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Schott Music remembers Sir Andrew Davis following his death on 20 April 2024 at the age of 80. 

Over a hugely successful international career, Sir Andrew shared his commitment to living composers by not only conducting numerous world premieres by composers such as Mark-Anthony Turnage, Anthony Gilbert, Ryan Wigglesworth and Sir Michael Tippett but also committing to the further support and sharing of adventurous programmes in presenting national premieres around the world of works by John Casken, Toru Takemitsu, Bernhard Rands and even three UK premieres of works by Paul Hindemith with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers in 1995.

He was a great supporter and champion of Sir Michael Tippett, later becoming patron of the Michael Tippett Musical Foundation. Notable performances include the first UK performance of Tippett’s New Year at Glyndebourne in 1990, a work which in 2024 is now receiving revivals with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Birmingham Opera Company - with many of those involved now, also being associated with the Glyndebourne production at the time.  Sir Andrew’s last performance of Tippett’s music was The Rose Lake, one of Tippett’s final works, with the BBC Philharmonic; his new recording of A Child of Our Time with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus and soloists Pumeza Matchikiza, Dame Sarah Connolly, Joshua Stewart and Ashley Riches is due for release on Chandos next week on 3 May 2024 and he had included Tippett’s Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli with Toronto Symphony Orchestra for his programme with them in January 2025 as Conductor Laureate.

An impossible love in the midst of an eternal war: with Zaïde / Adama by Chaya Czernowin, Theater Aachen has added an opera to its programme that takes place against the backdrop of the resurgent conflict in the Middle East. The premiere will take place on 27 April 2024 under the direction of Chanmin Chung and Mathis Groß. The director is Ran Chai Bar-zvi.

Schott Notebooks

By Dominique le Gendre

The 7th volume of the Urtext Primo series with easy-to-master pieces features female composers of three centuries, including Elisabetta Gambarini and Marianna von Martines (representing the 18th century), Louise Farrenc, Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, Francisca Gonzaga, and Marie Jaëll (19th cent.) as well as Mélanie Bonis and Lili Boulanger (20th cent.). In addition to the already published edition in German and English, this volume is now also available in French and Spanish, including practising and playing tips, short biographies of the composers and tabular information on the level of difficulty.

This volume is part of the revised and corrected new edition of all 15 symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich published by Boosey & Hawkes and Sikorski as large format study scores for optimal legibility.

Fake news lead to mass panic: Ludger Vollmer's new opera Zusammenstoß (“Collision”) is based on a true event from 1910. It can be seen for the first time on 20 April 2024. Heidelberg Theatre is presenting the world premiere in a production by Christian Brey, with Dietger Holm and Kens Lui as musical directors.

A sound experience on a whole new level: on 12 April 2024, the new piece Poetica by Chaya Czernowin can be experienced for the first time at the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden. Percussionist Stephen Schick and the Percussions de Strasbourg will perform the world premiere together with the catinblack ensemble. 

The horn is rarely heard alone in the orchestra and usually in the background: It sits in pairs or in the quartet at the back left. But in a solo concerto such as the new Horn Concerto by Huw Watkins, it makes its grand entrance. At the world premiere on 7 April 2024 in Saffron Walden, England, Ben Goldscheider will be the soloist in front of the orchestra. He will be accompanied by the Britten Sinfonia under the direction of Michael Papadopoulos.

There are operas that are inextricably linked to special days of the year. For example, Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck and La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini belong to Christmas. On Good Friday, on the other hand, Richard Wagner's Parsifal is regularly on the programme. This is because the Holy Grail, which according to legend was used to catch the blood of Christ on the cross, takes centre stage. On 28 March 2024, the Orchestre National de Lyon will present the French premiere of the Parsifal Suite under the direction of Markus Stenz.