Daniel Harding Named Music Director of China's Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area
British conductor Daniel Harding will be the next Music Director of China's Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area (YMCG) for an initial term of five years, beginning in 2024. Harding is only the second Music Director appointed to the role and succeeds cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
YMCG is a collaboration between the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and the Macao Orchestra. They come together with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in the Xinghai Concert Hall to strengthen musical ties across those four cities, all of which are in the Greater Bay Area.
Harding's role at the organization will include working alongside its founder Long Yu to develop the symphonic program. He will also be responsible for seeking out some of the world's best orchestral players to act as tutors, mentors, and chamber musicians for the program.
THE VIOLIN CHANNEL
British conductor Daniel Harding will be the next Music Director of China's Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area (YMCG) for an initial term of five years, beginning in 2024. Harding is only the second Music Director appointed to the role and succeeds cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
YMCG is a collaboration between the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and the Macao Orchestra. They come together with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in the Xinghai Concert Hall to strengthen musical ties across those four cities, all of which are in the Greater Bay Area.
Harding's role at the organization will include working alongside its founder Long Yu to develop the symphonic program. He will also be responsible for seeking out some of the world's best orchestral players to act as tutors, mentors, and chamber musicians for the program.
Violin Channel: VC Artist Paul Huang to Join Taiwan Philharmonic on American Tour
Known in Taiwan as the National Symphony Orchestra, the Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO) is one of the first international orchestras to be presented by the New York Philharmonic in David Geffen Hall in its return to the U.S. this spring.
The NSO’s 2023 tour follows previous successful tours of the U.S. with violinist Cho-Liang Lin in 2016, and with pianist Stephen Hough and violinist Yu-Chien Tseng in 2018.
This year VC Artist violinist Paul Huang will join the NSO, and its music director Jun Märkl, for its David Geffen Hall debut on the tour’s last three days with Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy Op. 46.
Violin Channel
The Taiwan Philharmonic and conductor Jun Märkl will perform across New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C. from April 14–23, 2023
Known in Taiwan as the National Symphony Orchestra, the Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO) is one of the first international orchestras to be presented by the New York Philharmonic in David Geffen Hall in its return to the U.S. this spring.
The NSO’s 2023 tour follows previous successful tours of the U.S. with violinist Cho-Liang Lin in 2016, and with pianist Stephen Hough and violinist Yu-Chien Tseng in 2018.
This year VC Artist violinist Paul Huang will join the NSO, and its music director Jun Märkl, for its David Geffen Hall debut on the tour’s last three days with Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy Op. 46.
The tour starts on April 14, 2023, in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, with a chamber music concert featuring members of the Taiwan Philharmonic & Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Read more here.
Photo: Marco Borggreve
Violin Channel: 2024 Azrieli Music Prizes Now Accepting Applications
For its fifth competition, AMP is seeking scores and proposals for a cappella choral works
Established in 2014, the Canada-based Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) is comprised of four categories: The Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music, The Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, and the inaugural Azrieli Commission for International Music.
The latter category is new to the competition and invites composers worldwide "to creatively engage with the richness of humanity’s diverse cultural heritage," according to AMP.
The 2024 competition is seeking submissions for a cappella choral works that will match the force of its Performance Partner, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Chorus (OSM Chorus), including up to four additional instruments and/or soloists.
Violin Channel
For its fifth competition, AMP is seeking scores and proposals for a cappella choral works
Established in 2014, the Canada-based Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) is comprised of four categories: The Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music, The Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, and the inaugural Azrieli Commission for International Music.
The latter category is new to the competition and invites composers worldwide "to creatively engage with the richness of humanity’s diverse cultural heritage," according to AMP.
The 2024 competition is seeking submissions for a cappella choral works that will match the force of its Performance Partner, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Chorus (OSM Chorus), including up to four additional instruments and/or soloists.
Open to the international music community, AMP accepts nominations for works from individuals and institutions of all ages, genders, nationalities, faiths, and backgrounds.
Read more here.
Violin Channel: VC Artist Paul Huang Opens 2022/23 Season at the Taiwan Philharmonic
Huang will perform Bruch's Scottish Fantasy as part of a program of Scottish-themed music
As the featured soloist for the Taiwan Philharmonic, also known as National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in Taiwan, VC Artist Paul Huang will perform alongside Music Director Jun Märkl. The season-opening programs will be presented in three venues: the National Concert Hall, the Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Concert Hall, and the Taitung Art and Culture Center.
Huang will perform Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, as part of a Scottish-themed program that also includes Debussy's Marche écossaise sur un thème populaire and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 "Scottish."
Violin Channel
Huang will perform Bruch's Scottish Fantasy as part of a program of Scottish-themed music
As the featured soloist for the Taiwan Philharmonic, also known as National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in Taiwan, VC Artist Paul Huang will perform alongside Music Director Jun Märkl. The season-opening programs will be presented in three venues: the National Concert Hall, the Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Concert Hall, and the Taitung Art and Culture Center.
Huang will perform Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, as part of a Scottish-themed program that also includes Debussy's Marche écossaise sur un thème populaire and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 "Scottish."
"I'm particularly excited about returning to my homeland, Taiwan, to share the stage with the Taiwan Philharmonic and Maestro Jun Markl again, because this will be the opening night of its first post-pandemic season," Paul told The Violin Channel.
Read more here.
Violin Channel: Dr. Sharon Azrieli on the Azrieli Music Prizes Competition
The Violin Channel recently sat down with Dr Azrieli, the visionary behind the Azrieli Music Prizes, the Azrieli Foundation Board Director, and the Board Liaison on the Azrieli Music Prizes Advisory Council.
Can you tell us about the Azrieli Foundation? When was it founded and what is its core mission?
Founded over 30 years ago by my father, David Azrieli, the Azrieli Foundation takes a thoughtful and creative approach to philanthropy.
The Violin Channel
The Violin Channel recently sat down with Dr Azrieli, the visionary behind the Azrieli Music Prizes, the Azrieli Foundation Board Director, and the Board Liaison on the Azrieli Music Prizes Advisory Council.
Can you tell us about the Azrieli Foundation? When was it founded and what is its core mission?
Founded over 30 years ago by my father, David Azrieli, the Azrieli Foundation takes a thoughtful and creative approach to philanthropy.
We believe that courageous forward-thinking, strategic collaborations and community leadership are the keys to creating positive outcomes for present and future generations.
We aim to make a significant difference in several areas of importance, including music, arts and culture; scientific and medical research; educational empowerment; architecture and design; Holocaust commemoration and education; and quality of life initiatives for people with developmental disabilities. It’s a broad and bold approach to philanthropy that makes a measurable positive impact year after year.
Read more here.
“Listening to the Future” Documentary Highlights the Success of Chinese Contemporary Music
The Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (CCOM)—founder of the Chinese Music Composition Center and a driving force in the global success of Chinese contemporary music— releases a documentary about the Chinese music of today: “Listening to the Future.” The 30-minute film chronicles the Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra of Beijing’s Carnegie Hall debut and celebrates initiatives propelling Chinese Contemporary Music forward.
The Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (CCOM)—founder of the Chinese Music Composition Center and a driving force in the global success of Chinese contemporary music— releases a documentary about the Chinese music of today: “Listening to the Future.” The 30-minute film chronicles the Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra of Beijing’s Carnegie Hall debut and celebrates initiatives propelling Chinese Contemporary Music forward.
The works of CCOM composition professors have been premiered multiple times to great critical acclaim in North America including at Lincoln Center in 2018 and at Carnegie Hall by the CCOM Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Professor Feng Yu, President of CCOM, in 2019. The compositions feature well-incorporated Chinese and Western musical elements including a mix of traditional Chinese instruments and Western chamber orchestra. In the documentary, all eight composers who had their works performed at Carnegie Hall in 2019 discuss their compositions and thoughts about Chinese contemporary music. Classical music critic, Dr. Linda Holt—who attended the 2019 Carnegie Hall concert—shares the origin of her interest in Chinese music and uses CCOM as an example of the success of the genre.
Other highlights of the film include details of the long-term partnership between the internationally-renowned publishing house, Edition Peters, and Central Conservatory of Music Publisher (CCMP). Together, they launched the Edition Peters Silk Road Library project in April 2019 and plan to release the international version of CCOM’s score collection in 2021. By working with Edition Peters to publish works by Chinese composers, the CCMP can be certain that orchestras, conductors, and performers have the confidence to program the works of Chinese composers outside China, forging unprecedented, longstanding genuine links between the East and West.
Additionally, the documentary details the Chinese Music Composition Center’s upcoming performance tour in Europe next year. Comprised of musicians from the symphony orchestras of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW) and the Central Conservatory of Music, the ensemble performs in 2021 in the Grosser Saal of Wiener Konzerthaus and Festsaal. Ulrike Sych, Rector of the MDW, explains the long and intensive collaboration between MDW and CCOM, two of the largest and most renowned music universities in the world on opposite sides of the world. The joint orchestra is set to provide musical dialogue of western and Chinese repertoire at the highest artistic level. Especially in these globally challenging days—in the face of public restrictions, closed borders, and closed institutions—the ensemble provides the most beautiful evidence that culture knows no borders and always remains open.
Watch below.
The Violin Channel: Violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft’s New CD, "Incantation"
The Violin Channel
Aparté Records has announced the release of French violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft’s new album: Incantation.
Recorded with conductor Jac van Steen and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the disc features Bruch’s ‘Kol Nidrei’ , Vitali’s Chaconne, Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, Tchaikovsky’s Sérénade Mélancolique, Bloch’s Nigun, Chausson’s Poème, and Umebayashi’s Yumeji’s Theme.
“These works have long inspired me and what’s interesting is to bring them together and make them speak to each other…” Virgil told The Violin Channel.
To read more about Incantation, click here.
Violin Channel: Youth Music Culture Guangdong Instagram Takeover
VC recently caught up with the Youth Music Culture Guangdong Festival for a behind-the-scenes Instagram takeover – direct from Guangzhou, China. Takeover featuring violinist Johnny Gandelsman from Brooklyn Rider, cello luminary Yo-Yo Maand conductor Michael Stern.
Violin Channel
VC recently caught up with the Youth Music Culture Guangdong Festival for a behind-the-scenes Instagram takeover – direct from Guangzhou, China.
Takeover featuring violinist Johnny Gandelsman from Brooklyn Rider, cello luminary Yo-Yo Ma and conductor Michael Stern.
Follow more posts from the takeover here.
Violin Channel: Meet the Pros – American Conductor Gerard Schwarz
The Violin Channel recently caught up with American conductor and trumpeter Gerard Schwarz – in New York City.
Violin Channel
The Violin Channel recently caught up with American conductor and trumpeter Gerard Schwarz – in New York City.
We sat him down for a fun game of VC 20 Questions – to help gain some fascinating insight into the Maestro behind the music.
Violin Channel: Julian Schwarz – 'Considerations for Preparing the Rococo Variations'
In a VC exclusive guest blog, American cellist Julian Schwarz shares his top considerations for preparing Tchaikovsky's 'Variations on a Rococo Theme'
Violin Channel
The Violin Channel recently caught up with former Schoenfeld International Cello Competition and the Boulder International Art of Duo Chamber Music Competition 1st prize winner, American cello virtuoso Julian Schwarz.
In a VC exclusive guest blog, the 27-year-old soloist shares his top considerations for preparing Tchaikovsky’s virtuosic ‘Variations on a Rococo Theme’.
“Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme Op. 33 is a balletic minefield for cello and orchestra. A minefield because of the various technical challenges that seem to pop up in the most inconvenient places, and balletic because of the work’s natural kinship with Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet scores. Just as traditional ballets include ‘variations’ for each lead role to showcase his/her most impressive leaps, twirls, and flourishes, the Rococo does the same, with the cellist playing almost every role!”
Read more of Julian’s considerations here.
Cellist Julian Schwarz performing the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with Camerata Chicago conducted by Drostan Hall on 29 April, 2016 at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago.