DISCUSSION: John Dante Prevedini leads a discussion about Improvisation in the classical world and beyond, including contributions from David Arditti, James Lewitzke, James Ross and Steve Vasta.
The BBC has cancelled the last two evening concerts of its long-running summer music festival in London UK, including the jingoistic and patriotic final Saturday evening concert on 10 September 2022, due to the sudden but apparently peaceful death yesterday of Mrs Elizabeth Windsor, aged ninety-six, of Balmoral, Scotland, UK. All at Classical Music Daily send our condolences to her family at this very sad time. Her death is yet another blow to a small country still reeling from its enforced and catastrophic withdrawal from almost everything European at the hands of an increasingly right-wing government.
In other news, from 30 January through 11 February 2023, the Netherlands-based Conlon Collective - previously known as the Conlon Foundation - is offering a residency program in collaboration with Gaudeamus and the MuziekHuis for composers who are interested in working with the foundation's Yamaha Disklavier Enspire to create an imaginative composition for Disklavier solo with electronics and/or combinations with other media. Using alternative controllers, video, live sampling and/or the 'preparation' of the Disklavier (in consultation with the organizers) are among the possible techniques to be utilized in the realization of the composer's artistic ideas.
The collective welcomes applications from composers of any age, background or nationality.
Conlon will select four composers who will each have the opportunity to work with the Yamaha Disklavier Enspire during the residency in: Muziekhuis Utrecht, Loevenhoutsedijk 301, 3552 XE Utrecht, Netherlands. Aside from the Disklavier, the studio is equipped with a (possibly multichannel) sound system, various microphones and other equipment.
Meetings and interaction between the selected composers will be scheduled to encourage crossfertilization. Conlon composers Boris Bezemer, Christina V Oorebeek, Daniel Schorno and Roché van Tiddens will be available for feedback and assistance. The residency should eventually result in a composition to be performed at a concert/presentation organized by Conlon, Gaudeamus and the Muziekhuis on 11 February 2023.
- The residency entails the use of the studio with the Disklavier free of charge.
- The residencies do not include costs for travel, lodging or food, nor costs involved with an optional performer whom the composer would provide. Conlon and Gaudeamus can assist in looking for affordable lodging.
- To apply, please send an email to info-at-conlon-dot-nl, including a project description and a CV, as well as links to works, samples and other supporting materials that remain online at least until 1 January 2023. Do not send materials over 10 MB by email.
- The deadline for applications is 1 November 2022. The selection of the four composers will be announced by 1 December 2022.
- Exact session times with the Disklavier within the period of the residency can be negotiated, depending on availability of the studios and the composers' schedules.
Registration fee: 20 euros
Account holders name: Stichting Muziekhuis Utrecht
Account number: NL09INGB0009155203
BIC/SWIFT code: INGBNL2A
Bank address: ING BANK NV, Foreign Operations, PO Box 1800, 1000BV Amsterdam
The Conlon Foundation is continuing its work and activities as the Conlon Collective. In collaboration with the Gaudeamus Foundation and the Muziekhuis Utrecht, a partially new group of composers/sound artists deeply interested in the goals of Conlon will be organizing our Residencies and Competitions, among other activities. We thank Henk Heuvelmans, one of the founders in 1999 and Ji Koun Yang, a member for many years, for their dedicated work and inspiration. We welcome Roché van Tiddens and Daniel Schorno as new members. Formally speaking, our first project as the Conlon Collective will be the Winter Residency 2023 described in the open call above.
Further information: conlon.nl
Intermusica is delighted to announce that South Korean violinist Inmo Yang has joined the agency for worldwide general management.
Based in Berlin, Yang received First Prize at the 2022 Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, impressing the judges and international audiences with his ability to combine astonishing technique with poetic music-making that shows his mastery as a violinist and musician.
Yang has performed with leading conductors and orchestras internationally, and maintains an active concert schedule in his native South Korea, where he has a large and enthusiastic fanbase. He recently made his Chicago Symphony debut at Ravinia, and has performed with orchestras including the Orchestre National de France, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic and many more. Among the conductors he has worked with are Fabio Luisi, Myung-whun Chung, Osmo Vänskä, Neeme Järvi and Emmanuel Krivine. His recital engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Ravinia, Marlboro and extensive recital touring throughout Asia.
Yang has recorded two albums for Deutsche Grammophon. His debut album, Paganini: 24 Caprices, was recorded live as part of his residency at Kumho Hall. His latest album, released in 2021, The Genetics of Strings, was praised by critics not only for his artistry, but for his creativity in programming.
Having celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2021/22, Intermusica is one of the world's leading classical music and opera agencies. Whilst delivering an exceptional level of bespoke career management to each of its artists, Intermusica seeks to redefine the role of an agency; through pioneering new technologies, challenging perceptions, championing excellence, and inspiring creativity. The artists represented by Intermusica are testament to the company's success, and include such extraordinary talents as Yuja Wang, John Eliot Gardiner, Elīna Garanča, Leonidas Kavakos, Lahav Shani, Abel Selaocoe, Danielle de Niese, Renaud Capuçon, and The King's Singers. It also tours many of the world's leading orchestras globally.
On Wednesday 7 September 2022, after four days of competition in front of a distinguished panel of jurors and audiences live at London's Wigmore Hall as well as online, twenty-four-year-old British singer Laurence Kilsby was announced winner of the £10,000 First Prize at Wigmore Hall's International Song Competition, sponsored for the first time by William and Judith Bollinger.
The £5,000 Second Prize was awarded to thirty-one-year-old Swedish baritone Arvid Fagerfjäll and Third Prize of £2,500 went to the thirty-four-year-old American tenor John Matthew Myers. A Special Prize of £1,000 was specially created for the twenty-seven-year-old German mezzo-soprano Susan Zarrabi.
All the rounds, featuring twenty-four singers from around the world, were live streamed to international audiences and can still be viewed at wigmore-hall.org.uk/watch-listen/live-stream
The £3,000 Richard Tauber Prize for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder was awarded to John Matthew Myers. The £2,000 Vaughan Williams Song Prize for the best interpretation of songs in English by a British composer went to twenty-six-year-old Brazilian bass-baritone Vinicius Costa. Twenty-nine-year-old Korean bass-baritone Jeeyoung Lim and twenty-four-year-old Austrian pianist Benedikt Holter were awarded the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme Prize worth £2,000.
Twenty-eight-year-old Japanese pianist Hikaru Kanki wins the £5,000 Pianists Prize; thirty-one-year-old British-Hungarian Anna Cavaliero and twenty-nine-year-old Swiss pianist Sebastian Issler were awarded the £5,000 Jean Meikle Prize for a Duo for their outstanding partnership.
Over the past twelve months, Laurence Kilsby made his debut with the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, toured Bach's St John Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) and Ensemble Pygmalion and participated in Carnegie Hall's SongStudio with Renée Fleming. Recent engagements have included Apollo in Orfeo, Henrik Egerman in A Little Night Music, Mozart's Mass in C minor at the Salzburg Festival and Peter Sellars' staging of the St John Passion with the OAE and Simon Rattle.
He has given recitals at the International Lied Festival Zeist, Snape Maltings, the Academy of Arts in Berlin, and appears with Malcolm Martineau on his recent album The Call. Laurence studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Royal College of Music.
Posted 9 September 2022 by Keith Bramich