Following another outstanding year which saw debuts with the Filarmonica della Scala, London Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich and the Orchestra of St Luke’s, Benjamin Grosvenor starts the 2017/18 season with a European recital tour taking him to Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Paris and Casa da Musica Porto among others, before he crosses the Atlantic for further solo dates in Toronto, Philadelphia and in New York at 92^nd Street Y.

In the new year concerto repertoire takes centre stage, as Benjamin prepares for his debut performances with the Boston Symphony, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. April 2018 sees him return to New York for three subscription series concerts with the New York Philharmonic as well as one chamber music concert with players from the orchestra. This follows the Ackman Classical Piano Prize which Benjamin was awarded last year as inaugural recipient.

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In 2018 Jurgita’s career moves up a gear as she returns to the role of Mélisande in performances of Pelléas et Mélisande for Welsh National Opera in Hong Kong.  Jurgita then makes her role debut as Octavian Der Rosenkavalier for Deutsche Oper am Rhein followed by performances as Stéphano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette  in Beijing before returning to Welsh National Opera for their War & Peace in the autumn.

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To mark the reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall this spring, Nicolas Hodges and Colin Currie will give the UK premiere of Intrada for piano and percussion:  a specially commissioned work by Sir Harrison Birtwistle. This announcement comes during an important season for Hodges, in which he also gives three world premiere performances in Germany with Trio Accanto, and revisits Gerald Barry’s Piano Concerto, which he premiered with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Birmingham and Aldeburgh, in 2013.

Hodges’ collaborative relationship with Sir Harrison Birtwistle has been particularly rewarding with the composer recently commenting, “Nic Hodges is becoming like my Peter Pears” during his acceptance speech at the British Composer Awards. Hodges has long been a muse figure for Birtwistle and Intrada for piano and percussion, which receives its UK premiere on 19 April, following the world premiere at LOC Washington on 24 March, is the most recent in a long line of commissions written for, and dedicated to, Hodges by the composer.

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Peter Hoare opened a busy 17/18 season as Šapkin From the House of the Dead  in Patrice Chereau’s iconic production at the Opéra de Paris,   a role he sings later this season in a new production for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth.  Also this season Peter revisits the role of  Alviano Salvago in Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten in a production by Calixto Bieito at the Komische Oper Berlin, followed by the world premiere of George Benjamin’s Lessons in Love and Violence at Covent Garden, directed by Katie Mitchell.   The production will open the 18/19 season at the Dutch National Opera, with further performances at Hamburg Opera and Opéra de Lyon.

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Having made return visits already this season to the Norrköping Symphony, Trondheim Symphony and Turku Philharmonic, as well as a debut with Manchester Camerata, Christian Kluxen is getting ready for a round-the-world trip. Starting with two weeks with the Victoria Symphony, where Christian is in his second season as Music Director, the journey continues to Australia and New Zealand. There, Christian makes his debuts with the Tasmanian Symphony and Auckland Philharmonia, before returning home briefly. Then he’s off again to Victoria, bringing his season there to a close with two performances of Verdi’s Requiem.

Throughout this period, Christian conducts a wide variety of repertoire, ranging from Mozart and Haydn, to Sibelius and Richard Strauss, to Ligeti and Turnage.

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2018 started with a bang for Laura van der Heijden, releasing her debut CD “1948” on the Champs Hill label. Featuring cello sonatas by Soviet composers, it has received much attention and superlative reviews all round, incl.“Recording of the Month” in the spring issue of BBC Music Magazine.  The disc has been described as “an imaginative and impressive debut”, with Laura playing “with a winning and refreshing determination to make this music dance and sparkle.” Currently in her second year reading music at Cambridge University, Laura’s international career is continuing to flourish, with her debut in Japan coming up this summer, performing the Dvorak cello concerto with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. She will also make her debut with the Hallé Orchestra, give her first duo recital at Wigmore Hall in April as part of the BBC lunchtime series, and travel to Cremona Festival in Italy with the London Mozart Players.

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