The Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice, southern Poland has created a new orchestra bringing together young music students. Called Santander Orchestra, it is supported by MyWay Foundation which promotes talented musicians and Bank Zachodni WBK, which is part of the Santander International Group. After several weeks of rehearsals, the 64-strong orchestra will go on a five-city tour of Poland, performing under the baton of Krzysztof Penderecki and the American conductor John Axelrod.

Jodie Devos, ICMA « Young Artist of the Year » 2015 just gave a recital at « Festival van Vlaanderen » in Gent (Belgium), together with Thomas Hampson. They sung  « Dunque io fils? » from Rossini’s « Il Barbiere di Siviglia » and « Lippen schweigen » from Lehar’s « Lustige Witwe ». An unfogettable moment for the young singer who posted on her Facebook  page: « What an incredible night! I had the great pleasure and chance to sing with this amazing singer! Thank you so much Thomas Hampson! I’ll never forget it!! »

ICMA’s partner, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Ankara, Turkey) will perfom the Nâzım Oratorio by Fazil Say on 29 & 30 August. This 75 minutes long oratorio for narrator, mezzosoprano, baritone, children’s voice, piano, mixed choir and orchestra, op. 9 is an homage to the famous Turkish poet Nâzim Hikmet. It was composed in 2001. The concerts will take place at the Odeon Concert Hall inside the Bilkent University Campus, a semi open-air theatre with 4.000 seats.

ICMA Lifetime Achievement Award winner Dimitrij Kitajenko turns 75 today. He was born on 18 March 1840 in St. Petersburg and studied at the Glinka School of Music and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, later also with Leo Ginzburg in Moscow and in the legendary conducting class of Hans Swarowsky and Karl Österreicher in Vienna. Read More →

Sara Domjanic, Stipendiatin des ICMA Partners ‘Internationale Musikakademie im Fürstentum Liechtenstein’ ist auf dem Weg des Erfogs. Sie hat kürzlich ein umjubeltes Debüt beim Menuhin Festival in Gstaad absolviert, wo sie mit dem ‘Festival Academy Orchestra’ unter der Leitung von Kevin Griffiths Wieniawskis Konzert Nr. 2 in d-Moll spielte. Am 15. und 16 August 2015 führt sie auf Schloss Esterhazy in Eisenstadt das Violinkonzert von Bruch mit den Pressburger Symphonikern unter der Leitung von Jochem Hochstenbach auf. Und soeben ist sie für den ‘Kissinger Sommer’ 2016 verpflichtet worden, wo sie als Solistin mit dem ‘Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille’ unter der Leitung von Lawrence Foster musizieren wird. Weitere Details unter www.saradomjanic.com.

Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit (ICMA Lifetime Achievement Award 2014) will open the D-Marin Turgutreis International Classical Music Festival in Bodrum with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO). Charles Dutoit will conduct two concerts with Denis Matsuev (piano) and Sarah Chang (violin). The festival is one of the most important in Turkey and this event is the first and only classical music festival to take place in a marina.

The Jury of the Mahler-Record Prize in Toblach (South Tyrol) has given one of the prizes for 2015 to a CD featuring Mahlers Fourth Symphony in the chamber version of Erwin Stein, recorded for Cavi by Christiane Oelze and the Festival Ensemble Spannungen composed among others by Christian and Tanja Tetzlaff. The Jury with Attila Csampai, President, Lothar Brandt, Remy Franck, Thomas Schulz and Götz Thieme awarded this “clear-cut and incisive performance” a Special Award, concluding that “one fully senses here the subversive subtext of this ambiguous symphony”. Read More →

Adrien Boisseau, ICMA’s Young Artist Of The Year 2014, has published his debut CD with the German label Oehms Classics (OC 1819). Together with pianist Gaspard Dehaene French viola player performs an entire Schumann program with Fantasiestücke (Fantasy Pieces), Op. 73, Märchenbilder, (Fairy Tale Pictures), Op. 113, Drei Romanzen, (Three Romances), Op. 94, Märchenerzählungen, (Fairy Tales), Op. 132, Myrthen (Myrtles), Op. 25 & Liederkreis, Op. 39
At the age of 23, Adrien Boisseau became the youngest member of the renowned Quatuor Ebène. Beginning in January 2015, he replaced Mathieu Herzog, who wishes to devote himself more to conducting.