Mikhail Tatarnikov, a protege of Valery Gergiev’s, has been announced as music director of the ambitious Mikhailovsky Theatre. Tatarnikov is a rising talent. The Mikhailovsky recently snatched two star dancers from the Bolshoi. Gergiev need not fear the threat on his doorstep. Not yet.

Here’s the release:

Vladimir Kekhman, General Director and Alexander Arkhipov  Deputy General Director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre issued a press release today:

The young musician from the St. Petersburg conducting school, who has worked at the Mariinsky Theatre for five years, will take up his new post on 1 January 2012.
The appointment opens up new creative opportunities for Tatarnikov, who is known as a consummate professional in the musical world, and is immensely popular with audiences.

We were looking to appoint a young and gifted Russian musician. Valery Gergiev, under whom Mikhail Tatarnikov has developed as a conductor, has approved his decision to join us, for which I am very grateful to our celebrated maestro.

This season Mikhail will conduct Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni at Opera de Bordeaux, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Viva Musica Festival in Bratislava and numerous performances at the Mikhailovsky and   Mariinsky Theatres in  St.Petersburg. In future seasons he will conduct Eugene Onegin at Teatro alla Scala Milan, Rusalka at Bayerische Staatsoper, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra Love for Three Oranges at Latvian National Opera and Cunning Little Vixen at Lille Opera. 

Past seasons he has conducted numerous operas and concerts at the Mariinsky Theatre as well as with the Gävle Symphony, Russian National Orchestra (in Dresden, Germany and for his US debut at the Mann Center in Philadelphia), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo (with Vilde Frang), a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Latvian National Opera in Riga, Novosibirsk Philharmonic, St Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia.   Mikhail has worked with many renowned soloists including Anna Netrebko, Vilde Frang and Vadim Repin.

The world premiere in Qatar of a Vangelis work for chorus, orchestra, Alagna and Gheorghiu and costing half the Greek national debt.  Feast your eyes upon the scenes.

photos: Efstathios Zalidis

Here’s an account on the Vangelis site:

Tonight, not long after 8 o’ clock in the evening, local time, Vangelis and the assembled musicians performed the concert at the Katara Amphitheater in Doha, Qatar.

The performance of the choral symphony called “Hope” (in 5 movements) along with other new compositions written for the occasion, and the performance of Chariots of Fire and Conquest of Paradise proved an impressive spectacle. Classical music, sometimes pleasantly restrained, sometimes big and powerful. On accasion, it brought back memories of Mythodea. Good memories, that is. Passionate performances, captivating music.

 

 

 

… the Concertgebouw label and different conductors.

It starts in springtime and here’s the list:

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is planning a spring 2012 release of full Mahler cycle on DVD & Blu Ray (11 DVD box set) on its orchestra owned label RCO Live

 

S1: Daniel Harding

S2: Mariss Jansons (Merbeth, Fink, Netherlands Radio Choir)

S3: Mariss Jansons (Fink, Netherlands Radio Choir)

S4: Iván Fischer (Persson)

S5: Daniele Gatti

S6: Lorin Maazel

S7: Pierre Boulez

S8: Mariss Jansons (Brewer, Nylund, Espada, Blythe, Fujimura, Snith, Hakala, Kocan, Netherlands Radio Choir, State Choir Latvija, Bavarian Radio Choir)

S9: Bernard Haitink

Lied von der Erde: Fabio Luisi (Larsson, Smith)

S10 (Cooke): Eliahu Inbal

 

All full HD live recordings (5.0 surr.) taken from the 2009-2011 Mahler celebration at Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

The Belcea Quartet, pride of the label’s young artists, had been told before the company was sold off that it was not in a position any more to issue a Beethoven cycle. So the Belcea are no longer EMI artists, and others are likely to follow their drift.

The Beethoven cycle will appear – on ZigZag.

PRESS RELEASE
BELCEA QUARTET TO RELEASE BEETHOVEN’S
COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS ON ZIG-ZAG TERRITOIRES
MONDAY 12TH DECEMBER 2011
Zig-Zag Territoires is pleased to announce the start of its collaboration with the Belcea Quartet. The foursome’s first recording of Beethoven’s Complete String Quartets will be released in May 2012.
Throughout the next 12 months the Belcea Quartet will be performing all the Beethoven quartets at London’s Wigmore Hall as well as in Aldeburgh (where the recordings are made), Liverpool, Gateshead, Hamburg, Vienna, Schwarzenberg and Stockholm. There will also be a half-cycle at Carnegie Hall and Genoa will see a full cycle over the 2012/13 season. The ensemble has over past years gained an enviable reputation as one of the world’s leading string quartets. Taking both the British and international chamber music circuit by storm, it continues to consistently receive critical acclaim for its performances. Established at the Royal College of Music in 1994, the Quartet has since been coached by the Chilingirian, Amadeus and Alban Berg Quartets. It is the Associate Ensemble at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and, since the 2010/11 season, Ensemble in Residence at the Vienna Konzerthaus. Zig-Zag Territoires’, part of the Outhere group of labels, release of Volume I of Beethoven’s Complete String Quartets in May 2012 will coincide with their performance of the complete cycle at the Vienna Konzerthaus between May 2nd and 12th.
Outhere is an independent musical production and publishing company whose discs are published under the catalogues Æon, Alpha, Fuga Libera, Outnote, Ramée, Ricercar, Phi and Zig-Zag Territoires. Each catalogue has its own well defined identity. Our discs and our digital products cover a repertoire ranging from ancient and classical music to the contemporary, jazz and world music. We work with great artists and established ensembles, but we are also keen to invest in the development of young talent. The group builds on three fundamental principles: relations, quality and efficiency: the personal relation between an artist and his trusted art director, the highest quality in the musical selection and in the editorial work, and efficiency, because we know that our activities can only thrive with innovative management methods.
RSK Entertainment is a specialist in classical music sales, distribution, marketing and publicity. One of our fortes has been to take overseas labels and create a foundation for the artists within the culture of the UK, encouraging their profiles to develop naturally. Labels in the care of RSK include the Outhere labels highlighted above, Channel Classics, Supraphon, Brilliant Classics, NMC Records, Regent Records and Toccata Classics. A recent highlight was the Pavel Haas Quartet gaining the Recording of the Year in the 2011 Gramophone Awards for their CD of Dvorak quartets on Supraphon.
For further information please contact Matt Groom at RSK
mgroom@rskentertainment.co.uk

There is so much material that we cannot squeeze into next Sunday’s BBC Radio 3 documentary on Barbara that I have decided to share some of the surplus by way of a taster.

The opera tenor Roberto Alagna, who started out signing in a Paris pizza bar, confessed to a huge admiration for Barbara and said he learned from her how to perform in small spaces like L’Ecluse, which seat no more than 60 people, most of them eating their dinner through a performance.

How, I asked him, does a singer get the full attention of a munching crowd.

‘You look for visiting groups,’ he confided. ‘I would have an Italian, Spanish, English, Arabic, Hebrew song, which I would open with if there was a group from the right country. One night, a man who looked like big mafia came up to me with a huge 500 franc note, demanding that I sing The Prisoner. “But I don’t know The Prisoner,” I said. “You do, you do,” hissed the band, their eyes on the big note. You see, we were paid very little so the tips really mattered.

‘The band played the introduction to this song two or three times so I got the tune. Behind me, they whispered the words, line by line. I sang. At the end, the mafioso stood up, tears pouring down his cheeks and came over with another 500-franc note. “Sing The Prisoner again,” he begged, ‘that was the most beautiful performance of my life….”‘ Here’s the link to Sunday’s programme

photo (c) Lebrecht Music & Arts

The fund set up by London’s Mayor for disadvantaged children with musical ambitions is disbursing its first £400,000 ($650,000) in scholarships to 100 kids aged between 7 and 11.

There’s a big fundraiser on Wednesday with pianist Stephen Hough, clarinetist Julian Bliss and guitarist Miloš Karadagli?, and beatboxer Shlomo is offering to share his special skills with talented youngsters in need of tempo adjustment. I might send him a couple of conductors.

 

Sent on behalf of the Mayor’s Fund for Young Musicians
 
PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGOED UNTIL MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 2011
 
100 MUSIC SCHOLARSHIPS FOR LONDON CHILDREN, AS £400,000 ANNOUNCED TO SUPPORT TALENTED YOUNG MUSICIANS
The Mayor’s Fund for Young Musicians (MFYM) has announced awards worth £400,000 to support thousands of talented young musicians from across London.
From January 100 children will receive funding in the first round of the Mayor’s Music Scholarships programme. The scholarships have been awarded to children aged 7-11 who show outstanding potential and commitment to learning an instrument but whose families struggle to pay for lessons. They will benefit from weekly tuition, membership of ensembles, performance opportunities and a dedicated mentor. Scholars will also take part in special events with MFYM patrons, including trumpet virtuoso Alison Balsom and beat-boxer Shlomo.
In addition, MFYM is awarding £100,000 to fund six Music Partnerships. Thousands of 7-18 year-olds will get inspirational opportunities to learn and perform with London’s top professional musicians. The six partnerships will bring together 19 borough music services, six professional music groups including London’s world-class orchestras, and music college students.
Launched earlier this year, MFYM has been working with London’s 32 borough music services, plus their local schools and partners, to identify these talented children. From January there will be approximately three scholars in every borough. This figure will increase year on year.
“Thanks to the enormous generosity of individuals and businesses around London, every single Mayor’s music scholar will receive up to four-years of intensive musical learning. These are the most talented students who would have to stop learning without our support. By 2016 we hope to be funding up to 1,000 young scholars,” said MFYM Chief Executive Ginny Greenwood.
Every music scholar will receive approximately four hours of music tuition a week in addition to that provided within the curriculum. They will have access to instruments, small group tuition during the school day and after school, attendance at Saturday morning music centres and the opportunity to perform in as well as attend concerts.
“We are very grateful to the individuals and companies that are already sponsoring a scholar. Their money will transform the life chances of these young people. However we still need more if we are to make a lasting difference to London’s social and cultural life. In return for an annual commitment of £1,000, we provide each benefactor with their scholar’s name, age and instrument, a group photograph, regular reports and an invitation to special concerts, so that they are truly involved in the child’s musical development. I like to think of them as Musical Godparent,” said Ms Greenwood.
MYFM is seeking to raise up to £1million and this Wednesday (14 December) is hosting a special fundraising gala concert at Kings Place, with pianist Stephen Hough, clarinetist Julian Bliss and guitarist Miloš Karadagli?. Other fundraising events are planned for 2012.
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who is MFYM’s Founder Patron, could not be more delighted:  “Huge congratulations to The Mayor’s Fund for Young Musicians for a brilliant start to their programme. We know that learning a musical instrument can have a powerful impact on a child’s life, helping in their social, emotional and academic development. Sadly, too many families in London cannot afford to pay for music lessons, even for very talented children. By investing in these scholarships and partnerships programmes, the fund will be enriching the lives of thousands of children and also make sure London remains the top city in the world for all kinds of music. I wish these talented young people every success”.
Case study:
Emmanuel from Tottenham is 11 years old.  He has been playing the violin for 2 years and according to his teacher Vicky Miller is “the most talented musician I have come across in many years.  He always practises after his lessons and will try extra repertoire in his book without prompting”.  West Green Primary head teacher Vivette Sewell was thrilled to receive a call from Ginny Greenwood giving her the good news. ‘Wow! Amazing!’ she said. “For financial reasons, Emmanuel has not been able to continue this term. He says he misses the violin desperately and wants to play again, this is just fantastic.”
For further information about the fund visit the website: www.mfym.org.uk.
 
NOTES TO EDITOR:
The Mayor’s Fund for Young Musicians is hosting a special fundraising gala concert at Kings Place this Wednesday 14 December, with pianist Stephen Hough, clarinetist Julian Bliss and guitarist Miloš Karadagli?. Tickets cost £55 for the concert only and £95 for the concert followed by a reception with wine and bowl food. Tickets are on sale at www.kingsplace.co.uk or via the Kings Place box office – 020 7520 1490.
 
The official awards celebration will be held at City Hall on Friday 27 January.
 
Scholarship analysis:
Number of boys 49. Number of girls 51 
10-11 year olds 55%, 8-9 year olds 40%, 7 year olds 5%
Strings 50%, Brass 25%, Woodwind 20%, Percussion 5%
 
SCHOLARSHIPS: see attached  
PARTNERSHIPS – boroughs and partners: 
Harrow, Barnet, Ealing, Enfield, Bollywood Big Brass Band
Hounslow, Kingston, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rose Theatre
Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Redbridge, Waltham Forest, London Symphony Orchestra
Wandsworth, Merton, Camden, Islington, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Royal College of Music, London Sinfonietta
 
Patrons:  Alison Balsom, Sir Mark Elder,  Sir Vernon Ellis,  Raymond Gubbay CBE , Jools Holland OBE,  Stephen Hough COMMA Steven Isserlis CBE,  Julian Joseph, Soweto Kinch,  Lord Lloyd-Webber, Rachel Portman OBE, Shlomo,  Sir John Tusa
 
For further information please contact Ginny Greenwood – 020 7983 4943 ginny@mfym.org.uk  www.mfym.org.uk.

The querulous defendants of Richard Wagner have gone to law once more.

A great-granddaughter, Iris Wagner, is suing the Bayreuth Wagner Foundation and the City of Leipzig for her share of Gramps’s piano, a Bechstein given to the old boy by mad King Ludwig back in 1864.

Who’d sue over such a thing, nearly 150 years later? Only a Wagner.

After years of placing obstacles in the path of incoming entertainers, the State Department is offering a sprig of mistletoe to the world’s musicians.

Partnering with New York’s Bang on a Can group, the Dept has launched a OneBeat, one-month exchange programme for young musicians, slipped under the wire in the guise of ‘smart diplomacy’. It’s a small gesture, no more than that, but it might be the harbinger of a change in attitude. At least there is an awareness on Hillary Clinton’s part that the US needs to repair its relations with the world’s musicians. Release follows.

photo: bangonacan.org

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                                              December 9, 2011

2011/2100

MEDIA NOTE

Bringing the World’s Music to Main Street America,

U.S. Department of State Announces “OneBeat”

 

Bringing musicians from around the world to communities across America, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced OneBeat today, an initiative that will bring up to 50 international musicians between the ages of 19-35 to the United States for a month-long exchange.  OneBeat musicians will connect with Americans musicians and audiences, especially underserved youth, through people-to-people diplomacy and social engagement projects.  It is slated to kick-off in the United States in September of 2012.

 

OneBeat builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power” diplomacy. It embraces the use of a full range of diplomatic tools, including music, to bring people, especially youth, together for greater understanding.

 

Partnering with Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation, the OneBeat musicians will perform in collaborative ensembles that improvise across genres, reinvent traditional tunes, compose original work, record in the state-of-the-art OneBeat mobile studio, and prepare for performances and educational workshops.  The groups will then tour in the United States.  During the tour, they will perform the music they developed during the exchange, work with local musicians, and conduct social outreach workshops with local youth.

 

Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation is an eclectic group of artists who have a strong sense of social engagement. Working with people across the globe, from schools to prisons, from young to old, and partnering with local youth, social organizations, music festivals, and artists across all disciplines, Found Sound Nation creates a space that transcends geographic, linguistic, and political borders. The work of Found Sound Nation uses the expressive power of music and audio production to give voice to underserved communities, unlock the creative potential of youth, and build bridges between communities separated by cultures, economic disparities, and geography.

 

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs promotes mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through a wide range of academic, cultural, private sector, professional, and sports exchange programs. The Bureau’s s cultural exchanges support U.S. foreign policy, foster America’s artistic excellence, and demonstrate America’s respect and appreciation for other cultures and traditions. For more information, visit www.exchanges.state.gov.

 

Media contact: Talley Sergent, U.S. Department of State, SergentRT@state.gov.

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