2017 line-up announced for Ton Koopman's Itinéraire Baroque Festival
At this summer’s Itinéraire Baroque, Ton Koopman is marking the 250th anniversary of German composer Georg Philipp Telemann during his annual festival in the Dordogne. The composer’s works form the backbone of the 4-day programme alongside Koopman’s trademark Bach Cantatas with the Amsterdam Baroque Choir and Orchestra. Set in the picturesque medieval villages and towns around Riberac, the festival runs from Thursday 27 July to Sunday 30 July 2017.
Read moreCharles Owen and Katya Apekisheva announce 2017 line-up of London Piano Festival
Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva announce a Russian-themed programme for the second annual London Piano Festival, which runs from Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 October at Kings Place, London. The stunning line-up of pianist’s include Nelson Goerner, Ilya Itin, Lisa Smirnova, Jason Rebello, Danny Driver and Melvyn Tan. Co-Artistic Directors Owen and Apekisheva have commissioned Russian-born British composer Elena Langer to compose a new work and they perform her Kandinsky during the Two-Piano Marathon on 7 October. Melvyn Tan gives the world premiere of a new composition by Kevin Volans.
Read moreDiana Ambache marks International Woman’s Day with a CD of Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz
To mark International Women’s Day, Diana Ambache champions the music of the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz with a new CD of her chamber music on the Ambache label. Bacewicz was the former leader of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and became Poland’s most highly regarded female composer of the last century. This new recording offers a fresh perspective on Bacewicz’s work, noting the influence folk music had on her compositions. It forms the third disc in the Ambache series raising the profile of lesser-known female composers.
Read moreBBC Symphony Orchestra to premiere Nicola LeFanu’s The Crimson Bird at the Barbican Centre on 17 February
Marking the distinguished composer’s 70th birthday, the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov premieres Nicola LeFanu's The Crimson Bird at the Barbican Centre on 17 February 2017 - her first full-scale orchestral work for 3 decades. LeFanu was commissioned to write The Crimson Bird after the Royal Philharmonic Society awarded her the Elgar Bursary in 2014. The Crimson Bird, a mother’s lament for a son caught up in conflict, was written with Wagnerian dramatic soprano Rachel Nicholls’ voice in mind. LeFanu’s 70th birthday celebrations continue throughout the year with a number of other events and performances.
Read moreMarking Les Talens Lyriques's 25th anniversary, Christophe Rousset conducts three new productions
Marking Les Talens Lyriques' 25th anniversary, Christophe Rousset conducts three new productions across Europe in the first months of 2017. Following the modern premiere of Salieri's Les Horaces in Vienna earlier this season, Rousset returns to Theater an der Wien for a new production of Purcell's Fairy Queen directed by Mariame Clément from 19 January. Successful previous collaborations on Rameau's Platée and Castor & Pollux see Clément and Rousset reunite a second time this season in Strasbourg for Cavalli's Calisto in April. Prior to that, Rousset will conduct Mozart's Magic Flute for the first time in a new production by David Lescot. Their 25th anniversary celebrations continue in Holland with a revival of Pierre Audi's Monteverdi Madrigals in Amsterdam, which will tour to Brighton Festival as part of Les Talens Lyriques' multiple visits to the UK this year. The season culminates in Christophe Rousset's debut at London's Royal Opera House for Mozart's Mitridate in June.
Read moreGianluca Marcianò announces the theme of Queens and Empresses of the Orient for the 2017 Al Bustan Festival in Lebanon
Artistic Director Gianluca Marcianò and President Myrna Bustani present the 2017 Al Bustan Festival programme on the theme of Queens and Empresses of the Orient, running from 15 February to 19 March in Lebanon. The theme enables the festival to explore legendary matriarchal figures such as Cleopatra, the Queen of Sheba, Dalila, Aida, Medea, Zenobia, Scheherezade, Mary and Thais through many rarely-heard operatic, choral and symphonic works. In addition to Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Cherubini’s opera Medea, the programme includes some enticing extracts from almost-forgotten operas Queen of Sheba by the Hungarian composer Goldmarck and his French counterpart Gounod, as well as from Cléopâtre in versions by Berlioz and Massenet.
Read moreSir Georg Solti Conducting Award winner Karina Canellakis returns to the UK to conduct the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra
Award-winning American conductor Karina Canellakis will take to the podium on 28 January 2017 to conduct the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme of Saint-Saëns and Debussy at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. The performance, which marks the conductor’s debut with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, will be preceded by a free pre-concert talk at 6:30pm with Canellakis in conversation with journalist Edward Seckerson. Appearing alongside Canellakis is French pianist Cédric Tiberghien, who joins the Orchestra for the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 in the all-French programme that also includes Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and La mer.
Read moreItalian conductor Gianluca Marcianò launches the new Grange Park Opera at Horsley with Tosca
Italian conductor Gianluca Marcianò opens the 2017 Grange Park Opera season in their brand new venue in Horsley conducting Puccini’s Tosca with Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja and Russian-Italian soprano Ekaterina Metlova. The opera company have moved to Surrey where they are currently building a brand new opera house.
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