Blog

Two productions of Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov will open the year 2024: on 14 January 2024, the Bavarian State Opera will present the revival of its successful production at the Munich National Theatre. The production by Calixto Bieito will be under the musical direction of Dima Slobodeniouk. On 28 January 2024, the National Theatre Mannheim will stage a new production of the piece at the Theater im Pfalzbau in Ludwigshafen. The director here is Lorenzo Fioroni, with Roberto Rizzi Brignoli conducting. Both productions use the historical-critical performance material published by Verlagsgruppe Hermann.

The fascinating and diverse creativity of Peter Eötvös is fuelled by the triad of composition, musical practice, and educational enthusiasm.  We wish him a very happy 80th birthday.

George Gershwin is a popular name on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day programs. Excerpts from his stage works are often played, such as Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture. These days, for example, it can be heard in France in concerts by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg with conductor Wayne Marshall and in Denmark with Copenhagen Phil under the direction of Joel Sandelson. 

A BBC Invitation Concert in 1967 presented four of Rainier’s works, including the first performance of Solo Suite. It was later broadcast by the BBC in 1976, introduced by Rainier, as part of a series of six programmes featuring her complete chamber works. 

Suitable for advanced violin players, Kidane's three Pieces of Light were all written in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown period. 

It feels safe to say many of us play our instruments much less than we did when we were younger, how do people find the time within adult life? Here we have an interview style blog from Melanie Spanswick looking at relearning and revisiting the piano as an adult. Linking to her series Play it Again, Melanie talks about how music can fit into our adult lives and how this series can help you along your way.

In their Christmas concerts these days, the Elbland Philharmonie Sachsen under the direction of Ekkehard Klemm and the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn under the direction of Hermes Helfricht will be performing the suite to the opera Tuttifäntchen by Paul Hindemith.

After 253 years in private hands, Music Publisher Schott is to become the property of the Strecker Foundation, thus securing its independence forever. The historic house at Weihergarten 5 in Mainz remains the publishing house's headquarters, while more recent parts of the building are developed with the Molitor company to create a "House of Music" alongside apartments.

We congratulate Ludger Brümmer on winning the Honorary Award of the German Record Critics' Award.

Julian Anderson's Symphony No. 2, will celebrate its US premiere on December 7, 2023 at Severance Hall in Cleveland, OH. The Cleveland Orchestra will present the piece under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, who conducted the world premiere with the Munich Philharmonic at the beginning of last year.