Out of almost contestants, three have been selected for the shootout. They are:

Kristine Balanas (Latvia)

Sarah Christian (Germany)

and Curtis student Andrea Obiso (Italy).

A reminder that people go to concerts to enjoys themselves. And that includes the soloist.

Further extract below.

KS Astrid Schoerke in Hannover has been hit by the defection of its managing partner, Baris Toker, to join Opus 3, taking along several artists.

Barıs Toker will work as an artist manager out of Opus 3’s Berlin office, bringing as dowry the careers of Julian Steckel (pictured), Tobias Feldman and the Calefax Reed Ensemble.

 

Schorke will survive the loss. Its main earners are Christian Zacharias, Thomas Zehetmair, Radu Lupu, Till Fellner, Isabelle Van Keulen and Francesco Piemontesi.

 

 

 

 

That she can do it at all at 18 is amazing, never mind how.

Solène Le Van alternates singing arias and playing the violin, classical and jazz.

The Russian baritone who is receiving treatment for brain cancer has pulled out of the Georges Enesco Festival, ‘due to medical problems’, it was announced today in Bucharest.

Hvorostovsk’s recital will be taken over by Kristine Opolais, who is trying to learn a work by Enesco in the next two weeks.

 

Xaver Meyer conducted more than 2,000 concerts in his long life, many of them on radio and TV.

Born in Vienna on August 28, 1933, he founded the Wiener Madrigalchor in 1955 and led it for the rest of the century.

In 1956 he was appointed chorus master of the Vienna Boys Choir, from 1964 to 1984 he was chorus director at the Theater an der Wien and from 1976 to 1987 he headed the Wiener Männergesang-Verein.

His book “Chorleitung” (Choral Conducting) has appeared in several editions.

James Truscott, a graduate of music at the University of Kent, has been found dead in a house in Canterbury where two other musicians were previously found dead.

The two others have been named as Maximum Martin and Joshua Lambert-Price.

All three were in their 20s.

The police say there are no suspicious circumstances.

 

Most opera houses make do with one or two languages.

But the Vienna State Opera, obliged to replace an ageing seatback system, is offering a choice of English, German, Italian, French, Russian and Japanese from tomorrow. No other house comes close.

Press release follows.

 

 

For several reasons, after 16 years it was necessary to replace the subtitle system commissioned in September 2001
(two languages, no information programme): increasing number of faults, decreasing brightness of displays, unavailability of spare parts, etc.
NEW SUBTITLE SYSTEM
 – available immediately in six languages: English, German, Italian, French, Russian, Japanese
– shortly before the beginning of an opera performance, the system switches automatically from the information programme to the subtitles, or turns off for ballet performances
– choice of six subtitle languages or optional shutdown
INFORMATION SYSTEM
– available before opera and ballet performances and during the intervals (in English and German)
– brief synopses of the works performed
– cast of the performance
– general current information
– FAQs
– newsletter registration
– in the near future: ordering drinks and snacks for the intervals

 

A Claudio Abbado reading room is to be opened in 2019 at the Unter den Linden Library.

It will contain 1,700 annotated scores, 1,500 CDs and more than 300 LPs and DVDs made by the late Italian conductor and will be open to scholars and students.

There’s a huge weekend feature on the legacy in the NZZ.

 

photo (c) Suzie Maeder/Lebrecht

 

The Opéra de Toulon has named Jurjan Hempel to take over as music director a year from now.

He will succeed Giuliano Carella, who has been in the job since 2003.

Hempel, a former Gergiev assistant, presently heads an orchestra in Finland.