Nicolas Hodges pairs Beethoven with Birtwistle on disc
In a new solo album to be released on 6 November 2020, pianist Nicolas Hodges pairs Birtwistle with Beethoven in A Bag of Bagatelles on Wergo. The disc was recorded in November 2019 in the presence of Sir Harrison Birtwistle himself; Hodges enjoys a close relationship with the composer, who described him as “becoming like my Peter Pears”. It includes the first recordings of three works by Sir Harrison Birtwistle and originally premiered by Hodges, including the witty Dance of the metro- gnome which sets the pianist against an impish metronome, and the virtuosic Gigue Machine of 2011, with its ceaseless warp and weft driven by a musical machine whose operation defies logic. Gigue Machine won the best Instrumental Solo BASCA British Composers Award in 2013.
Read moreOperaStreaming to stream La traviata with Matteo Lippi and Maria Mudryak from the Teatro Comunale di Modena
Verdi’s La traviata is presented from Modena on 18 October 2020, with Matteo Lippi in the role of Alfredo Germont alongside Maria Mudryak as Violetta Valery and Ernesto Petti as Giorgio Germont, in a unique new production by Stefano Monti, with the orchestra seated in the stalls and the audience in the boxes. Italian tenor Matteo Lippi studied in Modena under the guidance of Mirella Freni and has recently appeared on the Glyndebourne Festival Tour and sung Alfredo at the Royal Danish Opera and at La Fenice. Khazak soprano Mudryak was one of the winners of the Placido Domingo Operalia competition in 2017 and has performed Violetta across Italy at San Carlo and Maggio Musicale. Previously in Modena, Monti has presented productions of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Britten’s The Little Sweep and Menotti’s Il Dittico.
Read moreRameau to Richter as the Orchestra of the Swan returns to live music-making in Stratford ahead of Timelapse CD release
The Orchestra of the Swan (OOTS) and Artistic Director David Le Page announce an eclectic new season which sees them return to music-making with an audience in the Play House, Stratford-upon-Avon this Autumn. The new season also sees the online launch of OOTS’s innovative Night Owl series and the release of a new Timelapse album on Signum in January 2021 accompanied by the Vivaldi Sleep Project. Artistic Director David Le Page said: "This autumn OOTS returns to the stage with a renewed and joyful purpose. These are strange times and the world has changed, but we need the nourishment of live music more than ever."
Read moreLes Talens Lyriques release two new recordings of Mozart’s Betulia liberata and Armand-Louis Couperin’s harpsichord music
In two new discs released on Aparté on Friday 25 September 2020, Les Talens Lyriques champion Mozart’s electrifying Betulia liberata on disc while their director Christophe Rousset releases a selection of harpsichord works by Armand-Louis Couperin. Composed in 1771 to a libretto by Metastasio tracing the well-known biblical story of Judith and Holofernes, Betulia liberata was Mozart’s first oratorio. Often described as a stroke of genius, this recording by Les Talens Lyriques shows the dramatic intensity which he was already capable of at the age of just fifteen, and the influence of his early experiences with opera. The highly virtuosic arias feature Sandrine Piau, Teresa Iervolino, Amanda Forsythe, Pablo Bemsch and Nahuel di Pierro.
Read moreOperaStreaming announces second season of nine new productions from the opera houses of Emilia-Romagna, free to view on YouTube
Following its successful launch in 2019, OperaStreaming streams nine operas on YouTube from the historic opera houses of Emilia-Romagna during the 2020-21 season, with fully-staged productions of Verdi’s La traviata in October from Modena and Verdi’s Otello from Bologna in November following a concert performance of Ernani from Parma on 25 September. OperaStreaming brings together eight magnificent opera houses for the joint venture to promote the region’s unique operatic heritage, home to legendary singers Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci and Mirella Freni, and the great opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, born in Busseto near Parma. Verdi’s Aroldo premiered at the opening of the opera house in Rimini in 1857 and the rebuilt opera house on the site will present a fully-staged production of this little-known work on 16 April 2021.
Read moreSignum releases Flare, featuring compositions by Joanna Marsh celebrating ten years in Dubai
In her new album, to be launched online on 21 September 2020, British composer Joanna Marsh reflects on her first ten years living in Dubai, releasing the first recordings of six pieces with the BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Onyx Brass and the Chapel Choir of Royal Holloway. The collection weaves together themes of identity, conflict and concord in the Middle East and the UK, from a cantata celebrating votes for women to a piece inspired by Dubai’s iconic skyline. The album is released for digital download on Signum from 18 September 2020.
Read more135,000 young people introduced to classical music by hit animated series Classics Explained
Reinventing classical music education for a digital generation, Classics Explained (ClassEx) is releasing a series of new videos made during lockdown, reaching 135,000 views on its YouTube channel. With an audience of almost entirely Gen Z viewers, the channel is consistently reaching an audience that the classical music industry has struggled to access.
Read moreHatfield House Chamber Music Festival unites art, history and music in the company of Lord Salisbury and family in their historic home
The 9th annual Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival will unite art, history and music in four chamber concerts to be made available as free online broadcasts this September. Filming of the concerts took place in front of a private family audience in Lord Salisbury’s historic home, Hatfield House, in late July 2020. The concerts will premiere on the Festival’s YouTube channel on Friday evenings during September.
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