Thomas Adès Joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Artistic Partner for 2016-17 >>
The Boston Symphony Orchestra has announced that it will welcome internationally renowned British composer Thomas Adès to the new position of artistic partner. The appointment is a three-year tenure that will feature him as a composer, conductor, pianist and teacher.
NJSO Present Mahler's First Symphony 'Titan,' and Bernstein’s 'Age of Anxiety' >>
The New Jersey will present Mahler’s First Symphony, Titan, and Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, Age of Anxiety in a four show series this March. Music Director Jacques Lacombe will conduct and pianist Kirill Gerstein joins the Orchestra for Bernstein’s masterwork.
81 Can Wait: James Inverne's Tribute to Maestro Claudio Abbado (1933-2014) >>
They were the words all music-lovers hoped never to hear, though they knew the day was inevitable. Claudio Abbado has passed away. He defied the odds to live a full decade beyond an illness that had looked likely to kill him. In that time, he gave us performance after performance of stunning brilliance.
Conductors in Conversation, No. 1: Manfred Honeck >>
The first in a new series of conductor interviews finds James Inverne talking Strauss, sonic character and method acting with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's music director.
Sir Simon Rattle Coming Home to the U.K. (with the Berlin Phil) for His 60th >>
Simon Rattle is coming home for his 60th birthday, in 2015. And he's bringing his German orchestra with him (a little band called the Berlin Philharmonic, you might have heard of them). Together, they will celebrate the milestone in a week-long joint London residency involving both the Barbican Centre and the Southbank Centre.
Classicalite's Five Best: Unsurpassed Recordings >>
There are some, very rare, instances where a recording of a work is so special as to generally be considered--well, definitive is probably the wrong word, as any masterpiece is open to so many interpretations, but at least they are unlikely to be unsurpassed.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra App, RPO Rewards by Kodime, Offers Perks for Purchases >>
Despite its age, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (founded in 1946) has always been alert to innovation (and no doubt that attitude has contributed to its longevity). It was the first major U.K. orchestra to launch its own record label--albeit in a smaller way than today's much more common model, popularized by LSO Live--and one of the first to spearhead a really top-notch education program. And now, it's getting into the app market.
Violist Urging Royal Concertgebouw to Speak About Russian Gay Rights on Anniversary Tour >>
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will leave for Russia in November, part of its world tour celebrating the venerable ensemble's 125th anniversary. And one member of the orchestra, viola player Vincent Peters, is urging his band to make a statement about the Russian government's anti-LGBTQ policies.
REVIEW: Iván Fischer's 'Red Heifer' Opera Mixes Sounds, Not Lies >>
Vuvuzelas and the ghost of Lajos Kossuth appear, but the Jewish "blood libel" is all but banished in the conductor-composer's long-awaited score.
Hungarian Conductor Iván Fischer's First Opera, 'The Red Heifer,' Tackles the Tiszaeszlár Affair >>
"I have been thinking incessantly about composing this opera for 25 years now. The Tiszaeszlár Affair becoming a present day hot political issue finally helped me." -- Iván Fischer
Weimar-Jerusalem Project's Young Symphonic Orchestra Re-Building Bridges Between Germany and Israel >>
The Young Symphonic Orchestra, made up of musicians from the Weimar High School of Music and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, will perform in Jerusalem on October 3.
Osmo Vänskä Walks, It's All Over for Minnesota Orchestra >>
It's all over in Minnesota, at least as far as their distinguished Finnish conductor is concerned. The thing that many locals had dreaded has come to pass: Osmo Vänskä has resigned as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, effecive immediately.
Classicalite's Five Best: Sir Simon Rattle Recordings >>
With the reports that Sir Simon Rattle will be taking over the London Symphony Orchestra will inevitably come a renewed surge of attention around the British maestro. If you only have time or cash for a handful of his recordings, these five--in no particular order--give a fabulous introduction to his art...
Classicalite's Five Best: Rosh Hashanah Musical Works >>
Required listening to make the Jewish new year that bit more musical.
WQXR's Albums of the Week: Mahler with Blumine, Mozart at Home and Canadian Brass' Schumann >>
WQKR, one of Classcalite's favorite terrestrial stations at 105.9 FM, suggests three recent discs that offer a new spin on the well-worn: Mahler's 'Symphony No. 1' with its Blumine movement in tact; a pair of Mozart pianoforte concerti cut-back for the chamber; and Schumann's stuff transcribed for two trumpets, horn, 'bone and long-suffering tuba player Chuck Daellenbach.
