Hard to believe, but the youthful Sir Simon Rattle will be nearly 62 in 2018, when he plans to leave the Berlin Philharmonic, which he joined as Chief Conductor in 2002, heralding the beginning of a search for a worthy successor:
http://www.classical-music.com/news/sir-simon-rattle-leave-berlin-phil-2018
Beethoven was paid £50 and was deaf when he wrote his Symphony No 9 Ode to Joy. Commissioned in 1822 by the Royal Philharmonic Society in the UK, it premiered in the UK in 1825, following its world premiere in Vienna the previous year. This weekend, a plaque commemorating the UK premiere and its venue will be unveiled…
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees in the 2017 APRA/AMCOS Art Music Awards! The winners of the 2017 Art Music Awards across 11 national categories and 8 state / territory categories were announced at the City Recital Hall earlier this week. Together they represent the most outstanding contributions of 2016 across the genres of…
In November last year, Sounds Like Sydney published an interview with emerging conductor Jennifer Condon, presently working as Souffleuse at the Hamburg State Opera. http://soundslikesydney.com.au/wp-admin/post.php?post=5917&action=edit She has however, a burning ambition which has dictated much of how she has spent her time for past 10 years: she wants to bring to life Sappho, the…
Deborah Humble talks with tenor Sam Sakker about his expectations from the Covent Garden Young Artist Programme. Australia’s geographical isolation has always meant that young singers have had to travel far from home seeking to broaden their musical and cultural horizons. In September this year three more Australians will join the Jette Parker Young Artists’…
Just as Sydney is recovering from ‘Kaufmannia’ after the recent tour of Jonas Kaufmann, comes news from Gramophone Magazine that his recording of Schubert’s Winterreise with pianist Helmut Deutsch for Sony Classical, has won the Solo Vocal Gramophone Classical Music Award for 2014. A recording of Brahms’ Symphonies by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly…
In just under three weeks, Opera Australia’s reprise production of Wagner’s The Ring Cycle opens in Melbourne. Returning to the production from its 2013 debut, are heldentenor Stefan Vinke as Siegfried, Jud Arthur as Fafner/Hunding, Jacqueline Dark as Fricka, and Lorina Gore, Domenica Matthews and Jane Ede as the Rhinemaidens. Neil Armfield will again direct…