarded the coveted Gilmore Artist Award in 2010 and subsequently produced an enviable string of CD’s for the German company Myrios, virtually all of which have received strong acclaim. These include the Brahms Viola Sonatas with Tabea Zimmermann, the 1879 version of the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto, the Liszt Sonata, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. His recording of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes has just been released.
IN MEMORIAM LOUIS FRÉMAUX (1921-2017)
Louis Frémaux (13 August 1921 – 20 March 2017) – an obituary by Rob Barnett
As ever, the bare bones of any person’s life tell us but a small part of the individual’s story and heritage. Louis Frémaux is no different in that respect. That said we need to lay them out:
– Born in Aire-sur-la-Lys, Pas-de-Calais, France in 1921 and he studied at the Valenciennes Conservatoire.
– War service in the Resistance and then as a Foreign Legion Captain in the French armed forces in Vietnam (1945-46)
– Resumed his war-interrupted studies, this time at the Paris Conservatoire with Louis Fourestier where he took first prize in conducting in 1952.
Robert Farr reports on the 26th Annual Singing Competition Final – Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Award for Singers
The 26th Annual Singing Competition Final – Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Award for Singers at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester on 28th February 2017
R.I.P IN MEMORIAM NICOLAI GEDDA (1925-2017)
NICOLAI GEDDA (1925 -2017)
His daughter, Tania, announced the death of Nicolai Gedda on January 8 at his residence near Lausanne, Switzerland. His death occurred a few months after that of his first wife, the pianist Nadia Gedda-Nova – Tania’s mother – and a few days after that of Georges Prêtre with whom he collaborated several times, notably as Don José in the recording of Carmen alongside Maria Callas.
BARITONE MICHAEL VOLLE IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL COOKSON
Michael Volle talks to Michael Cookson
Michael Volle one of the leading baritones on the international stage today is a recipient of eminent German Theatre Award ‘Faust’ and in 2008 and 2014 was named ‘Singer of the Year’ by opera magazine ‘Opernwelt’. In a 2008 interview with Jim Pritchard for Seen and Heard, Volle had yet to sing Hans Sachs a role which has since established him as one of the greatest acting baritones of his generation. A pinnacle of Volle’s career was singing Sachs in Stefan Herheim’s production of Die Meistersinger at the Salzburg Festival 2013.