April 2009

As well as additions to its artist list, Van Walsum Management is also pleased to announce an addition to its staff. VWM welcomes Katy Cork as Executive Assistant to Rachel Van Walsum and Joeske Van Walsum. After studying music at Manchester University, Katy joined the music department of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production company the Really Useful Group. During her six years at the company she worked on critically acclaimed west end productions, along with publishing and recording projects. She enjoys playing the piano and transcribing songs for her three-part a cappella group.

Van Walsum Management’s partnership with the Mariinsky Theatre and its Artistic Director Valery Gergiev continues. On 8 and 9 April they perform Shostakovich’s fearsome opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Teatro Pérez Galdós in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Valery then conducts the orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre for a traditional Good Friday performance of Wagner’s Parsifal Act III (concert version). Dedicated to Rafael Nebot (director of the Teatro Pérez Galdós until his passing away last August) the concert features soloists Gennady Bezzubenkov (Gurnemanz), Sergey Semishkur (Parsifal) and Alexey Markov (Amfortas).

This month the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal and Kent Nagano arrive in Europe for a major tour comprising 13 concerts, including appearances in Vienna, Paris, Madrid, Baden-Baden and Luxembourg. The tour not only celebrates the orchestra's 75th birthday but also marks Kent's first major OSM tour. Typically ambitious, the programmes include Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde, Strauss: Ein Alpensinfonie, Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique and Bart?k: Miraculous Mandarin, alongside works by Mendelssohn, Tan Dun and Debussy.

photo: Simon Butterworth

In March both Ilan Volkov and Britten’s opera Peter Grimes made debut visits to Washington National Opera. Attracting generous plaudits, the opening night was described by the Washington Times as ‘a flat-out fabulous performance… [Ilan Volkov] demonstrated an impressive mastery of Britten's symphonic score…the orchestra has rarely sounded better’. Looking to April, Ilan conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for a world premiere of Turnage’s Five Views of a Mouth featuring soloist Dietmar Wiesner on amplified flute. Taking place in Glasgow on 18 April, the concert comprises a composer portrait of Mark-Anthony Turnage and also features the UK Premiere of his From All Sides.

photo: Holger Schneider

Following a performance of Kodaly, Prokofiev and Shostakovich with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Olari Elts’ busy schedule continues with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and violinist Viviane Hagner (3 and 4 April), then on 23 and 24 April with the Norrköpings Symfoniorkester and clarinettist Julian Bliss, and finally, on 29 and 30 April he conducts the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester joined by violist/violinist Julian Rachlin.

photo: D. Vass

Currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Pablo González is working with all the major Spanish orchestras but is also beginning to be noticed by the rest of Europe. His future engagements include concerts with the BBC Philharmonic, Orchestre du Capitol de Toulouse, London Symphony and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestras.

photo: Frank Hülsbröhmer

Hugh Wolff returns to the UK to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra and Nicola Benedetti in Leicester, Cheltenham and London on 28, 29 and 30 April. Repertoire for the concerts includes Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances.

Van Walsum Management is pleased to reveal that it is working with Sir Neville Marriner on a number of special projects.

photo: Sheila Rock

Semyon Bychkov comes to London to conduct performances of Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Royal Opera House. The all-star cast remains largely unchanged from the concert versions of the work so triumphantly received in Köln last year (now available on CD by Profil - Edition Günter Hänssler), which all adds to the eager anticipation surrounding the staging of Elijah Moshinsky’s famed production. With the opening night on 27 April, performances run through until 16 May.

photo: Kasskara - DG

André Previn’s 80th birthday celebrations at Carnegie Hall culminate on 26 April when Yuri Bashmet and Anne-Sophie Mutter together with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s perform the world premiere of Mr Previn’s Concerto for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra (conducted by the composer). Looking further ahead, on 17 May Yuri is in Japan to perform in Argerich’s Meeting Point in Beppu festival.

photo: Kirill Bachkirov

Nikolai Demidenko joins the Hallé Orchestra and Cristian Mandeal to perform Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 on 15, 16 and 19 April. Colloquially known as the ‘Rach 3’, the piece is renowned for its high-octane bravura and fiendish finger-work. Following this, Nikolai travels to Finland to perform Liszt’s Piano Concerto No 2 on 23 and 24 April with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

photo: Jaroslaw Deluga-Gora

NEW SIGNING : Antoni Wit, the distinguished Polish conductor, has released more than 150 discs on the Naxos label with CD sales approaching a phenomenal three million. Alongside his commitments as General and Artistic Director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, he worked recently with the Budapest Festival, Dresden Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, NHK Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Oslo Philharmonic and Spanish National Orchestras.

photo: Nicolas Ruel

This month the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal and Kent Nagano arrive in Europe for a major tour comprising 13 concerts, including appearances in Vienna, Paris, Madrid, Baden-Baden and Luxembourg. The tour not only celebrates the orchestra's 75th birthday but also marks Kent's first major OSM tour. Typically ambitious, the programmes include Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde, Strauss: Ein Alpensinfonie, Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique and Bart?k: Miraculous Mandarin, alongside works by Mendelssohn, Tan Dun and Debussy.

Michael Tilson Thomas takes his place as director of the digital phenomenon of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra for a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall on 15 April (to be broadcast live on YouTube of course!). The truly worldwide collaboration brings together musicians of all ages from thirty different nations and is the first ever orchestra to be selected entirely through online auditions. Michael commented that he wants to ‘redefine what symphonic music and collaboration really is’. In other news, Michael conducts the Orchestre de Paris together with pianist Vladimir Feltsman for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 on 22 April. Taking place at the Salle Pleyel, the concert also features Shostakovich’s Symphony No 5.

photo: Benjamin Ealovega

Following a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 21 with the BandArt orchestra and Gordon Nikolich, Javier Perianes travels to the Kulturpalast Hall for his debut with the Dresdner Philharmonie on 4 and 5 April performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 1 in E minor. The concerts will be conducted by Alan Buribayev.