A symphony for only three performers is an unusual challenge for a composer to set himself. This is, however, exactly what Olli Mustonen has done in his recent work for tenor, cello and piano, Taivanvaalot, which receives its world premiere on 26 September at the Musiekgebouw, Amsterdam performed by Ian Bostridge (tenor), Steven Isserlis (cello) and Olli Mustonen (piano).
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The Seven Deadly Sins (Die sieben Todsünden) is one of Kurt Weill’s best-known and most frequently performed works. On 21 September, a new orchestration of the ballet chanté for 15 players will receive its premiere at Beethovenfest Bonn with Ensemble Modern and soloist Sarah Maria Sun conducted by HK Gruber. The new version has been created by Gruber and Christian Muthspiel in collaboration with the Kurt Weill Foundation and Schott Music.
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The tragedy of Bizet’s Carmen has gripped audiences and inspired countless productions since its first performance in 1875. Today, the opera is one of the most well-known and frequently performed works in the genre. On 14 September, a new production by Barrie Kosky opens at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, conducted by Alexander Vedernikov. The new production will use material from Verlagsgruppe Hermann’s “Edition Meisterwerke”, which brings together all previously published versions of the work into a single critical edition allowing for direct comparison of the differences between individual publications.
Ryan Wigglesworth will make no fewer than three appearances as a conductor at this year’s BBC Proms, including on 28 August 2019 when he will direct the world premiere of his Piano Concerto with Marc-André Hamelin and Britten Sinfonia. The new work is the result of a joint commission between BBC Radio 3 and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
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L’arbre des songes, the tree of dreams – the perfect choice to conclude a concert beginning with Rêverie et Caprice by Hector Berlioz. In a dreamlike program, the Orchestre National de Lyon conducted by Kristiina Poska draws a link from Berlioz to Ravel, Debussy, and Dutilleux in their concert in La Côte-Saint-André on 21 August. The violin soloist will be Renaud Capuçon.
Capuçon himself has a link to L’arbre des songes through the work’s dedicatee, Isaac Stern: Not only was Capuçon Stern’s student, but since 2005 he has played the Guarneri del Gesù ‘Panette’ that Stern used for 50 years. L’arbre des songes was commissioned for Isaac Stern by Radio France has remained a one of the most popular contemporary violin concertos since its first performance in 1985.
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On 17 August, a new production of Verdi’s Nabucco will be staged at Burgplatz Open Air in Braunschweig. The production uses the revised edition published by Verlagsgruppe Hermann, available through Schott Music. The Hermann edition is an authoritative final edition of the opera that includes all the changes the composer made following the work’s initial publication.
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On 8 August 2019, BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales conducted by Tadaaki Otaka will give the world premiere of Huw Watkins’ new work The Moon at the BBC Proms. The work, which has been inspired by the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing on 20 July 1969, is the result of a major BBC Radio 3 commission for chorus and orchestra that will be further augmented by the Royal Albert Hall’s organ.
“O Fortuna” – this appeal to the goddess of destiny marks the beginning of the well-known cantata Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Many have heard this work used in the soundtracks of film, television and advertisements, or in one of its countless concert performances around the world. This summer, audiences in Germany can enjoy performances at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival on 2 August and at the Rheingau Musik Festival on 4 August, both conducted by Justus Frantz with the Philharmonie der Nationen. Also on 4 August, the Hitachi Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Hideaki Muto will perform the work at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.
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Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s opera Das Wunder der Heliane (The Miracle of Heliane) has enjoyed a recent period of rediscovery with performances of the work in Brno, Gent, and Freiburg. Last year a production by Deutsche Oper Berlin was awarded “Rediscovery of the year” by Opernwelt magazine. The opera will receive its US premiere this month at the Bard Music Festival as part of the festival’s theme, “Korngold and his world”. The performance will take place on 26 July, performed by the American Symphony Orchestra and conductor Leon Botstein; the director will be Christian Räth.
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Since its world premiere in 1924, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue has become one of the most famous symphonic works of the 20th century, and features regularly in the programmes of orchestras around the world. On 21 July, at the Klassik Open Air in the Luitpoldhain in Nuremberg, Joana Mallwitz conducts the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg and pianist, Michail Lifits, in a performance of this iconic work.
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