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Update: 16 August

Allan Clayton is currently starring in Glyndebourne's first live production with audience since March, as Raflafla in Offenbach's In the Market for Love. Meanwhile, the 2017 production of Brett Dean's Hamlet, with Clayton in the title role, is free to watch online until Sunday, 23 August.

The Edinburgh Festival has gone mainly online this year, with contributions from Paul Lewis, who performs Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Lawrence Power, who recorded the third of his Lockdown Commissions, Objets Trouvés by Esa-Pekka Salonen, in Queen's Hall. Lewis will also appear as part of the live concert programme in Edinburgh, as will the Elias String Quartet.

François-Xavier Roth will conduct the Concertgebouworkest in three concerts in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, the third of which will be streamed at 9.15pm CEST on 23 August. The programme is Beethoven's Third Symphony, 'Eroica', and a world premiere by Jacob ter Veldhuis.

Elena Urioste's ensemble, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, has been appointed Associate Ensemble at the Wigmore Hall, and performed a special concert to mark the venue's new season, which begins in September. Her Chamber Music by the Sea festival begins online on Tuesday 18 August.

George Jackson has taken part in two conducting podcasts recently – Podium Time and Let's Talk Off the Podium, where he is principal contributor.

Marc-André Hamelin was a guest on Idagio's Global Concert Hall, in conversation with Rachel Fenlon.


Update: 29 June

The second of Lawrence Power's Lockdown Commissions has gone live. Garth Knox's The Quartet for One was filmed in the silence of London's Festival Hall.

Glyndebourne's double bill of Ravel's L’heure espagnole and L’enfant et les sortilèges, conducted by Kazushi Ono, directed by Laurent Pelly and with set designs for L'enfant et les sortilèges by Barbara de Limburg, is online until 5 July.

François-Xavier Roth conducted the Orchestre nationale de France in a concert of Martinů, CPE Bach and Bartók in the orchestra's first performance with a live audience. It's available to watch on the Radio France website. The week before he conducted Gürezenich-Orchester Köln in a concert celebrating La Fête de la Musique, also with an audience.

Elena Urioste and Tom Poster gave a recital of works from the Great American Songbook as part of the virtual Penarth Chamber Music Festival.

Sjaron Minailo's 2017 production of Mozart's The Magic Flute from Teatr Wielki w Poznaniu has gone online.

Marc-André Hamelin took part in a gala recital to raise money for Rockport Music, which is still available to watch.

The Wigmore Hall Recital Series has come to an end but you can still watch three of our artists in recital: Allan Clayton, Paul Lewis and Pavel Kolesnikov.

Garsington Opera's 2019 production of Britten's The Turn of the Screw, conducted by Richard Farnes, is online until December, both on BBC iPlayer and YouTube.

Paul Lewis discussed his approach to Beethoven over three conversations with Spanish station Radio Clasíca.

Sky Ingram sings the role of Avis in the 2015 Fisher Center at Bard production of Ethel Smyth's The Wreckers, online now.



Update: 12 June

Paul Lewis's Wigmore Hall recital received a five-star review in The Guardian and is available to watch here.

Pavel Kolesnikov gave a special recital for Grange Park Opera, which goes live today.

Mezzo will broadcast three performances from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles across various dates and times in June: Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust, Beethoven's Symphonies Nos.5 and 7, and a programme of Mozart.


Update: 5 June

Watch Topi Lehtipuu as Ferrando in the 2006 Glyndebourne production of Mozart's Così fan tutte, directed by Nicholas Hytner, from Sunday 7 June to 5pm Sunday 14 June.

Pavel Kolesnikov was one of the first soloists to return to Wigmore Hall since lockdown started, for its new lunchtime series, presenting a recital of Brahms, Schubert and Beethoven with Samson Tsoy, which is still up on the hall's YouTube channel. Paul Lewis performs there on 10 June and Allan Clayton on 19 June.


Update: 28 May

Julius Caesar, directed by and starring Barbara Wysocka at Teatr Powszechny in 2016, is free to watch online from 28 May until 1 June (in Polish with English subtitles).

Norwegian Opera has posted a performance of two movements of Beethoven's Symphony No.6, 'Pastoral', conducted by Eivind Aadland under social distancing conditions.


Update: 22 May

The Royal Opera House will stream Laurent Pelly's 2011 production of Massenet's Cendrillon at 7pm BST 22 May, and it will remain free online until 4 June, through its Facebook and YouTube channels. Sets were designed by Barbara de Limburg and Jean-Jacque Delmotte collaborated with costumes.

Laurent Pelly's 2016 La Monnaie production of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel is also online, until 30 June, with sets by Barbara de Limburg, and Jean-Jacque Delmotte collaborating on costumes. His 2019 Teatro Real production of Falstaff has just been released on DVD and is available to buy or watch on demand.

La Monnaie De Munt is streaming Orfeo & Majnun, a groundbreaking collaboration featuring a score with both Western and Eastern influences, composed by three composers and conducted by Bassem Akiki.

The New National Theatre, Tokyo, has extended its NNTT at Home programme and will continue putting archive performances online, including Asters, a two-act opera conducted in its world premiere in February 2019 by Kazushi Ono (22–29 May).

Watch Eivind Aadland conduct the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and soloist Emma McGrath in Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, performed to an empty hall as the orchestra's last concert before lockdown. They have also uploaded two movements of Mozart's 'Jupiter' Symphony.

Stefan Solyom conducted his final concert as Chief Conductor of Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra on 21 May, performing Haydn and Mahler with the group, and the performance is still online.

Elena Urioste and Tom Poster have continued to post videos every single day since lockdown, and are now up to No.67. Follow them under the hashtag #UriPosteJukebox or go to her YouTube channel.

Ilan Volkov is up to episode 16 of his radio show on SoundCloud, each one featuring eclectic sounds from his own music collection.

François-Xavier Roth has continued to draw surprising and revealing comparisons in his exposition of Beethoven's symphonies, ranging from Steve Reich and John Adams to the Beatles and James Brown. He's up to Symphony No.8.

Alwynne Pritchard has completed 46 postcards in her #RecordedDelivery performance series, based on contributions from the public.


Update: 11 May

The Aurora Orchestra has started a weekly broadcast of its archive concerts, beginning with Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique in a staged performance co-directed by James Bonas, from the 2019 BBC Proms.

Wiener Staatsoper is presenting its 2018 production of Weber's Der Freischütz, directed by Christian Räth, for free, at 7pm CET, 19 May.


Update: 7 May

France TV is showing Opéra de Lyon's 2014 Laurent Pelly production of Rossini's Le Comte Ory until 21 May.

Mezzo.tv is broadcasting a recording of François-Xavier Roth conducting Les Siècles in Beethoven's Symphonies Nos.5 and 7 filmed in the Palace of Versailles shortly before lockdown, on 7, 9, 20, 21, 24, 26 May and on several dates across June.

Wiener Staatsoper's online broadcasts will include two different cast recordings of Irina Brook's 2016 production of Don Pasquale, on 13 and 16 May.

Aleksey Semenenko performed a special Facebook Live concert on 6 May for Music at Southminster, including works by Stravinsky, Fauré and Wieniawski, with pianist Inna Firsova, which is still available to view.


Update: 20 April

The Orchestre National de Lille 2019 production of Bizet's Carmen, with animation and illustration by Grégoire Pont, has just been put online for free.

The 2019 Teatro Real production of Falstaff, directed by Laurent Pelly with a set by Barbara de Limburg, has been made free online, with the password 'OperaEnCasa'.

The stunning Opéra de Lyon production of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges, directed by James Bonas with animations by Grégoire Pont, is available worldwide until 17 October.

Paul Lewis discusses his journey with music and his approach to Beethoven in this conversation from the University of Hong Kong.

Elena Urioste's #UriPosteJukebox with Tom Poster continues to broadcast daily and has sparked a whole set of new commissions. You can read the story here.

François-Xavier Roth is up to episode four of his series illuminating Beethoven's symphonies.

Ilan Volkov has just released Episode 9 of his radio show on Soundcloud.

Alwynne Pritchard has now created more than 20 video postcards for her #RecordedDeliveryproject.



Update: 14 April

As the world continues to face the terrible effects of Coronavirus and the entire music world remains indoors, our artists are adding to the defiant and uplifting contributions. To supplement the list below from before Easter, these are some of the events, screenings and projects that have happened over the holidays.

Marc-André Hamelin live streamed a recital from his home to raise money for New York's 92Y, with a programme that includes C.P.E. Bach, Enescu and Fauré, and remains online.

Ralf Pleger was brought in by ARTE TV to direct and film a special Easter performance with American organ virtuoso Cameron Carpenter in Berlin's empty Konzerthaus. The film is available until 12 May.

The new recording of Mussorgsky and Ravel from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles was chosen by Andrew McGregor as his Record of the Week on BBC Radio 3. Roth is also giving wonderful explanations of Beethoven's symphonies on the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln's YouTube channel.

Elena Urioste and Tom Poster have managed to maintain their daily posts of musical requests on their social media and YouTube channel, and were listed in the Guardian's guide to online music.

If you're a fan of Matt Lucas's Baked Potato Song, George Jackson has created a German-language version. He's also been cooking to the accompaniment of contemporary music and you can follow his Slow-roasted Easter Lamb recipe to the sound track of Philip Glass's Music in Twelve Parts.

Lawrence Power discusses Brahms in this interview with BachTrack.

Ilan Volkov is up to Episode 7 of his radio show with Halas Audio on SoundCloud.

Kazushi Ono and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra released two videos of performances made before the performance restrictions came down, as a thank you to doctors and nurses and comfort to audiences.

The New National Theatre, Tokyo, is putting archive performances online for a limited period, including Turandot, conducted by Kazushi Ono (17 April to 24 April).


Update: 20 March

As public performances around the world are cancelled in the light of the COVID-19 virus, the international classical musical community continues to do its best to provide music at a time when people most need comfort and connection.

Many of our artists have contributed to these efforts, either in recent broadcasts that have been uploaded or performances of cancelled concerts that were filmed behind closed doors, and even with regular broadcasts from their own homes. We will be adding to it as more become available, so keep checking back.

Broadcasting from home

  • Ilan Volkov has started a new radio show on SoundCloud, filled with exciting and eclectic choices, all taken from his own music collection.
  • Violinist Elena Urioste is taking requests and broadcasting her performances with Tom Poster through her social media channels: follow them under the hashtag #UriPosteJukebox or go to her YouTube channel.
  • François-Xavier Roth has started a new series, 'Listen to Beethoven', for Gürzenich-Orchester Köln.
  • Alwynne Pritchard is using fragments of music sent to her through social media to create short music videos from her bathroom, with the hashtag #RecordedDelivery.

These broadcasts have been made available for free

  • Kazushi Ono conducted the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in two special concerts before performance restrictions were imposed – one dedicated to the doctors and nurses working during the crisis, and one of Dragon Quest and Ghibli music for children.
  • Laurent Pelly's 2019 production of Offenbach's Barbe Bleu for Opera de Lyon, in a co-production with Opéra de Marseille, features costumes and staging by Christian Räth and Jean-Jacques Delmotte and dialogue adaptation by Agathe Mélinand. It is available in France until 17 April.
  • On 6 April, Vienna Staatsoper will broadcast Irina Brook's 2019 production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, conducted by Simone Young.
  • Korngold's 1927 The Miracle of Heliane, an allegory about love in a totalitarian state, was given its US premiere in 2019 at Bard College in this production, directed by Christian Räth (scroll down from the top of the page).
  • François-Xavier Roth conducts Les Siècles in Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 5 and 7, recorded behind closed doors at the Palace of Versailles during what was intended as a complete cycle of the symphonies. Roth also conducts the orchestra in two programmes of Berlioz: Monstre Berlioz and Fantastique Lélio, recorded at the Paris Philharmonie last year.
  • Stefan Solyom conducted the premiere of Power and Glory, with music by Fredrik Österling and libretto by Hanna Höglund, with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, and the film is still online.
  • The Berlin Philharmonic has made its Digital Concert Hall free for 30 days, and there you can find Paul Lewis performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No.27 under the baton of Bernard Haitink, as well as a 15-minute interview with him. Haitink also conducts the orchestra in Bruckner's Symphony No.7.
  • The Digital Concert Hall also includes several performances by Topi Lehtipuu, including Handel's Resurrection, Bach's St John Passion and St Matthew Passion, and Schumann's Paradise and the Peri.
  • Topi Lehtipuu also sings in a performance of Britten's Serenade for tenor and horn with Turku Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sian Edwards, recorded behind closed doors (performance starts around 1:00 of the video).
  • Polish National Opera's Tosca, directed by Barbara Wysocka, is available until 5 June.
  • Barbara Wysocka's production of Lucia di Lammermoor, conducted by Kirill Petrenko at the Bayerische Statsoper, has been made available to watch free online.
  • The Transmigration of Morton F., written and directed by Sjaron Minailo, is based on the music of Morton Feldman, and was first performed at the Holland Festival in 2016.
  • Paul Lewis performs Beethoven's 'Moonlight' Sonata at the Parlance Chamber Concerts in January 2020.
  • Aubergine, a video and performance directed by Sjaron Minailo, presented by Antwerp's Musiektheater Transparant, has gone online as part of the Flemish Cultural Institute's 'Stage at Home'.
  • Bassem Akiki conducts the world premiere of Mark Grey's opera Frankenstein, staged at La Monnaie in March 2019, starring Topi Lehtipuu.
  • La Monnaie has also put up its production of Tristan und Isolde, with artistic concept by Ralf Pleger and Alexander Polzin, set design by Polzin and direction by Pleger, as well as Aida, with set design by Polzin.
  • Opera North's entire Wagner Ring Cycle is available to view, conducted by Richard Farnes.
  • Wigmore Hall has opened up its archive during this period, including a video of its Britten Gala last September, which featured Allan Clayton, who also appears in Beethoven's Mass in C major with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
  • Benjamin Shwartz was due to conduct Duisburg Philharmonic in a subscription concert, but instead they've released a recording of Dvořák's Symphony No.7, made last month.









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