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 Photo:
Susesch Bayat
To celebrate the re-opening of Munich’s exquisite Cuvilliés-Theater,
Kent Nagano conducts a new production
of Mozart’s Idomeneo – an opera that returns
to the theatre where it was first performed in 1781. As part of
the Münchner
Opernfestspiele and with John Mark Ainsley in the title role,
the premiere of Dieter Dorn’s production takes place on 18
June, with performances running through until 6 July.
 Photo:
Johannes Abeling
Having been its Director since 2003, this year’s
Dresden Music Festival will be Hartmut
Haenchen’s last year in charge. Under his leadership,
it has become the largest classical music festival in Germany. Taking
place from 9 to 25 May, this year’s utopian themed event heralds
an exciting musical diversity; from Baltic folk music to Tchaikovsky
ballet!
 Photo:
David Thompson - EMI Classics
What more fitting way for Stephen
Kovacevich to conclude his
Beethoven Project than with the majestic Symphony No 9? The
finale of the epic project comprising the complete Beethoven Symphonies
and Piano Concertos with the London Mozart Players commences at
Cadogan
Hall on 20 May and at Croydon’s Fairfield
Halls on the following evening. Stephen’s busy schedule
then continues with performances of Brahms’ Piano Concerto
No 2 with the
Toronto Symphony under Yannick Nézét-Séguin,
as well as appearances at the Aldeburgh
Festival in Snape Maltings and the Progetto
Martha Argerich in Lugano.
 Following
his exciting Glyndebourne On Tour debut in 2006, Gérard Korsten
now makes his Glyndebourne
Festival debut conducting Britten’s Albert Herring
with the
London Philharmonic Orchestra. Performances of James Robert
Carson’s revival of Peter Hall’s production run from
14 June to 19 July.
 Photo:
Outi Montosen
After performing at Munich’s Aids Benefit Concert on
4 May, Olli Mustonen gives recitals
in Gent, Lübeck and at Berlin’s
Konzerthaus. Looking further ahead, in June Olli is in Armenia
to celebrate the birthday of his friend and colleague, Rodion Shchedrin,
where he performs Shchedrin’s Piano Concerto No 5 (of which
Olli is the dedicatee) with the Armenian
Philharmonic Orchestra. On 29 June he conducts the world premiere
of his own composition The Old Church at Petäjävesi
with the Kammerorchester
Basel in Nuremburg, the programme also comprises works by Mozart
including the Coronation Mass.
 Photo:
Sheila Rock
Having just replaced Mariss Jansons for the opening concerts
of the Vienna Festival with the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra, in May and June Semyon
Bychkov is with WDR
Sinfonieorchester Köln for concerts and a recording of
Wagner’s Lohengrin. This recording follows a string
of highly successful discs from Semyon and WDR. With Johan Botha
in the title role, the cast includes Anne Schwanewilms, Kwangchul
Youn, Petra Lang and Falk Sruckmann.
 Photo:
Kasskara / DG
Happy birthday Esa-Pekka! On 30 June Esa-Pekka
Salonen celebrates his 50th birthday; please join VWM in wishing
him many happy returns for the day!
 Frank
Strobel conducts the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic for Britain’s premiere live screening
of the newly restored version of Robert Wiene’s 1926 silent
film Rosenkavalier, scored by Richard Strauss. The event
on 14 June in Liverpool’s
Philharmonic Hall includes the pre-concert discussion ‘From
Silents to Talkies: How Film Acquired Sound'
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