Decorated Musicians

Opera director John Copley, pianist Stephen Hough and conductor Sir Simon Rattle are amongst the musicians to be recognised in the Queen’s 2014 New Year Honours List.
Read more from BBC Music Magazine.

Opera director John Copley, pianist Stephen Hough and conductor Sir Simon Rattle are amongst the musicians to be recognised in the Queen’s 2014 New Year Honours List.
Read more from BBC Music Magazine.
Some years ago I attended a concert at the Vienna Konzerthaus. Sopranos Montserrat Caballe and her Callas look-alike daughter Monserrat Marti gave a superb rendition of solos and duets for female voices. The hall was packed; the audience brought them out – and they graciously obliged – for three encores. On the premise that one good…
Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor opens in Sydney this week. The Opera Australia production has Emma Matthews in the title role with American tenor James Valenti as Edgardo and Giorgio Caoduro as Enrico. These images give an idea of the power and drama of the opera and below them, the link to a feature about the…
Until yesterday, Michael Kaiser was the President of the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts. After 29 years spent running 5 arts institutions he has sat at his last board meeting and writes that he will “breathe a sigh of relief” when he leaves the board room for the last time. Read his…
BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4 Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra)/ Label:BIS Records BEST OPERA RECORDING Adès: The Tempest Thomas Adès, conductor; Simon Keenlyside, Isabel Leonard, Audrey Luna & Alan Oke; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)/ Label: Deutsche Grammophon BEST CHORAL PERFORMANCE…
Dame Nelli Melba was born on May 19th 1861. Today marks the sesquicentenaryof her birth in Melbourne. Australia Post has released a stamp to commemorate the occasion. Good enough reason to actuall post a letter, rather than send an email! On the stamp is fellow Victorian Rupert Bunny’s salon portrait of the great soprano. Did…
Toi-toi to Australian mezzo-soprano Helen Sherman, one of four soloists who along with her pianist has qualified for the finals of the prestigious 2013 Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition. The grand finale and prize-giving will be held on September 3rd. Founded in the traditions of Lied, the biennial competition is open to elite singers and pianists aged 33…