Blog Posts - Classical Music Today

Montreal Piano Competition announces winners

5/14/2021

Concours Musical International de Montréal (CMIM) has unveiled the winners of its 2021 Piano Edition.

First Prize was awarded to South Korean Pianist Su Yeon Kim, who will collect awards and scholarships valued at over $180,000, an unprecedented total sum for the CMIM. The prize also includes a concerto performance with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and a solo album recording on the Steinway & Sons label. The undeniable talent of this young pianist’s technique and musicality, combined with a balanced and daring program, transcended the screen and convinced the international jury.

A complete list of winners follows:

2021 Concours Musical International de Montréal Piano Edition Awards

First Prize: Su Yeon Kim, South Korea

- Grand Cash prize of $30,000 offered by the City of Montréal
- Joseph-Rouleau Career Development Grant
$50,000, offered by the Azrieli Foundation
- Solo recording on the Steinway & Sons label
and launch at Steinway Hall in New York city
$75,000, offered by Steinway
- Normand Beauchamp winner’s concert tour in three North-American cities
$15,000, offered by Sarah Beauchamp
- Concerto performance with the CMIM’s official orchestra,
the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM)
$7,500, offered by the OSM
- Artist Residency at Canada’s Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
$2,500, offered by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
- Artistic representation by Forbes International Artist Management

Pierre-Péladeau and Raymonde-Chopin Second Prize: Yoichiro Chiba, Japan
$15,000 offered by Quebecor

Third Prize: Dimitri Malignan, France
$10,000 offered by Stingray Classica

ICI Musique Audience Award: Dimitri Malignan, France
$5,000, offered by ICI Musique

André Bourbeau Award for the best Canadian artist: Alice Burla, Canada
$5,000 offered by la Fondation Bourbeau

Bita Cattelan Philanthropic Engagement Award: Anna Han, United States
$5,000 offered by Bita Cattelan

André Bachand Award for the best performance of the compulsory Canadian work: Alice Burla, Canada
$2,000 offered by Claudette Hould

Festival Bach Montreal Award for the best performance of a work by J.S. Bach: Dimitri Malignan, France
$ 1,500 offered by the Festival Bach Montreal

5 Finalist Grants of $ 3,000 to unranked finalists
offered by Janine Bombardier and Sadok Besrour, CGI, Cogeco, Colabor Group and Pierre Seccareccia

Videos of many of the performances can be found here.

Metropolitan Opera to perform live again

5/13/2021

The New York Times is reporting that the MET will be performing for live audiences again soon--but not at Lincoln Center.

They will be doing two performances Sunday in Queens at the Knockdown Theater. The program will include their first opera by a Black composer: Terrence Blanchard's "Fire Shut Up in My Bones", as well as selections by Verdi and Mozart.

You can read the whole story here.

A Tour of Mexico concert to stream online

5/12/2021

New West Symphony (NWS), with Grammy-winning conductor Michael Christie as Artistic and Music Director, continues its 2020-21 groundbreaking and reimagined season of “Global Sounds, Local Cultures” with A Tour of Mexico. This festival, running May 20-23, culminates with a feature symphony concert presentation, spotlighting virtuosic guitarist Jiji Kim and harpist Maria Casale, with works by Arturo Marquez, Fernando Arroyo Lascurain, Silvestre Revueltas, Manuel Ponce, Gabriela Ortiz, Jose Enrique Gonzalez-Medina and the traditional Mexican folk song, El Son de la Negra. A Tour of Mexico is presented in partnership with the Museum of Ventura County.

Along with the symphony concert, Season and Concert Passport holders can enjoy access to companion cultural festival programs for further immersion into the music, the artistry, and the culture that inspired the concert, curated by Michael Christie. These events will take place on Thursday, May 20 at 6pm PT – a Pre-Concert Talk from UCLA Senior Lecturer, David Ravetch, who explores the music presented in the A Tour of Mexico concert in an informative, audience-friendly format; Friday, May 21 at 7pm PT – Culture Insights, an exploration of Southern California’s heritage, including demonstrations of traditional instruments and performance, and discussions about history, arts and music; and Saturday, May 22 at 7pm PT – Meet the Artists, a longstanding New West Symphony tradition which brings audiences closer to the guest artists and offers an opportunity to learn about artistic and creative process.

Sunday, May 23, 2021 at 3pm PT – A Tour of Mexico – Symphony Concert
Michael Christie, conductor

Guest Artists:
Jiji Kim, guitar
Maria Casale, harp
Mariachi Divas

Arturo Marquez: Máscaras, Concerto for Harp and Orchestra
Fernando Arroyo García Lascurain: Pok-Ta-Pok: El Juego De Los Dioses
Silvestre Revueltas: Ocho por Radio
Gabriela Ortiz: Exilios
Manuel Ponce: Concierto del Sur for Guitar and Orchestra
José Enrique González-Medina: Las primas del General Calles
Traditional: El Son de la Negra

Additional Cultural Programs Included with a Concert Passport:

Pre-Concert Talk with David Ravetch
Presented Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 6pm PT (not available on demand)
The New West Symphony’s pre-concert talk features UCLA Senior Lecturer, David Ravetch, who explores the music presented in the A Tour of Mexico concert in an informative, audience-friendly format.

Culture Insights
Premieres Friday, May 21, 2021 at 7pm PT
Culture Insights is an exploration of Southern California’s heritage, including demonstrations of traditional instruments and performance, and discussions about history, arts and music. Appearances for this edition include Zapotec master weaver Porfirio Gutiérrez; Rocio Marron, Son Jarocho and Mariachi violinist; community leader, Carmen Ramirez; musician and educator, Jorge Andres Herrera; an Aztec Dance performance by Veronica X. Valadez and leaders from the Museum of Ventura County.

Meet the Artists
Premieres Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 7pm PT
Meet the Artists is a longstanding New West Symphony tradition which brings us closer to the guest artists and gives our audience an opportunity to learn about artistic and creative process. Enjoy a combination of biography, performance and insight into an artist’s process and talent, such as soloist guitarist Jiji Kim, composers Fernando Arroyo García Lascurain, José Enrique González-Medina and Gabriela Ortiz.

Learn more by clicking here.

Bang on a Can marathon live streaming

5/12/2021

Bang on a Can announces the Bang on a Can Marathon of Song – Live Online – on Sunday, June 6, 2021 from 1-5pm ET featuring 15 performances streamed from musicians' homes around the country and across the world. For this Marathon all performances will include some type of vocalization – singing, speaking, murmuring, or other use of the voice. The June 6 Marathon of Song marks Bang on a Can’s eighth marathon concert since the start of the pandemic dating back to May 2020 and will bring the tally to over 150 performances, including 70 world premieres of new commissions. Bang on a Can plans to continue these Marathons, streaming online.

The four-hour live Marathon, featuring Fred Frith, L’Rain, Albert Kuvezin from Yat Kha, Charles Amirkhanian, Matana Roberts, and many more, will be hosted by Bang on a Can Co-Founders and Artistic Directors Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, who say: Humming, speaking, crooning, shouting, praying, tuneful, harmonized or noisy, we have spun songs since the beginning of our existence. These adventurous composers are redefining what it means to make song, and these powerful performers bring it to life with a myriad of colors and sensibilities.

A core feature of the program will be eleven world premieres of newly commissioned works:

Albert Kuvezin new work (world premiere) performed by himself
Allison Russell
Anna Clyne new work (world premiere) performed by Ken Thomson
Charles Amirkhanian Audible Autopsy (world premiere) performed by Robert Black
Eddy Kwon new work (world premiere) performed by himself
Florent Ghys new work (world premiere) performed by David Cossin
Fred Frith new work (world premiere) performed by himself
Julius Eastman Prelude To The Holy Presence Of Joan D'Arc performed by Julian Otis
Kyle Brenn Still/Exist
L’Rain
Mary Kouyoumdjian new work (world premiere) performed by Arlen Hlusko
Matana Roberts How Many (world premiere video)
Peni Candra Rini new work (world premiere) performed by herself
Sophie Cash new work (world premiere) performed by Vicky Chow
Trevor Weston new work (world premiere) performed by Mark Stewart

The concerts are free, but suggested donation levels--as well as access to the concerts--can be found here.

Juillard Music Division has new Director

5/6/2021

Following an extensive search, Juilliard has named composer and alumnus David Serkin Ludwig as dean and director of Juilliard’s Music Division. Ludwig, an alumnus of Juilliard (Graduate Diploma ’02, composition), comes from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he currently serves as the Gie and Lisa Liem Artistic Advisor to the President, chair of composition studies, director of Ensemble 20/21, and the artistic director of Curtis Summerfest. Ludwig will begin his transition to Juilliard on June 1, 2021.

As dean and director, Ludwig will oversee the artistic and educational activities of the Music Division. He will work closely with students, faculty, and administrators to lead the largest department and founding division of the school with a vision reflecting Juilliard’s values of excellence, creativity, and inclusiveness.

“Working with students is an incredibly rewarding and vital part of my life,” Ludwig said. “As an artist and educator, I am thrilled to be returning to Juilliard to work with students, faculty, and staff to help build school community and engage audiences in New York and around the world.”

David Serkin Ludwig’s first musical memory was singing Beatles songs with his sister. His second was hearing his grandfather perform at Carnegie Hall. These experiences foretold a diverse career that Ludwig has spent collaborating with many of today’s leading soloists, ensembles, filmmakers, choreographers, and writers. His work The New Colossus opened the private prayer service for President Obama’s second inauguration. The same year, NPR named him one of the world’s “Top 100 Composers Under 40.” In 2016, he won the A.I. du Pont Award for his “significant contribution to contemporary classical music” and in 2018 he received the prestigious Pew Fellowship from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.

Ludwig’s works have been commissioned and performed by such prominent ensembles and artists as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall; as well as by Jonathan Biss, alumnus Jeremy Denk, Jaime Laredo, Jennifer Koh, David Shifrin, Eighth Blackbird, the Dover and Borromeo quartets, and the PRISM Saxophone Quartet. His music is currently featured on over a dozen commercial recordings, including a complete album of his choral music recorded by the Choral Arts Society. An accomplished film composer, Ludwig scored Michael Almereyda’s 2014 feature film Cymbeline starring Ethan Hawke and Dakota Johnson.

Born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Ludwig attended high school in New York City. He comes from several generations of eminent musicians including his uncle pianist Peter Serkin (Juilliard faculty 1987–2003), grandfather pianist Rudolf Serkin, and great-grandfather violinist and composer Adolf Busch.

Piano Festival begins Monday

4/23/2021

Founded in 2002, the CMIM (Concours musical international de Montréal) aims to further the development of the world’s most promising young singers, violinists, and pianists, while making classical music more accessible to the greatest possible number of people. The CMIM is held annually and features three disciplines (piano, voice, and violin) in a three-year rotation. This year's event features pianists.

As of Monday, April 26 at 10am ET, the CMIM website (concoursmontreal.ca) will be turned into a concert hall where you can watch the 26 recitals of the semifinal round, free of charge. The 8 recitals of the final round will follow from May 10 to 13.

To make the recitals accessible to the greatest possible number of spectators and thereby increase the competition’s international visibility, the CMIM will also webcast the rounds on social media and various other international platforms.

SEMIFINALS PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

April 26
10am ET    Tamila Salimdjanova (Ouzbékistan | Uzbekistan)
11am ET    Alice Burla (Canada)
12pm ET    Ken Nakasako (Japon | Japan)
2pm ET     Suah Ye (Corée du Sud | South Korea)
3pm ET      Alexey Trushechkin (Russie | Russia)
4pm ET    Dmitry Sin (Russie | Russia)

April 27
10am ET    Dimitri Malignan (France)
11am ET    Stephanie Tang (États-Unis | United States)
12pm ET    Yeontaek Oh (Corée du Sud | South Korea)
2pm ET      Su Yeon Kim (Corée du Sud | South Korea)
3pm ET      Francesco Granata (Italie | Italy)
4pm ET      Joon Yoon (Corée du Sud | South Korea)

April 28
10am ET    Zhu Wang (Chine | China)
11am ET    Ji-Hyang Gwak (Corée du Sud | South Korea)
12pm ET    Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner (États-Unis | United States)
2pm ET     Chaeyoung Park (Corée du Sud | South Korea)
3pm ET     Kevin Ahfat (Canada)
4pm ET     Cristian Sandrin (Roumanie | Romania)

April 29
10am ET    Andrei Iliushkin (Russie | Russia)
11am ET    Yoichiro Chiba (Japon | Japan)
12pm ET    Anna Han (États-Unis | United States)
2pm ET     Jiacheng Xiong (Chine | China)
3pm ET Ying Li (Chine | China)
4pm ET     Krysztof Ksiazek (Pologne | Poland)

April 30
10am ET   Kyoungsun Park (Corée du Sud | South Korea)
11am ET   Marcel Tadokoro (France)

Juillard offering free performances

4/23/2021

Juilliard joins Restart Stages at Lincoln Center with Juilliard NOW featuring free music, dance, and drama performances. Restart Stages is a sweeping initiative that creates an outdoor performing arts center to kickstart the return of live performances. In this time of renewal and reopening in New York City, Juilliard NOW presents the next generation of performing artists at Lincoln Center as well as pop-up performances around New York City.

“We greatly look forward to joining Lincoln Center and our colleagues across the campus in this artistic celebration of New York City’s revival,” Juilliard’s president, Damian Woetzel, said. “Our students have demonstrated the resilience that is at the heart of our extraordinary city as they have excitingly transferred their artistry to virtual stages, including in our recent launch of Juilliard LIVE. But nothing compares to the vital importance of performing before live audiences, and we can’t wait for our reconnection in the weeks to come.”

Juilliard NOW—the school’s offerings in Restart Stages and elsewhere—kicks off Wednesday, May 12, at 1pm, with an open house showcasing performances by Juilliard acting students and jazz, chamber, and brass ensembles. A full list of performances appears below. They feature student artists from across all the school’s college divisions—dance, drama, and music—as well as the Preparatory Division, and they take place every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon and some evenings and weekends. Additional pop-up performances will take place in the Alice Tully Hall Lobby, with sound amplified outside for passersby on Broadway. The pop-up concerts will be unannounced.

Information regarding free ticket availability will be found here.

Houston Symphony reaches out to underserved communities

4/23/2021

The Houston Symphony and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music have joined forces to create the new pilot program: The Shepherd School–Houston Symphony Brown Foundation Community-Embedded Musician Fellowship. Providing one apprentice the opportunity to develop community engagement skills under the guidance of the Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musicians (CEMs) and Education and Community Engagement staff, the Fellowship goes annually to a Rice Graduate student, who then learns to work with children and other populations from Houston’s underserved communities.

The inaugural CEM Fellow is double bassist Joseph Nuñez. Having studied at the University of North Texas and the Colburn Conservatory before attending the Shepherd School where he studies with former Houston Symphony Principal Bass Timothy Pitts, Nuñez has played with the New World Symphony and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, as well as participating in the Aspen Music Festival.

You can read more about this new initiative here.

Neave Trio give virtual concert of music by women composers

4/14/2021

Neave Trio, a Boston-based ensemble, strives to champion new works by living composers and reach wider audiences through innovative concert presentations, regularly collaborating with artists of all mediums.

As such, they will give a virtual concert presented by the Asheville Chamber Music Series in North Carolina, recorded at the Fraser Performance Studio at WGBH Radio. This concert will be available to ticketholders on April 23 and 24 at 7:30pm ET, and April 25 at 3pm ET.

The program includes works by three women composers, highlighting an ongoing theme in Neave’s programming: Her Voice, a collection of works by women composers, spanning the Romantic era through the modern day. For this performance, Neave Trio will play Louise Farrenc’s Trio No.1, Op.33; Rebecca Clarke’s Piano Trio; and Cécile Chaminade’s Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 11.

More information on how you can see and hear the concert can be found here.

Dallas Symphony to benefit MET Opera Orchestra musicians

4/12/2021

In an unusual collabotarion, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is inviting musicians from the MET Opera Orchestra to Dallas to perform with them live.

Musicians of the MET orchestra have been unpaid for almost a year. 40 to 50 of the musicians will be performing along with the Dallas Symphony in two benefit concerts. Proceeds will go both to the MET Orchestra Musicians' Fund, and also to the DFW Musicians Covid-19 Relief Fund.

The event is tbe brainchild of DSO Music Director Fabio Luisi, who for a time was principal conductor of the MET.

They'll be performing Mahler's First Symphony on April 30 and May 1.

You can learn more here.