May 2020

German premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina's oratorio “Über Liebe und Hass” [On Love and Hate] in Hamburg
The oratorio "On Love and Hate" (2016/2018) was commissioned by the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden, the Philharmonisches Orchester Rotterdam and the Gergiev...

Swedish premiere of the opera “The Blind” by Lera Auerbach in Gothenburg
The extraordinary choral opera "The Blind" by Russian-American composer Lera Auerbach is to have its Swedish premiere in Gothenburg on 15 May 2020 at the "Point Music Festival"...

Posthumous premiere of Giya Kancheli’s piano trio “Middelheim”
On May 28, 2020, the (posthumous) premiere of the piano trio “Middelheim” by Giya Kancheli will take place in the Tbilisi Conservatory in the final concert of this year’s...

'Composers are like priests and gardeners' - for the 70th birthday of Elena Firsova
On March 21, 2020, St. Petersburg-born Elena Firsova celebrates her 70th birthday.As Elena Firsova once said, Composers – not all of them of course – have much in common with ...

50th anniversary of Stephan Marc Schneider
Following studies in theory and jazz improvisation as well as classical guitar (with Andreas Grün amongst others), Stephan Marc Schneider completed studies in composition at the...

Eino Tamberg on his 90th birthday
"Eino Tamberg's trumpet concerto has not let go of me since I got to know it," says Hamburg trumpet soloist and university professor Matthias Höfs, "and I like his very...

Xiaoyong Chen turns 65
Xiaoyong Chen was born on 13 May 1955 in Beijing, where he first studied violin and from 1980 to 1985 composition at the Central Conservatory. Immediately thereafter he completed postgraduate...

From keyboard ruler to bow dances - Katja Tchemberdji turns 60
The Russian composer Katia Tchemberdji, now living in Berlin, will celebrate her 60th birthday on 6 May 2020.  Her most important works include "Ma'or" for solo clarinet ,...

Virtual Orchestra on YouTube: Baltic Sea Philharmonic present the Symphony No. 7 „Leningrader“ by Shostakovich
The Baltic Sea Philharmonic & Kristjan Järvi present their very own version of Shostakovich’s Symphony No.7 – 108 musicians of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic recorded the...

Alfred Schnittke‘s son Andrej Schnittke is dead
Andrej Schnittke, the son of pianist Irina Schnittke and composer Alfred Schnittke, who died in 1998, died of heart failure on May 23, 2020.

Alina Ibragimova and Vladimir Jurowski with a new recording of Shostakovich’s violin concertos
In a television portrait on the Bavarian TV programme “KlickKlack” on 19 May 2020, violinist Alina Ibragimova spoke about her feelings during the new recording.

Galina Ustvolskaya Grand Duet for double bass and piano
The Grand Duet for Violoncello and Piano, which demonstrates the ascetic expression of Galina Ustvolskaya's musical language, was first performed in 1977.