The Vienna Philharmonic performs its annual Neujahrskonzert, conducted by Riccardo Muti, without a live audience for the first time in the history of the concert, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
4 January – Dutch National Opera and Ballet announces the appointment of Stijn Schoonderwoerd as its new general director (algemeen directeur), effective 1 February 2021.[3]
The London Symphony Orchestra announces that Sir Simon Rattle is to stand down as music director of the orchestra in 2023, and subsequently to take the title of conductor emeritus for life.[6]
The city of Leipzig announces Hans-Joachim Schulze and Christoph Wolff as the joint recipients of the Bach-Medaille 2021 der Stadt Leipzig, the first time that the Leipzig Bach Medal has been awarded to two recipients.[8]
Klaus Lederer, Berlin Senator for Culture, announces the closure of theatres and opera houses in Berlin through Easter 2021, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]
The Gesellschaft für Musikgeschichte Baden-Württemberg announces the appointment of Frieder Bernius as its new president.[15]
The Metropolitan Opera announces the appointment of Marcia Sells as its new chief diversity officer, the first such appointment in the history of the company.[16]
Opera Columbus announces the appointment of Julia Noulin-Mérat as its next general director and chief executive officer, with immediate effect.[17]
The Opéra national de Lorraine announces the appointment of Marta Gardolińska as its next music director, the first female conductor ever named to the post, effective with the 2021–2022 season, with an initial contract of three seasons.[19]
Dallas Opera announces the cancellation of its scheduled spring 2021 subscription season, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]
Seong-Jin Cho gives the first performance of a recently re-discovered piano piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Allegro in D, K. 626b/16, at the Great Hall of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation.[21]
The American Composers Orchestra announces that George Manahan is to conclude his music directorship of the ACO on 1 July 2021, and subsequently to take the title of music director emeritus.[23]
The Opéra national de Paris announces the appointment of Ching-Lien Wu as its new Cheffe des Chœurs (director of choruses), the first female conductor named to the post, effective 26 April 2021.[26]
Dutch National Opera announces the departure of Ching-Lien Wu as its chorus director, effective April 2021.[27]
8 February – The American Composers Orchestra announces the appointment of Melissa Ngan as its next president and chief executive officer, the first woman ever named to the posts, effective February 16, 2021.[29]
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Robert Spano as its next music director, effective with the 2022–2023 season, with an initial contract of three years.[30]
The Oregon Symphony announces the appointment of David Danzmayr as its next music director, effective with the 2021–2022 season.[31]
12 February – The Santa Fe Opera announces the appointment of David Lomelí to its newly created post of chief artistic officer, effective 1 May 2021.[32]
The City of London Corporation announces the cancellation of plans for the intended Centre for Music, with scheduled renovations of the Barbican Centre to occur instead.[34]
The Boston Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Gail Samuel as its next president and chief executive officer, the first woman named to the posts, effective 21 June 2021.[35]
The Mikhailovsky Theatre announces the appointment of Alevtina Ioffe as its new musical director, the first female conductor ever named to the post, with immediate effect.[37]
22 February – Long Beach Opera announces the appointment of James Darrah as its new artistic director and chief creative officer, with immediate effect, with an initial contract through 2024.[38]
9 March – The Charleston Symphony Orchestra announces a structural reorganisation that includes elimination of the position of music director, with Ken Lam scheduled to conclude his tenure in the post at the close of the 2021–2022 season.[40]
10 March – Boston Lyric Opera announces that Esther Nelson is to stand down as its general director and artistic director at the close of the 2020–2021 season.[41]
11 March – The Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla announces the appointment of Marc Soustrot as its next principal conductor and artistic director, with an initial contract of 3 years.[42]
12 March – The Association of British Orchestras announces its 2021 ABO Awards at its 2021 conference:[43]
The Royal Opera announces that Sir Antonio Pappano is to conclude his tenure as ROH music director at the close of the 2023–2024 season.[51]
31 March – The Orchestre national d'Auvergne announces the appointment of Thomas Zehetmair as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2021–2022 season.[52]
7 April – Southbank Sinfonia and St John's Smith Square mutually announce their merger into a single charity and organisation, Southbank Sinfonia at St John's Smith Square.[53]
8 April – The London Philharmonic Orchestra announces the appointment of Elena Dubinets as its next artistic director, effective September 2021, following the departure of Cristina Rocca from the post.[54]
Australian Vocal Ensemble (AVÉ) performs its debut concert at the Queensland Conservatorium Theatre.[57]
12 April – Cologne Opera announces the appointment of Hein Mulders as its new artistic director (Intendant), effective with the 2022–2023 season.[58]
13 April – English Touring Opera announces the appointment of Gerry Cornelius as its next music director, with immediate effect.[59]
15 April – The SWR announces the appointment of Lydia Rilling as the next artistic director of the Donaueschinger Musiktage, the first woman ever named to the post, effective 1 March 2022.[60]
16 April – The Paris Opera announces the appointment of Gustavo Dudamel as its next music director, effective 1 August 2021, with an initial contract of 6 seasons.[61]
21 April – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra announces that Anne Parsons is to retire as its president and chief executive officer in the autumn of 2022.[62]
26 April – The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra announces that Peter Kjome is to stand down as its president and chief executive officer after the close of his contract in January 2022.[64]
28 April – The Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris announces the appointment of Olivier Mantel as its next artistic director, effective 1 November 2021, with an initial contract of 5 years.[65]
2 May – The BBC announces percussionist Fang Zhang as the BBC Young Musician 2020.[66]
11 May – Barbara Klepsch, the Culture Minister of Saxony, announces simultaneously that at the close of the 2023–2024 season, Peter Theiler is to stand down as Intendant of the Semperoper and that Christian Thielemann is to conclude his chief conductorship of the Staatskapelle Dresden.[68]
18 May – The recreation – Grosses Orchester Graz announces the appointment of Mei-Ann Chen as its next principal conductor, the first female conductor and the first Asian conductor to be named to this post, effective with the 2021–2022 season.[69]
20 May – The Chicago Symphony Orchestra announces that Duain Wolfe is to retire as director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus at the close of the 2021–2022 season.[70]
The Artemis Quartet announces that it is suspending its activities for an indefinite period.[71]
The Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition 2021 announces Julio García Vico as its winner, with Chloe Rooke as the winner of the Audience Prize.[72]
27 May – An overnight fire at the Bussy-Saint-Georges Conservatory destroys part of the building, including a room stored with musical instruments.[74]
31 May – The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir announces the appointment of Jean-Sébastien Vallé as its next artistic director.[75]
1 June – Ottawa Chamberfest announces the appointment of Mhiran Faraday as its next executive director, effective 14 June 2021.[76]
The Semperoper announces the appointment of Nora Schmid as its incoming Intendantin, the second woman to hold the post, effective with the 2024–2025 season.[79]
Graz Opera announces that Nora Schmid is to stand down as its Intendantin at the close of the 2022–2023 season.[80]
The Opéra de Toulon announces the appointments of Marzena Diakun and Valerio Galli as joint principal conductors of the company, effective 1 September 2021.[81]
The Berliner Festspiele announces that Thomas Oberender is to stand down as Intendant of the festival at the end of 2021.[87]
The Západočeského Symfonického Orchestru v Mariánských Lázních (West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra) announces the appointment of Radek Baborák as its new chief conductor, effective with the 2021–2022 season.[88]
24 June – BBC Radio 3 announces its newest roster of New Generation Artists, effective September 2021, for the period from September 2021 to December 2023:
Houston Grand Opera announces the appointment of Khori Dastoor as its next general director and CEO, the first woman ever named to the posts, effective January 2022.[95]
2 July – The Poznań Philharmonic announces the appointment of Łukasz Borowicz as its new music director and chief conductor, with immediate effect.[96]
The 2021 Scottish Awards for New Music are announced:[97]
Award for Large Scale New Work (11+ performers): Aileen Sweeney – Above the Stars
Good Spirits Co-Award for Innovation in New Traditional Music: GRIT Orchestra – The Declaration
Mark McKergow Award for Innovation in Jazz: Liam Shortall – Corto Alto
The Musicians' Union Award for Installation/Sound Art/Electroacoustic New Work: Martin Suckling with Joan Clevillé and Genevieve Reeves – these bones, this flesh, this skin
The ISM Award for New Music in Covid Times: Nevis Ensemble – Lochan Sketches
The Locavore Award for Environmental Sustainability: Scottish Classical Sustainability Group – Nevis Ensemble, Scottish Ensemble, et al.
Award for the Recording of New Music: David Fennessy – The Night With... Live Vol. One & Letters:
The Dorico Award for Small/Medium Scale Work: Edwin Hillier – Plastica
The Dorico Award for Solo Work: Ailie Robertson – Skydance
The RCS Award for Education/Community Project: StAMP – University of St Andrews in partnership with The Wallace Collection
The EVM Award for New Music in Media: Luci Holland – Sayo
The RCS Award for Making It Happen: Aileen Sweeney and Ben Eames – Ear to the Ground
The SMIA Award for Creative Programming: Scottish Ensemble – 2020 programme
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra announces that Matthew Loden is to stand down as its chief executive officer, effective 22 September 2021.[98]
San Francisco Opera announces that Ian Robertson is to retire as its chorus director at the end of 2021.[107]
Portland Opera announces the appointment of Priti Gandhi as its next artistic director.[108]
22 July – The French Ministry of Culture announces the appointment of Emmanuel Hondré as the next director of the Opéra National de Bordeaux, effective August 2022.[109]
24 August – The Metropolitan Opera announces the ratification by Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians of a new labour agreement.[122]
25 August – The Sarasota Orchestra announces the appointment of Bramwell Tovey as its next music director, effective with the 2022–2023 season, with an initial tenure of four years.[123]
30 August – Apple Inc. announces its acquisition of Primephonic, with discontinuation of the Primephonic platform scheduled to begin on 7 September 2021.[126]
The Konzerthausorchester Berlin announces the appointment of Joana Mallwitz as its next chief conductor and artistic director, the first female conductor ever named to the posts, effective with the 2023–2024 season, with an initial contract of five seasons.[127]
2 September – The Theater und Philharmonie Essen announces the appointment of Merle Fahrholz as the new Intendantin of the Essen Aalto-Musiktheater, the Philharmonie Essen, and of the Essen Philharmonic, effective with the 2022–2023 season.[129]
11 September – The Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra give the first live performance at the Metropolitan Opera, a performance of the Requiem of Giuseppe Verdi, since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of performances through the remainder of the 2019–2020 season and the whole of the 2020–2021 season.[130]
Yo-Yo Ma is announced as the Music Laureate of the 32nd Praemium Imperiale.[131]
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Kazuki Yamada as its next chief conductor and artistic advisor, effective 1 April 2023, with an initial contract of 4.5 years.[132]
The Berliner Festspiele announces the appointment of Matthias Pees as its new Intendant, effective 1 September 2022.[139]
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra announces a revision to the scheduled conclusion of the music directorship of Riccardo Muti, with an extension of the scheduled closing date of his tenure to the end of the 2022–2023 season.[140]
The Metropolitan Opera presents the first night of its new production of the opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones, with music by Terence Blanchard and libretto by Kasi Lemmons, the first opera with music and libretto by African-American artists ever to be staged by the company, and the first opera staged by the company ever to feature an African-American director, production co-director Camille A. Brown.[142]
9 October – At the Bolshoi Theatre, Yevgeny Kulesh, a dancer and stage extra, dies during a performance of Sadko, after being struck by a piece of backdrop scenery during a scene change.[146]
11 October – The Teatro Comunale di Bologna announces the appointment of Oksana Lyniv as its new music director, effective January 2022, with an initial contract of 3 years. Lyniv is the first female conductor to be named music director of the company, and the first female conductor ever to be named music director of an Italian opera company.[147]
13 October – The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Nathalie Stutzmann as its next music director, the first female conductor to be named to the post, effective with the 2022–2023 season, with an initial contract of four years.[148]
The French Ministry of Culture announces the appointment of Louis Langrée as the next music director of the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique, with an initial contract of 5 years.[153]
The XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition announces its prize winners:[154]
1st prize – Bruce (Xiaoyu) Liu (Canada)
2nd prize ex aequo – Alexander Gadjiev (Italy/Slovenia)
The Adelaide Chamber Singers announce simultaneously the scheduled departure of Carl Crossin as artistic director and conductor at the end of 2021, and the appointment of Christie Anderson as the ensemble's new artistic director and conductor at the beginning of 2022.[155]
The London Mozart Players announce the appointment of Flynn LeBrocq as its new chief executive, effective January 2022.[156]
26 October – Oper Frankfurt announces the appointment of Thomas Guggeis as its next Generalmusikdirektor, effective with the 2023–2024 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.[157]
Large-Scale Composition: Dani Howard – Trombone Concerto
Opera & Music Theatre: L'enfant et les sortilèges – Vopera
Series & Events: 'The World How Wide' – Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia
Singer: Jennifer Johnston
Storytelling: Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason – House of Music
Young Artist: The Hermes Experiment
2 November – The Korean Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of David Reiland as its next artistic director, effective January 2022, with an initial contract of three years.[161]
23 November – L'Ensemble contemporain de Montréal announces that it is to cease operations in 2022.[165]
24 November – The Salzburg Festival announces the appointment of Kristina Hammer as its next president, effective 1 January 2022, with an initial contract through 31 December 2026.[166]
30 November – The Rossini Opera Festival announces the appointment of Juan Diego Flórez as its next artistic director, effective 1 January 2022.[167]
The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra announces that Susanna Mälkki is to stand down as its chief conductor at the end of the 2022–2023 season, and subsequently to take the title of chief conductor emeritus with the orchestra.[179]
14 December – The Sydney Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Craig Whitehead as its interim chief executive officer, with immediate effect.[180]
15 December – The Metropolitan Opera announces a requirement for all audience members and company employees to have received COVID-19 vaccine boosters as a condition of entry, effective 17 January 2022.[181]
Radio France announces the appointment of Lionel Sow as the next music director of the Chœur de Radio France, effective 1 September 2022, with an initial contract of 3 years.[182]
The National Youth Orchestra of Canada announces the appointment of Sascha Goetzel as its next music director, for 2022 and 2023.[183]
20 December – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra announces the transition of its president, Anne Parsons, to the post of its president emeritus, and the elevation of Erik Rӧnmark as its next president and chief executive officer, an acceleration of the latter appointment from its originally scheduled time of March 2022, both with immediate effect.[184]
Beschenkt (works by Sir George Benjamin, Peter Eötvös, Michael Gordon, HK Gruber, Chikage Imai, Cathy Milliken, Brigitta Muntendorf, Olga Neuwirth, Johannes Schöllhorn et al.; first recordings, Ensemble Modern Medien)[288]
Mozart/Jones: Violin Sonatas Fragment Completions (fragments of violin/fortepiano sonatas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, realised by Timothy Jones; first recordings)[294]
Australian Premières, Volume 2 (works of David Morgan, Andrew Ford, Robert Constable, and Eric Bryce; first recordings, recorded with a virtual orchestra)[295]
Hans Gál – Hidden Treasure: Hans Gál's unpublished Lieder (first recordings)[296]
Walter Piston – Concerto for Orchestra, Variations on a Theme by Edward Burlingame Hill (first recordings), Divertimento for Nine Instruments, Clarinet Concerto[303]
Deaths
2 January – Paul Ganson, American orchestral bassoonist, 79[304]
Best Choral Performance: Richard Danielpour – The Passion of Yeshua, James K. Bass, J'Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann and Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and UCLA Chamber Singers; James K. Bass and Adam Luebke, chorus masters; JoAnn Falletta, conductor (Naxos)
Best Classical Compendium: Michael Tilson Thomas – From the Diary of Anne Frank, Meditations on Rilke; Isabel Leonard; San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer (SFS Media)
Best Classical Instrumental Solo: Christopher Theofanidis – Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra, Richard O'Neill; Albany Symphony; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Records)
Best Contemporary Classical Composition: Christopher Rouse – Symphony No. 5, Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor (Naxos)
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: Dame Ethyl Smyth – The Prison, Sarah Brailey and Dashon Burton; Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra; James Blachly, conductor (Chandos)
Best Opera Recording: Gershwin – Porgy and Bess; Frederick Ballentine, Angel Blue, Denyce Graves, Latonia Moore, Eric Owens; The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera Chorus; David Robertson, conductor; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera)
Best Engineered Album, Classical: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 ('Babi Yar'); Alexey Tikhomirov; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus; Riccardo Muti, conductor; David Frost and Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (CSO Resound)
Best Orchestral Performance: Ives – Complete Symphonies; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
Choral: Jan Ladislav Dussek – Messe Solemnelle; Stefanie True, Helen Charlston, Gwilym Bowen, Morgan Pearse; Choir of the AAM, Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr (AAM Records)
Contemporary: John Pickard – The Gardener of Aleppo and other chamber works; Susan Bickley, The Nash Ensemble, Martyn Brabbins (BIS)
Early Music: Josquin des Prez – Masses (Hercules Dux Ferrarie, D'ung aultre amer, Missa Faysant regretz); The Tallis Scholars and Peter Phillips (Gimell Records)
Opera: Britten – Peter Grimes; Stuart Skelton, Erin Wall, Roderick Williams, Susan Bickley, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Robert Murray, James Gilchrist, Marcus Farnsworth; Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Edward Gardner (Chandos)
Piano: Johann Sebastian Bach – The Well-Tempered Clavier , Book 2 (excerpts); Piotr Anderszewski (Warner Classics)
Solo Vocal: El Nour (Gamal Abdel-Rahim, Berlioz, Bizet, Manuel de Falla, Philippe Gaubert, Federico García Lorca, Fernando Obradors, Ravel, José Serrano); Fatma Said, Malcolm Martineau, Rafael Aguirre, Burcu Karadağ, Tim Allhoff, Itamar Doari, Henning Sieverts, Tamer Pinarbasi, vision string quartet (Warner Classics)
Voice and Ensemble: Verdi – Ludovic Tézier; Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Frédéric Chaslin (Sony Classical)
Recording of the Year: Britten – Peter Grimes; Stuart Skelton, Erin Wall, Roderick Williams, Susan Bickley, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Robert Murray, James Gilchrist, Marcus Farnsworth; Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Edward Gardner (Chandos)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.