English
Death and Transcendencev : Robert Spano and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Robert Spano led a taut and disciplined performance of Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead. The subjects of death and the beyond have certainly fascinated many artists, both past and present. Among composers, one famous example would of course be Richard Strauss' Tod und Verklärung. In this evening's program, the American conductor Robert Spano led the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in two Russian, romantic-era perspectives on death, concluding with Messiaen's transcendent L'ascension. Rachmaninoff's The ...
ICMA Announces Finalists For 2017
The ICMA Jury is progressing in the voting procedures for the Audio and Video Awards 2017. Today we are able to publish the Finalists, in other words the three productions of which one will be the winner. The Finalists come from a list with 321 nominated releases from 119 labels. Here is the PDF document for all categories: Finalists ICMA 2017 The final result with the winners will be published on 19 January ...
Commitment and confidence: Lindberg and Pettersson’s Symphony No. 7
Under Lindberg's direction, Pettersson's massive Symphony No. 7 seemed like a single, unbroken arch. This perfomance also featured the world premiere of the unfinished Symphony n°17, 36 years after its composition. In recent years, Christian Lindberg and the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra (SON) have been tirelessly promoting, recording, and performing the music of Allan Pettersson, arguably Sweden's greatest composer of symphonies. In this evening's program, Lindberg and the SON presented one of Pettersson's most ...
ICMA Nomination List 2017 Is Available
The ICMA nomination list for 2017 is available. For the 2017 awards the Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) has nominated 321 audio and video productions (down from 364 in 2016) from 119 labels (up from 115 in 2016). To become a nomination, a production needs to be proposed by at least two jury members. With 17 nominations, the French label Harmonia Mundi, Label of the Year 2016, is once ...
Sir Mark Elder in Britten and Shostakovich
Elder's performance of Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem could become a reference. There may not be many obvious stylistic similarities between the orchestral works of Benjamin Britten and Dmitri Shostakovich. Nevertheless, both composers sought to communicate immediately and directly with their audiences, while adhering to traditional concepts such as harmony, rhythm, and the symphony as a form. In this evening's program, Sir Mark Elder succinctly described these particular qualities in his opening remarks, before ...
The Estonian National Symphony celebrates Gubaidulina
The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra performed two major works by Sofia Gubaidulina, in honor of the composer's 85th birthday. In the year 2016, Sofia Gubaidulina, one of the world’s greatest living composers, will celebrate her 85th birthday. In recognition of this occasion, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ENSO) performed two of the composer’s recent large-scale works, including the world premiere of her oratorio Über Liebe und Hass (On love and hatred). ...
Plácido Domingo as Macbeth at LA Opera
Plácido Domingo offers his Macbeth to the opera company he directs. This production of Macbeth will satisfy, even inspire, the most skeptical viewer. Darko Tresnjak (winner of 4 Tony awards and Broadway’s golden boy) is at work here, it’s true, with the help of Colin McGurk, on his own sets, often quite pertinent, often clever, flexible, and accommodating, readily manipulated and maneuvered, gloomy and foreboding, sinister (for the woods and battleground), ...
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 Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) have probably noticed that I have not I been shy in my praise of her performances. Before getting into the details, I will say right now that this evening’s concert, Mälkki’s first as Music Director of 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 production of Strauss' Elektra to the Helsinki. This current run of Elektra performances marks the first project for Salonen under his newly appointed position as Artist in Association of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet (FNOB). A soprano of near super-human ability is required for the ...
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 apprehensive of Mälkki's reputation as a new-music specialist. Tonight's program of warhorses by two well-known composers not only demonstrated that Mälkki embraces the standard repertory, but also has something unique to say about it. The program opened with a Sibelius rarity, ...
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 ICMA Awards 2016. Łukasz Długosz was also one of the winners to perform at the ICMA Gala Concert in San Sebastian. Jury member Maciej Chiżyński (ResMusica) has made the following interview. ResMusica : With whom did you study and how did ...
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 applauded the winners. The event was hosted by the Basque National Orchestra and San Sebastian Cultural Capital of Europe 2016. The Award Ceremony was presented by ICMA’s President Rémy Franck, and awards were given to such artists as Dame Felicity Lott, ...
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 Die Zauberflöte, premiered a decade later: Ilia and Idamante were equated with Pamina and Tamino, Elettra with the Queen of the Night, and the final deus ex machina with Sarastro, though this Oracle had been physically present throughout and played ...
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 due to the regular podium presence of his compatriot Olari Elts. This evening's program featured Tüür's Symphony No. 8, coupled with works from Ravel. The program opened with Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye. Right from the start one could appreciate the clarity of ...
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 from the international musical industry at one of the most prestigious cultural places in Europe.
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 Philharmonic (RFP). Based on the results of this evening’s performance of two rarities and a warhorse, it is clear that deep sense of mutual trust and respect has developed between Lindberg and the orchestra. The first Swedish work on this ...
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 Pearl, or La Paîva, of Céleste Mogador or Alice Ozy), one of the most famous of the great courtesans, one of the most brilliant, most celebrated, most courted, and most publicized of the demi-mondaines of 1840’s Paris: Marie Duplessis. René Weis ...
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 until 2013, in recent years he has been conspicuously absent from the podium of the main Helsinki orchestras. Based on this evening's performance, one certainly hopes that Franck will come back very soon. While I admit that my knowledge of Rautavaara's ...
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 Orchester reaches out into 45 countries with features about orchestral activities of all kind, festivals, world premiere performances, competitions and reviews of books, scores, CDs and DVDs. ICMA President Rémy Franck says: « We are proud to count now one of the ...
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 decided upon the Special Awards for the coming years and took important steps in order to get stronger promotion possibilities for young artists. “I think we are on a turning point, with the ICMA getting more and more respected as ...
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 new song cycle written by Nico Muhly inspired out of the correspondence of soldiers in World War I. He’ll release an album in February with Champs Hill Records (Heinrich Heine-Lieder). ResMusica : You’ve been chosen as a BBC New Generation Artist ...
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 the posts of Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. In this interview, Feddeck discusses his broad musical background, guest conducting on short notice, and this thoughts for reinvigorating classical music audiences. ...
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 Christian Lindberg is Artist of the Year, cellist Pablo Ferrandez Young Artist of the Year. For the first time the new Discovery Award for musicians from 12 to 18 is awarded to flutist Nikolai Song, born in 2002, of Korean-Russian ...
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 of 24 following, in particular, a masterful performance in the finals. Since then, she has been having a brilliant career and now is counted among the greatest living concert pianists showing a serene power in anything she does. With her ...
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 projects, such as put on stage The Haunted Manor, the most important Polish opera of the 19th century, or opening a school for singers which would not overlook the psychological dimension that is so important to their art. "Bring French romantic opera that I ...
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. 9 and 12, Ekaterina Litvintseva is back with the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn and its conductor Heribert Beissel. The latter, a pupil of Günter Wand, first founded a choral ensemble in 1959 to play the repertoire of the electoral court of ...
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 musical scene, this year has seen Sibelius-admiration taken to the next level (and beyond). Numerous complete symphony cycles, several competitions, books, a new documentary series, examinations of obscure works, seminars, museum exhibitions, you name it--if it has to do ...
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 highlights of the Helsinki orchestral season. Every year, Helsinki audiences are treated to a "tasting menu" of Finnish orchestral music, featuring combinations of both new and old as well as familiar and unfamiliar. This year's concert showcased three generations of ...
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 which one will be the winner. The Finalists come from a list with 364 nominated releases from 115 labels. Here is the PDF document for all categories : ICMA 2016 Finalists The final result with the winners will be published on January ...
