Simon Steen-Andersen's new opera

We are delighted to be working for Simon Steen-Andersen from now on - and to congratulate him on a successful world premiere: On 16 September, his opera Don Giovanni's Inferno was launched at the Opéra national du Rhin as part of the Festival Musica Strasbourg.

That it is too short-sighted to call Simon Steen-Andersen "only" a composer is particularly clear from his new work: for Don Giovanni's Inferno/Don Giovanni aux enfers, the Danish artist took on the concept, direction, staging, video - and the re-composition of the most diverse passages and snippets of opera literature. His work begins where Mozart's opera ends: with the hellish journey of Don Giovanni, who embarks on a voyage simultaneously into the farthest corners of the labyrinthine opera house and into the depths of music history. Or is this trip just the coma dream of the opera singer who bangs his head against the trap door?

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The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under its new principal conductor Sir Simon Rattle will premiere Vito Žuraj's orchestral work Automatones on 13 October.

On 12 and 13 October, Bas Wiegers conducts subscription concerts of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for the first time; the programmes focus on Ravel, whose music also shines through in the works of two Amsterdam composers.

On 5 October, the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst with soloist Christoph Sietzen will premiere Johannes Maria Staud's percussion concerto Whereas the Reality Trembles, a work commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

On 4 October, Peter Rundel on the podium of the Remix Ensemble will launch a new work by Jörg Widmann together with baritone Matthias Goerne in Porto. Schumannliebe will also be performed in the Kölner Philharmonie on 8 October and in the Elbphilharmonie on 10 October alongside Brice Pauset's Kinderszenen with Robert Schumann.

The complete violin sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach are the focus of the three concerts with Antje Weithaas and Mahan Esfahani on 2, 3 and 7 October at London's Wigmore Hall.

IN CONVERSATION

World premiere of the year: Vito Žuraj's first full-length opera Blühen came to the stage in Frankfurt in early 2023 under the musical direction of Michael Wendeberg and has now been named premiere of the year by Opernwelt magazine. In our interview, Vito Žuraj talks about his collaboration with librettist Händl Klaus, director Brigitte Fassbaender and the Ensemble Modern.

From 30 September to 7 October, the Le Pont International Music Festival in the Japanese prefecture of Hyogo will once again feature renowned musical guests and a varied chamber music programme under the artistic direction of Daishin Kashimoto.

Roland Kluttig conducts the new production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, which premieres at Heidelberg Theatre on 23 September.

Alejo Pérez CR Radio France Christophe Abramowitz

On 10 September, Alejo Pérez opened the season in Antwerp as music director of Opera Vlaanderen with Mozart's La clemenza di Tito; in October, the production directed by Milo Rau can also be seen in Ghent.

Johannes Maria Staud's new opera missing in cantu (eure paläste sind leer), based on the acclaimed play by Thomas Köck, had its world premiere at the Kunstfest Weimar in a production by Andrea Moses which will be presented in further performances until December.

Mariam Lullabies 1 Liszt 3000x3000 Digital Cover

Newborns as music critics: With Liszt's Liebestraum No. 2, Mariam Batsashvili starts a series of recordings of "baby-friendly" works from the piano repertoire.