2015 in classical music

Events

• January 9 – Composers nominated for BAFTA awards for their film scores are Antonio Sánchez (Birdman), Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Hans Zimmer (Interstellar), Johann Johannsson (The Theory of Everything) and Mica Levi (Under the Skin).^[1]
• January 14 – Opening night gala concert at the Philharmonie de Paris^[2]
• January 15 – The Alabama Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Carlos Izcaray as its next music director, as of September 2015.^[3]
• January 28
  • The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande announces the appointment of Jonathan Nott as its 10th music director and artistic director, effective January 2017.^[4]
  • The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces the appointment of Mason Bates as its first-ever composer-in-residence, effective with the 2015–2016 season, for a term of 3 years.^[5]
• February 6 – The New York Philharmonic announces that Alan Gilbert is to conclude his tenure as the orchestra's music director after the 2016–2017 season.^[6]
• February 8 – First US performance of the Felix Mendelssohn edition (1841, Leipzig) of the JS Bach St Matthew Passion^[7]
• February 12
  • Arts Council England announces its intention to remove English National Opera from its national portfolio of regularly funded UK arts organisations, and to change its funding arrangement from a 3-year plan to a 2-year plan, with stipulations that ENO reform its current business model.^[8]
  • The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra announces that Edo de Waart is to conclude his tenure as the orchestra's music director after the 2016–2017 season.^[9]
• February 18 – The National Symphony Orchestra and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announce that Christoph Eschenbach is to conclude his music directorship of both organisations after the 2016–2017 season.^[10]
• February 26 – The BBC Philharmonic announces the appointment of Mark Simpson as its next Composer-in-Association, effective September 2015.^[11]
• February 27 – The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra announces the appointment of Giordano Bellincampi as its next music director, effective in 2016, with an initial contract of 3 years.^[12]
• March 3 – The London Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Sir Simon Rattle as its next music director, effective September 2017, with an initial contract of 5 years.^[13]
• March 4 – The New York Philharmonic announces that David Geffen is to donate $100M USD to the orchestra for the renovation of Avery Fisher Hall, with the proviso that the hall be renamed "David Geffen Hall" and bear the new name in perpetuity.^[14]
• March 9
  • English National Opera announces the appointment of Cressida Pollock, a management consultant, as its interim CEO.^[15]
  • The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia announces the appointments of Roberto Abbado and Fabio Biondi as its next joint music directors, and of Ramón Tebar as its next principal guest conductor.^[16]
• March 11
  • The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Thomas Dausgaard as its 11th chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season.^[17]
  • Simon Halsey is announced as the recipient of the Queen's Medal for Music 2014.^[18]
• March 16 - Alan Buribayev becomes principal conductor of the Astana Opera House, Kazakhstan.^[19]
• March 18 - The Birmingham Conservatoire announces the appointment of Julian Lloyd Webber as its next Principal, after the scheduled retirement of David Saint, the current Principal, in June 2015.^[20]
• March 19 - The Montreal Symphony Orchestra announces a new five-year recording contract with Decca Records.^[21][22]
• April 3 - The Boston Symphony Orchestra announces a new recording partnership with Deutsche Grammophon that focuses on the music of Dmitri Shostakovich.^[23]
• April 14 - The Glenn Gould Foundation announces its selection of Philip Glass as the Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Laureate.^[24]

New works

• Thierry Escaich – Concerto for Orchestra^[2]
• Wolfgang Rihm
  • Violin Concerto No 6 (Gedicht des Malers; composed in 2014, premiered in 2015)^[25]
  • Über die Linie VIII^[26]
• Georges Lentz - Jerusalem (after Blake) (composed 2011-2014; premiered 16 January 2015)^[27]
• Pascal Schumacher - Windfall Concerto (for vibraphone and orchestra)^[27]
• John Adams
  • Second Quartet^[28]
  • Scheherazade.2 (symphony for violin and orchestra)^[29]
• Magnus Lindberg – Accused^[30]
• Tan Dun – The Wolf (concerto for double bass and orchestra; composed in 2014, premiered in 2015)^[31]
• Nico Muhly – Viola Concerto^[32]
• Georg Friedrich Haas - "I can't breathe" (In memoriam Eric Garner)^[33]
• Colin Matthews and Michael Morpurgo – The Pied Piper of Hamelin^[34]
• Jennifer Higdon
  • Civil Words^[35]
  • Viola Concerto^[36]
• Mohammed Fairouz – Locales (composed 2014; premiered 14 February 2015)^[37]
• Robin Holloway
  • Soldered Schumann
  • Silvered Schubert^[38]
• Peter Fribbins – Violin Concerto^[39]
• Vivian Fung – Violin Concerto No 2 ('Of Snow and Ice')^[40]
• Mica Levi – Greezy^[41]
• Johannes Maria Staud
  • Moment, Leute, Moment!^[42]
  • Segue II für Pierre Boulez^[43]
• Sally Beamish – "Be still" (Introit)^[44]
• Chris Paul Harman – Lieder und Arien^[45]
• Elliott Carter - The American Sublime^[46]
• James Newton Howard - Violin Concerto^[47]
• Albert Schnelzer – Tales from Suburbia^[48]
• Julian Anderson – In lieblicher Bläue (Violin Concerto)^[49]
• Betsy Jolas - Ravery Pour Pierre en ce jour^[43]
• Hugues Dufourt - Ombre portée^[43]
• Marc Monnet - bourdonnement, bruissement, bruit, chuchotage, chuchoterie, chuchotis,frémissement, gazouillement, gazouillis, murmure, susurrement...^[43]
• Frédéric Durieux - Entscheiden^[43]
• Enno Poppe - Zwölf^[43]
• Philippe Hurel - Inserts^[43]
• Ivan Fedele - Hommagesquisse^[43]
• Philippe Manoury - Chaconne^[43]
• Bruno Mantovani - B^[43]
• Darryl Kubian - O for a Muse of Fire^[50]
• Judith Bingham - Ghostly Grace^[51]
• Michael Gandolfi - Ascending Light^[52]
• James MacMillan - A Little Mass^[53]
• Mark Simpson - Israfel^[54]
• Unsuk Chin - Mannequin^[55]

Opera

• Ricky Ian Gordon – Morning Star^[56]
• Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer – Everest^[57]
• Mauricio Soleto and Andrés Ibáñez – El Público^[58]
• Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell – The Manchurian Candidate^[59]
• Tansy Davies and Nick Drake - Between Worlds^[60]

Albums

• Ji Liu (piano) – Piano Encores^[61]
• Havergal Brian – The Tigers (first commercially issued recording, from 1983 BBC performance)^[62]
• Kaija Saariaho – Émilie Suite; Quatre Instants; Terra Memoria^[63]
• Ēriks Ešenvalds – "Northern Lights" (Hyperion)^[64]
• Rebecca Saunders, Fletch; Benedict Mason, Second String Quartet; Luke Bedford, Wonderful Four-Headed Nightingale; John Zorn, Pandora's Box – Arditti Quartet, Sarah Maria Sun (Col Legno)^[65]
• Johann Adolf Hasse – Siroe (first complete recording)^[66]
• Liza Lim – The Compass; Pearl, Ochre, Hair String; The Guest^[67]
• Kevin Volans – Trio Concerto; Piano Concerto; Symphony "Daar kom die Alibama"^[68]
• Mario Capuana, Bonaventura Rubino – Requiem Masses (Namur Chamber Choir)^[69]
• Agostino Steffani – Niobe, Regina di Tebe^[70]
• Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Violin Concerto No 2 (I Profeti), Concerto Italiano^[71]
• Nikolai Medtner – Piano Sonatas, 'Ein Idyll'^[72]
• Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Thomas Hoppe (piano) – Romance oubliée (Myrios Classics)^[73]
• Donnacha Dennehy – Crane; O; The Vandal; Hive^[74]
• Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek – 27^[75]
• Marc Andre – ...auf...^[76]
• Félicien David – Le Désert^[77]
• Michael Gordon – Dystopia; Rewriting Beethoven's Seventh Symphony^[78]
• Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No. 1 (world premiere recording of 1879 version) / Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 2 (Myrios Classics)^[79]
• Hans Abrahamsen - Zählen und Erzählen^[80]
• Missy Mazzoli - Vespers for a New Dark Age^[81]
• Théodore Dubois - Musique Sacrée et Symphonique^[82]
• Wolfgang Rihm - Et Lux^[83]

Deaths

• January 2 – Bob Gilmore, British musicologist, 53^[84]
• January 6 – Lawrence Gushee, American musicologist, 83^[85]
• January 10 – Countess Yoko Nagae Ceschina, Japanese-born Italian aristocrat and patroness of classical music, 82^[86]
• January 12 – Elena Obraztsova, Russian operatic mezzo-soprano, 75^[87]
• January 13 – Frank Glazer, American pianist, 99^[88]
• January 19
  • Vera Gornostayeva, Russian pianist and piano teacher, 85^[89]
  • Ward Swingle, American singer, 87^[90]
• January 29 – Israel Yinon, Israeli conductor, 59^[91]
• February 1 – Aldo Ciccolini, Italian-born French pianist, 89^[92]
• February 3 – Andrew Patner, American music critic, 55^[93]
• February 9 – Marvin David Levy, American composer, 82^[94]
• February 13 – John McCabe, British composer and pianist, 75^[95]
• February 28 – Ezra Laderman, American composer, 90^[96]
• March 1 - Jennifer Ward Clarke, British cellist, 79^[97]
• March 19 - Peter Katin, British pianist, 84^[98]
• March 22 - Norman Scribner, American choral conductor, 79^[99]
• March 24 (killed in the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525):^[100]
  • Oleg Bryzhak, Kazakh-born German opera singer, 54
  • Maria Radner, German opera singer, 33
• March 28 - Ronald Stevenson, British composer and pianist, 87^[101]
• March 29 - Ronald Knudsen, American orchestral violinist and conductor, 83^[102]
• April 2 - Dennis Marks, British radio & television producer and opera administrator, 66^[103]
• April 3 - Andrew Porter, British music critic, librettist, scholar and editor, 86^[104]
• April 5 - Claudio Prieto, Spanish composer, 80^[105]
• April 17 - Brian Couzens, British record producer and founder of Chandos Records, 82^[106]

Major awards

Grammy Awards

• Best Orchestral Performance: John Adams – City Noir, Saxophone Concerto – Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; David Robertson, conductor (Nonesuch)
• Best Opera Recording: Marc-Antoine Charpentier – La descente d'Orphée aux enfers; Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble and Vocal Ensemble; Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, conductors (CPO)
• Best Choral Performance: The Sacred Spirit of Russia – Conspirare; Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (harmonia mundi)
• Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores – Hilary Hahn and Cory Smythe (Deutsche Grammophon)
• Best Classical Instrumental Solo: Play – Jason Vieaux (Azica Records)
• Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: Douce France – Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg et al. (Naïve)
• Best Classical Compendium: Harry Partch – Plectra and Percussion Dances (Bridge Records)
• Best Contemporary Classical Composition: John Luther Adams – Become Ocean – Seattle Symphony Orchestra; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Cantaloupe Music)

Juno Awards

Classical Albums of the Year:

• Solo or Chamber Ensemble: Béla Bartók - Chamber Works for Violin, Volume 3; James Ehnes et al. (Chandos)
• Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concertos Nos 22 & 24; Angela Hewitt, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Hannu Lintu (Hyperion)
• Vocal or Choral Performance: Franz Schubert - Winterreise; Gerald Finley, Julius Drake (Hyperion)

Classical Composition of the Year: Brian Current - Airline Icarus (Naxos)

References

External links