Blog

Work of the Week – Noriko Koide: Whale

By Christopher Peter
23 Nov 2025

The composer Noriko Koide is looking to the right in a close-up, framed by dark shadows. She is wearing dark clothing, and her face is partially illuminated by a brightly lit, white window frame on the right side.

Noriko Koide's Whale for orchestra and children. A sonic expedition into the ocean. World Premiere at Nagoya, Nov 24, 2025.

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Work of the Week – Edmund Finnis: Cello Concerto

By Christopher Peter
16 Nov 2025

The composer Edmund Finnis is sitting on a dark wooden chair against a soft blue-green background. He is wearing a dark t-shirt and looking thoughtfully towards the upper right.

World Premiere of Edmund Finnis’s Cello Concerto (Nov 21, 2025) in LA: A new work for Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Work of the Week – Huang Ruo: The Monkey King

By Christopher Peter
9 Nov 2025

Portrait of composer Huang Ruo in a dark setting. He is seated on a red velvet sofa wearing a grey suit, holding a pencil and looking thoughtful. Crumpled papers lie on the floor in front of him.

The San Francisco Opera is set to present the highly anticipated world premiere of Huang Ruo’s opera The Monkey King (Libretto: David Henry Hwang) on November 14, 2025. Based on the Chinese epic Journey to the West, the work tells the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King , who, after a revolt against Heaven, comes to the crucial realization that true power lies in self-enlightenment. The production combines Huang Ruo's innovative "Dimensionalism" aesthetic with elements of Peking opera and visionary puppetry by MacArthur Genius Basil Twist. Directed by Tony winner Diane Paulus and conducted by Carolyn Kuan, The Monkey King is the perfect prelude to the composer's young, strategic partnership with Schott Music.

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Elżbieta Penderecka (1947–2025)

3 Nov 2025

Portrait of Elżbieta Penderecka. She has her hand on a wooden door frame and is looking at the camera with a gentle smile. She has an elegant blonde hairstyle, pearl earrings, subtle make-up and a black dress with pleats.

Schott Music mourns the loss of Elżbieta Penderecka. The wife of composer Krzysztof Penderecki, she enjoyed a long-standing friendship with the company. She passed away on 31 October at the age of 77.

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Work of the Week – Hans Werner Henze: The English Cat

By Christopher Peter
2 Nov 2025

Composer Hans Werner Henze sits on a chair with his hands folded, looking seriously and slightly upward into the camera. In the background on the left side of the image is a stylized dagger with the tail of a black cat wrapped around it.

Henze's satirical opera The English Cat as a new production at the Bavarian State Opera to mark the start of the ‘Henze 100’ anniversary year.

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Thomas Larcher at Wigmore Hall: Composer in Focus

By Ella Le Bas
31 Oct 2025

A person stands outdoors on a misty day, looking calmly at the camera. The background fades into fog, creating a quiet and contemplative mood. It's Schott Composer Thomas Larcher.

Thomas Larcher, born in Innsbruck in 1963, is known for his ability to fuse lyrical beauty with raw intensity. His music, performed by leading orchestras and ensembles across the world, explores transformation, silence, and the space between dissonance and harmony. Wigmore Hall, where he has been a frequent guest since the early 2000s, now celebrates his artistry with a full-day portrait — part of its acclaimed Composer in Residence series and a highlight of the season’s upcoming concerts.

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Work of the Week – Andrew Norman: Play: Levels 1, 2 and 3

By Christopher Peter
26 Oct 2025

Photomontage: Smiling composer Andrew Norman (right, blue shirt) next to two hands holding a radio remote control with an antenna. Dark, dramatic background.

Dutch premiere of Andrew Norman's Play: Levels 1, 2 and 3 (Oct 29, 2025) with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä.

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Toshio Hosokawa – 70 years of music between Japan and Europe

By Andreas Krause
23 Oct 2025

The composer Toshio Hosokawa stands on stage in a dark suit. The subdued background draws attention to his thoughtful, focused expression.

On the 23th of October 2025, Toshio Hosokawa, one of the world's most frequently performed contemporary composers, celebrates his 70th birthday. It is an occasion to look back at the remarkable work of an artist who combines Japanese tradition with Western avant-garde like no other, and whose music continues to be celebrated on international stages.

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Halloween Music: Five Works for the Spooky Season

20 Oct 2025

Five composers (Tartini, Grieg, Ravel, Elmer Bernstein, and Stravinsky) are present together in a row along the bottom half of the image, with mist obscuring their faces, all against a dark background.

Halloween marks the eve of All Hallows’ Day, otherwise known as All Saints’ Day, and has been a cultural fixture for the month of October for quite some time. To celebrate the spooky season, we’ve taken a trip through Western music history to highlight a handful of pieces and works whose sound and stories feel especially at home for when the nights grow darker.

Posted in News