The sea of sound: Before Toshio Hosokawa's new opera Natasha premieres at the New National Theatre in Tokyo on 11 August 2025 under the direction of Kazushi Ono, we are publishing an excerpt from the composer's work notes.

In February, two very different albums with orchestra and big band were released, both recorded under the musical direction of Titus Engel: The orchestra and big band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin celebrate Duke Ellington, and the Basel Sinfonietta and the NDR Bigband present a new work by Michael Wertmüller.

Johannes Maria Staud receives the Tyrolean State Prize for Art 2025.

On the occasion of the world premiere of Samir Odeh-Tamimi's composition Roaïkron at the Biennale Musica in Venice in autumn 2024, Italian musicologist Gianluigi Mattietti spoke to the composer about his new piece and about his life stages in Israel, Greece and Germany, which are reflected in his music.

In an extensive interview for the World Federation of International Music Competitions, Hyung-ki Joo spoke about the humorous side of classical composers, about his collaborations with personalities such as Gidon Kremer, Asmik Grigorian and, early in his career, Yehudi Menuhin, and about his plans as the new Artistic Director of the Menuhin Competition.

Olli Mustonen talks about an early musical key experience, composers who have influenced him and the interplay between analytical thinking and intuition.

The album LAUTER! with the Ensemble Reflektor under the direction of its Principal Conductor Holly Hyun Choe, released at the end of November, presents works by Ethel Smyth, inti figgis-vizueta and Ying Wang.

"Don't touch" was what Carlotta Dalia heard as a child when it came to guitars. Luckily, she revolted against this order and now delights audiences with her playing on historical and modern guitars, even outside of sworn guitar circles.

‘Emotionally simply stunning": Two new CDs with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra under Steven Sloane were released at the end of the year - George Antheil's opera Venus in Africa and Vol. 2 of Franz Schreker's complete orchestral works, which inspired the online magazine Klassik Heute to a rave review.

The Neue Meister label has released a new album by Josefine Opsahl, Cytropia, which focusses on the changing relationships between mankind, technology and nature.

Ming Tsao describes his special view of the European musical tradition, which is reflected in the pieces of a portrait concert on 1 March 2025 in Mannheim with the Ensemble Ascolta, the Mivos Quartet and the Duo Clavichord.

A new CD with chamber music by Johannes Maria Staud, performed by Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Recherche and the Boulanger Trio, among others, was released in the NEOS label on 27 September 2024.

In June, the fourth CD with orchestral works by Toshio Hosokawa was released on the Naxos label, including his trumpet concerto Im Nebel, which Jeroen Berwaerts recorded together with the Residentie Orkest under Jun Märkl.

Toshio Hosokawa's complete works for guitar have now been released as a CD on the BIS records label, recorded by Jacob Kellermann with soprano Ilse Eerens and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra under Christian Karlsen.

Daishin Kashimoto's CD with Chausson's Concerto for Piano, Violin and String Quartet, recorded together with Éric Le Sage and the Schumann Quartet, was released by Sony Classical in October and was promptly voted Album of the Week by BR Klassik radio.

Passionate, intense, balanced, multi-faceted, intimate: the Brahms CD by the Gringolts Quartet, released in June, was chosen by BBC Music Magazine as Recording of the Month.

Anton Gerzenberg is the first awardee of the new Martha Argerich Steinway Prize.

A new recording of Brahms' Symphony No. 1 and Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its Conductor Laureate Eliahu Inbal was released at the end of July.

With a record release concert on 15 February at the Roulette in New York, the JACK Quartet presented the first album with compositions by its violinist Austin Wulliman.

Together with the Mozarteum Orchestra, Lin Liao has recorded three works by Hans Werner Henze that are closely related to Mozart and Salzburg.

Light and Darkness is the title of a new album of works for saxophone by Toshio Hosokawa released by the Kairos label.

For a new recording with the Odense Symphony Orchestra and flautist Alberto Navarra, Holly Hyun Choe conducted works by Mozart, Reinecke and Nielsen.

Role debut as Sieglinde: Sarah Wegener performed Wagner's Walküre under the baton of Kent Nagano in six major European concert halls in 2024. In the run-up, she talked about her path to the new role and other vocal milestones of recent years.

Outstanding reviews for the Armida Quartet's recording of works by Max Reger and Johanna Senfter.

Olli Mustonen's recording of the two 3rd piano concertos by Rautavaara and Martinů with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Dalia Stasevska was honoured with the German Record Critics' Award.

Lukas Ligeti is the artistic director of the World New Music Days, which took place in Africa for the first time in its centenary year 2023 - a unique opportunity for creative exchange: both the African audience and the guests from all over the world heard music they had never come into contact with before.

In 1975, Les Percussions de Strasbourg premiered Karlheinz Stockhausen's scenic composition Musik im Bauch. At the Berlin festival Maerz Musik, the ensemble presented the work in a visually and musically impressive new production by Simon Steen-Andersen.

Numerous obituaries, some of them very personal, pay tribute to the life and work of Friedrich Cerha, who died in February 2023.

On François-Frédéric Guy's first Chopin album Secret Garden, the pianist lets a cross-section of Chopin's works blossom on two CDs.

The GrauSchumacher Piano Duo inspires with their recording of Brigitta Muntendorf's Trilogy for two pianos and as performers in her Theater des Nachhalls (Theatre of Echo) included on Blue-ray.

The PluralEnsemble has recorded important works by Fabián Panisello for a recently released portrait CD.

In addition to having recorded all of György Ligeti's works for choir a cappella, the SWR Vokalensemble is offering workshops on the composer's work as part of a major school project and is also touring his music in Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France and Italy in May and June.

Composers of various generations talk about their personal encounters with Friedrich Cerha’s monumental Spiegel cycle.

Congratulations to Daishin Kashimoto: his CD with chamber music by Nino Rota received a Diapason d'or award of the year!

On 2 February 2023, Samir Odeh-Tamimi's music theatre work Philoktet, based on the dramas by Sophocles, Heiner Müller and André Gide, was premiered at the Eclat Festival Stuttgart with the Neue Vocalsolisten and the Zafraan Ensemble.

In the first edition of our new kwmm podcast series "Encore," violinist Johanna Staemmler chats about the Armida Quartet's complete Mozart recordings while we listen to the interpretations together (in German).

Ming Tsao's Triode Variations, premiered in May by Ensemble Musikfabrik under Emilio Pomàrico, have now been released on CD; the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart and the Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin have also recorded works by the composer for the album.

Composer and painter: Friedrich Cerha (1926-2023) was both. Karsten Witt on his encounters with the artist since the 1980s.

In May 2022, Ensemble Musikfabrik premiered Ming Tsao's Triode Variations in Cologne. We caught up with the composer during a visit to his Berlin flat in the run-up to the performance.

Congratulations to the Armida Quartet: the final CD of the complete Mozart recordings is currently receiving critical acclaim, and the previously released Volume 4 even receives an Opus Klassik award.

The Armida Quartet has put together a comprehensive Mozart package in recent years: a concert series, a complete recording, and even an app - all with surprising perspectives on the composer.

The new CD by the Gringolts Quartet received outstanding reviews and was awarded a Diapason d'or.

The Armida Quartet becomes musical ambassador of the climate initiative Orchestras of Change.

In the November issue of the journal MusikTexte, Ming Tsao outlines ways towards a materialistic musical expression.

The recording of Ondřej Adámek's compositions Where are you? and Follow me with Magdalena Kožená, Isabelle Faust and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Rundel and Sir Simon Rattle has received the prestigious Italian critics' award Premio Abbiati del Disco.

Originally recorded for a film, this masterful interpretation of Mahler's Wunderhorn Lieder with baritone Dietrich Henschel and the Bochumer Symphoniker under Steven Sloane has now been released on CD.

Ming Tsao becomes Birge-Cary Professor of Music at the University at Buffalo, taking over the professorship once created for Morton Feldman.

In the FAZ, Ilya Gringolts is portrayed as a musician with enormous stylistic range and unwavering integrity.

A Mozart with character, played to perfection: Rave reviews for the Armida Quartet's new CD.

Congratulations to Titus Engel on his appointment as the new Principal Conductor of the Basel Sinfonietta!

The first international orchestra to guest in two wonderful new halls: karsten witt musik management brought the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Robin Ticciati to Ankara and Istanbul.

Before the premiere of the first part of his large spacial orchestra triptych, Philippe Manoury talked about his musical career, his first contact with electronic music and his handling of the large orchestral apparatus.

The complete recording of Christophe Bertrand's instrumental works with the GrauSchumacher Piano Duo, Peter Rundel, and Brad Lubman was awarded the German Record Critics' Award 2021.

For his music building bridges between cultures, Toshio Hosokawa has been awarded the Goethe Medal.