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Genesis – creation is the title of Toshio Hosokawa's new Violin Concerto which he wrote for violinist Veronika Eberle. As part of the International Music Festival Hamburg, the world premiere will take place on 19 May 2021, 8 pm local time (6 pm UTC), after the date had to be postponed multiple times. It will be live streamed on the YouTube channel of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, Kent Nagano is conducting.

"Veronika Eberle gave birth to a baby last November. I composed the piece as a present for
her and her baby. In the concerto, the soloist represents a human being, while the orchestra is imagined as nature and the universe surrounding him. At the beginning, the orchestra repeats wave motions suggestive of amniotic fluid, then the melodic line of the violin solo (= life) is generated from the inside of ‘cradle’, and is developing while imitating melodies inside the orchestra, then becomes independent of it, conflicts with it, however, finally finds a harmony inside the orchestra and dissolves into it." Toshio Hosokawa

Toshio Hosokawa
Violin Concerto
Genesis · 18’
19 May 2021 | Hamburg (D)
Elbphilharmonie
Veronika Eberle, violin
Philharmonic State Orchestera Hamburg
Kent Nagano, conductor

Commissioned by Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOČR) and Grafenegg Festival

• Toshio Hosokawa – composer profile


• Live Stream on YouTube


• Website of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg

 

The Frontiers of Knowledge Award of the Spanish BBVA Foundation in the Music and Opera category in its thirteenth edition is going to  the Hungarian composer and conductor Peter Eötvös,  "undoubtedly one of the most important musical voices of our time," in the words of the citation. "His artistic significance, originality and contribution to the advancement of music since the second half of the 20th century can be recognized in his writing for voice, solo instrument and orchestra in operas such as Three Sisters, Love and Other Demons and Senza Sangue. His instrumental compositions have been played by the most important ensembles and orchestras around the world," committee chair, Joana Carneiro, Principal Conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, states.

The annual Frontiers of Knowledge Award comprises seven further categories, such as Information Technologies, Ecology and Basic Sciences. With 400.000 €, it is one of the most significant cultural awards of the world. Former awardees include composers such as Pierre Boulez, Sofia Gubaidulina and Arvo Pärt.

• Peter Eötvös - composer profile


• BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award Website

photo: © Szilvia Csibi

Yes, cleverly composed music can also be a lot of fun. On 11 March, the composer who has been celebrated for his Tango Nuevo by all generations worldwide for decades, would have turned 100: Astor Piazzolla. Skilled in contemporary modernism, he transforms the tango into concert music full of subtlety and wit. The pieces thus become an unparalleled fireworks of emotions. In the important late phase, it is not least the concert with his quintet in Cologne in 1984 that remains one of the most exciting memories of Astor Piazzolla. Let’s celebrate him!

57 Minutos con la Realidad
Live in Colonia, 1984

Pēteris Vasks, like no other composer, is an ambassador for the music of his native country
Latvia and the rich culture of the North. Prior to 1991, he was subject to repression for his beliefs and artistic convictions, but today he has long achieved international acclaim.

Vasks will receive a lifetime achievement award at the 49th Istanbul Music Festival in June, less than two months after his 75th birthday. The award is given annually by the festival: previous laureates include Daniel Barenboim, Philip Glass, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, Zubin Mehta, Arvo Pärt, Krzysztof Penderecki and Murray Perahia. Following the award ceremony, the Modigliani Quartet will give the Turkish premiere of his String Quartet No. 6 for which Vasks received the Latvian Grand Music Award in March.

His instrumental works are performed across the world by renowned musicians and also utilised for ballets, most recently in ‘Solitude’, choreographed by Mario Schröder for Leipzig Ballet. Vasks incorporates archaic and folkloristic elements from his homeland in his compositions, bringing them into an exciting relationship with contemporary musical language. Topics as contrasting as the beauty of nature and the ecological and moral destruction of the world find their way into his music.

On the occasion of his birthday, Schott Music has issued a brochure featuring selected choral works which is available free of charge in printed form or as a download under the order number KAT 3485-99.

You can also discover our Vasks playlist at https://en.schott-music.com/shop/vasks-playlist/

•  Pēteris Vasks – composer profile

Wilfried Hiller has created his poetic and imaginative music independently of the rules and constraints of the avant garde. His collaboration with the author Michael Ende has played a significant role in his compositional career. Works such as Die zerstreute Brillenschlange
(1979), Vier musikalische Fabeln (1980–1982), Der Goggolori (1982–1983) and Das Traumfresserchen (1989–1990) have become classics in the field of contemporary music theatre for children.

In 2018, Hiller once again selected one of Ende’s texts for his composition Momo, but has additionally created numerous stage works for adult audiences, chamber music compositions, solo concertos, and works for choral and orchestral forces. He received the
Bavarian Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst and is a member of the Bavarian Academy of the Arts. Happy birthday!

• Wilfried Hiller – Composer Profile

Aribert Reimann, one of the world’s most important composers of our time, is first of all a master of vocal music, who always writes for voice (never against it). This is evident in his numerous lieder, but especially in his large operas, the plots of which Reimann primarily selects from world literature and transforms them into unique forms through his own musical language. In all compositions, his music possesses a powerful emotionality which directly captures his listeners.
On March 4, 2021, Aribert Reimann celebrates his 85th birthday – congratulations!

Kinderlieder / Nacht-Räume / Neun Sonette der Louize Labé
Das Schloss
Melusine
Spiralat halom / Eingedunkelt / Neun Stücke
Unanswered Love

In his substantial compositional output, Aribert Reimann has created a rich collection of compositions which have unquestionably exerted an influence on contemporary music theatre. His unmistakable personal style is characterised by strict logic and highly complex
tonal structures which are finely chiselled down to the smallest detail. At the same time, his music possesses a powerful innate emotionality which directly captures his listeners. This is borne out by his instrumental works and vocal compositions and to a particular degree, his operas, which are considered the most significant of the entire contemporary period.

Reimann primarily selects his plots from world literature and transforms them into unique forms through his own musical language. Schott offers Aribert Reimann its heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of his 85th birthday.

• Aribert Reimann – biography, photos, works and more

photo: Bernd Uhlig

Legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea passed away last Tuesday at the age of 79. A 23-time Grammy winner, he was known as a cross-genre musician who played alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock.

He left a final message to his fans and followers on social media: "I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It’s not only that the world needs more artists, it’s also just a lot of fun."
Source: facebook.com/chickcorea/posts/10158422599898924

Quelle: facebook.com/chickcorea/posts/10158422599898924

On 4 February 2021, 21:05 GMT Konzertmusik for violin and small chamber orchestra by Hans Werner Henze will receive it's world premiere. After several attempts to perform the work had to be cancelled in 2020, the Bavarian Radio will broadcast a studio recording with Peter Tilling and the Ensemble risonanze erranti. This will officially mark the world premiere of the composition.

Konzertmusik is the earliest work composed by Hans Werner Henze and published by Schott: the concerto for violin and small chamber orchestra, written when he was only 17. It was not until the end of World War II that he was able to devote himself intensively to composition: a short time later, he was signed by Schott. The composition reveals its inspiration from Paul Hindemith. In its chamber music structure, a series of instruments from the ensemble including flute, trumpet and the first player of violin I repeatedly take on small solo passages and accompany the solo violin in groups of two or three. In the finale however, a ‘genuine’ virtuoso violin concerto unfolds in miniature.

• Hans Werner Henze – composer profile


• Konzertmusik – Werkdetails und Online-Partitur


• Bavarian Radio Broadcast Site

Porträt Hans Werner Henze: © Schott Music / Hans Kenner

for violin and piano

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

 

• New modern performing edition


• Great repertoire resource


• For intermediate violinists

 

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was paid three guineas for the publishing rights to his Suite de Pièces by Schott & Co. London on 24 December 1892 when the composer was just 17 years old. In the following year the work was published by Schott Music’s German office in versions for both violin with piano and violin with organ.

Like many works, at some point in the past Suite de Pièces became out of print. Schott Music is very proud to present this new modern performing edition of the version for violin and piano. Errors and inconsistencies from the first edition have now been corrected.

Suitable for intermediate-level violinists, the repertoire can be used in lessons or as an ideal addition to concert performances.