Performances  of the symphonies of Bohuslav Martinů are increasingly numerous these days. By contrast, his earliest orchestral endeavours remain obscure.  Bärenreiter Praha, however, is determined to throw new light upon them, having recently added three to its Hire Library.

(25.11.2013) Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Le ceneri di Gramsci (Gramsci’s Ashes), is the starting point of Manfred Trojahn’s latest work for baritone and ensemble. Pasolini’s text seems, says Trojahn, “to be a burning necessity to me now. For we, like Pasolini at that time, have chosen art and not socially useful work.” A visit to Antonio Gramsci’s grave in Rome, the guiding intellectual force of the Italian Communists, became the starting point for a contemplation of ideology and passion. Dietrich Henschel and the Ensemble musikFabrik, conducted by Peter Rundel, give the first performance of the monodrama on 13 December 2013 in Rome at the “Nuova consonanza” Festival. The Austrian premiere takes place on 18 December in the Konzerthaus in Vienna.

(18.9.2013) Beat Furrer’s La bianca notte for soprano, baritone and ensemble receives its premiere on 21 November at the opening concert of cresc... 2013, the Frankfurt Biennale für Moderne Musik, combined with Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Musique pour les soupers du Roi Ubu. Conducted by Brad Lubman, the performers are Tony Arnold, Holger Falk and the Ensemble Modern. Before that, his sound theatre piece FAMA and linea dell’orizzonte will be performed by Klangforum Wien at Wien modern on 3 November 2013, and the premiere of Enigma VI for a cappella chorus takes place at the Youth Choir Festival Styria cantat in Graz on 15 November.

(18.9.2013) A new orchestral piece by Philipp Maintz takes as its starting point poems by the Argentinian poet Roberto Juarroz. His estudio horizontal receives its premiere on 25 October, given by the Philharmonic Orchestra Cottbus conducted by Evan Christ. In Paris the Ensemble Alternance presents a portrait concert of the composer on 14 November which includes the premiere of windinneres. lieder after rainer maria rilke for baritone and piano. A portrait CD from the Deutscher Musikrat (German Music Council) has just been released on the WERGO label.

(4.2.2014) Thomas Daniel Schlee’s third organ concerto was commissioned by the Camerata Salzburg. The classical characterisation of the hours of the day, the “Horai”, are the inspiration for the twelve concise movements of this concerto for organ and chamber orchestra, composed with support from the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung. The premiere in Salzburg on 7 and 9 March will be conducted by Philippe Herreweghe, and the soloist is Christian Schmitt.

The BBC Proms is undeniably one of the world’s greatest music festivals and this year was a special one for Faber Music’s composers, who were featured prominently with seven premieres.

The German composer Andreas N. Tarkmann has orchestrated some of the best Bizet songs and brought them together to form the cycle Souvenirs d’été. With this presentation in a new orchestration and as a cycle, Tarkmann hopes to achieve a similar major success for Bizet’s masterpieces “en miniature”