English

Susanna Mälkki’s opening concert as Music Director of the Helsinki Philharmonic

Perhaps the most memorable part of this evening was the palpable sense of joy that was radiating from the stage. Readers of my reviews from Susanna Mälkki’s recent concerts with the ...

Salonen brings Chéreau’s Elektra to Helsinki

Soprano Evelyn Herlitzius brought the necessary vocal agility and endurance to this impossibly demanding role. Opera lovers in Finland have been eagerly waiting for Esa-Pekka Salonen to bring Patrice Chéreau's now famous ...

Susanna Mälkki conducts the Helsinki Philharmonic in Sibelius and Prokofiev

Susanna Mälkki's recent programs with her future band, the Helsinki Philharmonic, have featured healthy portions of standard repertory. This is probably reassuring to the segment of the audience that might be ...

Polish flutist Łukasz Długosz, ICMA winner 2016

Polish flutist Łukasz Długosz was among the musicians having recorded a Concerto disc with compositions by Krzysztof Penderecki for Dux. This disc won in the category Contemporary music of the ...

Big Success For ICMA Gala Concert In San Sebastian

The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) organized their Award Ceremony and Gala Concert last week, April 1, at the nearly sold out Kursaal in Sebastian, where an audience of 1500 ...

The new Idomeneo at l’Opéra National du Rhin

The new Idomeneo at l’opéra national du rhin was entrusted to Christophe Gayral, already known at the house for Il matrimonio segreto and Owen Wingrave. In his conception it prefigured ...

Olari Elts conducts Ravel and Tüür

Frank Braley's performance was completely natural, effortless, and thoroughly integrated with both his musical and pianistic philosophy. The music of the Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür is often performed in Helsinki, largely ...

ICMA 2019 gala in Lucerne

The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra will host the ICMA Award Ceremony and Gala Concert 2019 at Lucerne’s famous concert hall KKL. The event will reunite the prominent award winners and representatives ...

Christian Lindberg brings Pettersson to Antwerp

The Royal Flemish Philharmonic brought a palpable sense of commitment and confidence to Petterson’s music. In recent seasons Christian Lindberg has enjoyed a regular and fruitful collaboration with the Royal Flemish ...

The Real Traviata

A new biography, rich in detail, at times somewhat dense, which aims to tell us everything about the woman who was, in her time (the era of Lola Montez, Cora ...

Mikko Franck at home in Rautavaara, Prokofiev, and Debussy

I cannot imagine a better, more definitive performance of this music. Despite Mikko Franck's presence in the Helsinki music scene as both artistic and general director of the Finnish National Opera ...

Das Orchester becomes a Jury Member of ICMA

The German music magazine das Orchester has joined the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) as Jury Member. Published since 1953 eleven times a year by Schott Music in Mainz, das ...

A Very Fit ICMA Jury Met At The Grand Resort In Bad Ragaz

The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) held its General Assembly this weekend during the Next Generation Festival at the Grand Resort in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland. The Jury ...

Benjamin Appl, baritone

German baritone and "BBC  New  Generation  Artist",  Benjamin  Appl  begins  his "Rising  Stars" tour through the  European concert in October. In January he was in Paris for a concert bringing a ...

James Feddeck, conductor

"There is no replacement for reaching out and taking time to create lifelong connections to the arts." Winner of the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award in 2013, James Feddeck has held ...

ICMA 2016 – The winners

The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) announced today the Awards for 2016. Soprano Dame Felicity Lott is honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Composer, trombonist and conductor ...

Anna Vinnitskaya, pianist

“With Koroliov, it was not just how to become a pianist, it was just about music” In 2007, Anna Vinnitskaya won first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition at the age ...

Piotr Beczala, the Polish tenor with a French connection

Piotr Beczala is Werther this month on the Bastille stage, one of his signature role. Interview with a true promoter of the French romantic opera, who is not in need of ...

Ekaterina Litvintseva plays Chopin’s Concertos No.1 & 2

Romantic, virtuosic and young, this is the repertoire of Russian pianist Ekaterina Litvintseva, and the fact is that this choice suits her well. After a first disc featuring Mozart’s Concertos No. ...

Happy 150th birthday, Jean Sibelius!

Without a doubt, this was one of the great En Saga performances.  It has certainly been a busy year for Finland’s favorite musical son. Although Sibelius’ is a regular fixture in the ...

Finnish Independence Day Concert, edition 2015

Under Lintu's direction, the Finnish RSO played with their usual discipline and attention to detail. The annual Finnish Independence Day concert in the Helsinki Music Center is one of the major ...

ICMA Finalists For 2016

The ICMA Jury is progressing in the voting for the Audio and Video Awards 2016. Today we are able to publish the Finalists, in other words the three productions of ...

The Pettersson project continues: Christian Lindberg and the Norrköping Symphony

To play this music both passionately and convincingly is truly a massive achievement, and the Norrköping band under Lindberg’s direction have done it yet again. One could argue that there are ...

ICMA Nomination List 2016 Is Available

The ICMA nomination list for 2016 is available. For the 2016 awards the Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) has nominated 364 audio and video productions (up from ...

Dima Slobodeniouk conducts the Helsinki Philharmonic in Prokofiev’s second symphony

Dima Slobodeniouk's skillful direction and clear affinity for this music made this performance one of the major highlights of the current Helsinki concert season. Dima Slobodeniouk is currently Music Director of ...

Homecoming: Susanna Mälkki, Chief Conductor Designate of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

"The most essential thing is to keep the musical standards very high" ResMusica: You began your professional career as one of the principal cellists of the Gothenburg Symphony--one of the top ...

All-Finnish with John Storgårds and the Helsinki Philharmonic

Storgårds was able to find the elusive balance between presence and clarity. Music by living Finnish composers is an important part of programming for the Helsinki Philharmonic. While the "big three" ...

All-Russian with Susanna Mälkki and the Helsinki Philharmonic

With Mälkki on the podium, the Helsinki Philharmonic has to be heard to be believed. The appointment of Susanna Mälkki as the next music director of the Helsinki Philharmonic has ...

Original Sibelius and an Aho premiere: Hannu Lintu and the Finnish RSO

Sibelius is getting the royal treatment in his home country this year, as the music world celebrates the 150th birthday of the great composer. While performances of the usual ...

Osmo Vänskä at the Lahti Sibelius Festival

"One felt as though they could hear every detail in perfect balance." Although Finland is home to some of the world's greatest Sibelius interpreters and orchestras, the Sinfonia Lahti/Osmo Vänskä partnership ...