MUSIC
Berlin Philharmonic: dispute over orchestral seating
A dispute over double basses at centre stage scuppered the concerts with Iván Fischer. Seating is a question of both sound and power.
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Music
Classical, jazz, pop and contemporary music – concerts, recordings and debates.
BACKGROUND
Beyond the Certificate: What a Composition Prize Can Achieve
Njabulo Phungula will receive the Busoni Composition Prize, Raphaëlle Aoun the advancement award. The award sends a public signal – but its impact will only be determined afterwards: through performances, commissions and reliable opportunities to work.
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MUSIC
Madeleine Landlinger takes over the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra
The new artistic and managing director of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra promises openness and participation. How much of this will become visible in its programming and everyday practice remains to be seen.
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MUSIC
Wolf Biermann: more than a dissident
For his 90th birthday: why Wolf Biermann’s songs cannot be reduced to their political history.
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MUSIC
Wien Modern takes listening into the city
Between a former factory, a sound installation and a concert hall, listening becomes a question of place – and of the attention it demands.
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MUSIC
Erfurt’s opera handover begins before the new team takes office
The new managing director starts in 2026, the incoming general director not until 2028. How Erfurt needs to organise the long transition.
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MUSIC
Henze in chamber form: How works stay in the repertoire
Two concerts place Henze alongside Schubert, Beethoven and Schumann. What matters is whether ensembles continue to champion his chamber music after the anniversary.
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MUSIC
What new orchestral leadership can change first
Madeleine Landlinger is starting in Nürnberg. The first changes under a new director may lie less in the programme than in how it comes into being.
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MUSIC
Wien Modern: Who speaks for nature?
Wien Modern makes rivers, forests and insects audible. This background feature asks how environmental sounds become a musical perspective.
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MUSIC
When a concert changes the exhibition
bela is to develop a site-specific performance for Kunsthalle Friart. A concert as an additional event – or as an intervention in the exhibition?
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MUSIC
Martina Elmer takes over as manager of the BR Choir
A choir sounds as one — but behind it lie work schedules, rehearsal logistics and questions of programming. Martina Elmer is taking on a key role at the BR Choir.
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MUSIC
What new orchestral music demands of the orchestra
Two new works at musica viva demand different forms of collaboration from the orchestra — with familiar instruments and electronic sound.
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MUSIC
Morton Feldman: How long can a concert last?
Morton Feldman’s piano music stretches the concert evening. The Munich festival also asks who can sustain attention for so long.
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