Orchestra Victoria, the Melbourne based orchestra scheduled to play for the Melbourne Ring Cycle and which plays for the Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and the Victorian Opera, is under review. The Australian reports:
Click here to read.
Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor opens in Sydney this week. The Opera Australia production has Emma Matthews in the title role with American tenor James Valenti as Edgardo and Giorgio Caoduro as Enrico. These images give an idea of the power and drama of the opera and below them, the link to a feature about the…
Awards for excellence in acting are separated according to gender, so why aren’t the awards for excellence in music? Jessica Duchen of The Independent argues the detrimental effects of a continuing focus on the appearance rather than the abilities of female musicians: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/sexism-with-strings-attached-8197972.html
For four years, Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has immersed himself exclusively in the piano music of Beethoven. Performing with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra which he has directed from the piano, the project came to an end last weekend at this year’s BBC Proms. Leif Over Andsnes talks about the music which has pre-occupied him…
Countertenor Maximilian Riebl (23) from Victoria, took away the coveted winner’s spot in the annual IFAC Australian Singing competition held last weekend. It is the first time since the competition began in 1982, that a counter-tenor has been awarded first place. Maximilian Riebl has performed regularly in Sydney as soloist with the Australian Brandenburg…
Maxim Vengerov was appointed Menuhin Professor of violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London, earlier this year. He has concerts coming up in Moscow, London, Baku, Lausanne and Munich – all in the next 2 weeks. Click here to read his interview with Andrew Clark of the Financial Times.
Wednesday August 22nd 2012 is the sesquicentenary of the birth of Claude Debussy. Whilst the music world plans for the anniversaries next year for Britten, Verdi and Wagner, the acknowledgement of Debussy’s 150th birth anniversary has been distinctly underwhelming. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times investigates: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/arts/music/debussys-150th-birthday-gets-little-notice.html?_r=1&ref=music