Interviews

Since he wrote Winternacht in 1978, the reference to snow has gradually become a constant in the music of Hans Abrahamsen (Copenhagen, *1952). “It captures me”, he says. “What fascinates me about snow is its whiteness, as well as the idea that it can turn to ice”. But Abrahamsen is also very aware of “the other side of winter”, he clarifies, which is that “after winter comes spring”. That is precisely what happens at the end of Winternacht, but also at the end of his opera The Snow Queen (2019), whose production and subsequent DVD release, in its English version, by the Bayerische Staatsoper has just been awarded at the ICMA 2023. With this in mind, Jesús Castañer from ICMA’S Jury member Scherzo shared a warm conversation about his opera and some of his more recent creative interests.

You have written your first opera, The Snow Queen (2019), at the age of 62. Did you think about making an opera before?
Yes. I had plans to write an opera in 1988, but I never managed to find the right story, and also I hadn’t developed a vocal writing of my own to do something like that. Read More →

Last January, the jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) announced the launch of a Classeek Award to promote an outstanding young musician among the finalists of the Classeek Ambassador Program, a platform for emerging artists whose main initiative is an annual program to discover, support and promote promising young classical musicians. Marc-André Teruel, a French-Austrian double bass player, is the first recipient of this new ICMA award. He will receive his trophy at the ICMA awards ceremony in Wroclaw, Poland, on April 21. Charlotte Saulneron of ResMusica, a member of the jury, interviewed the musician. Read More →

One of the best opera singers today, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho was named Artist of the Year 2023 by the International Classical Music Awards jury. A great opportunity to have an ample discussion with a tremendous artist about art, music, sacrifices, the hard work you need to put in constantly, and best of all about emotions and the power of vulnerability. Irina Cristina Vasilescu, from ICMA Jury member Radio Romania Muzical had a conversation over the phone with Ermonela Jaho in Sydney, rehearsing for her performances with Adriana Lecouvreur. Her ambition and generosity can be felt in each of her answers. Read More →

Vilde Frang has been one of the best-known violinists for at least a decade and a half. Her list of awards and accolades is already long, the most recent being the ICMA Prize for her recording of Beethoven’s and Stravinsky’s Violin Concertos. Gábor Mesterházi from ICMA Jury member Papageno, Budapest, made the following interview with the violinist.

My first impression of the Beethoven concerto was that it was a very natural performance. And the second is that it is very much your interpretation.
With the Beethoven concerto, I had in mind that I must not break anything. It was more a psychological process than a learning process: the important thing was to let the music happen. Read More →

The winner of ICMA’s 2023 Discovery Award is 16-year-old Austrian violinist Leonhard Baumgartner, a scholar of the International Music Academy Liechtenstein. He already won prizes like 1st Prize at Zhuhai International Mozart Competition, 1st Prize and Grand Prix at Stockholm International Music Competition. He also was Wiener Symphoniker Talent and made his debut as soloist in Vieuxtemps’ Concerto No 5 with the Wiener Symphoniker at Wiener Konzerthaus in 2022. his studies took him to the Universities for Music Graz, Vienna and Munich. His main teachers there are Regina Brandstätter since 2019, since October 2022 Dora Schwarzberg and Ingolf Turban. He answered questions of ICMA Jury members.

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Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani (Tehran, 1984) won an ICMA 2023 in the Category Baroque Instrumental with his CD Bach: Italian Concerto – French Overture (Hyperion). Eduardo Torrico from the Spanish magazine Scherzo, member of the ICMA Jury, made the following interview with the artist.

Mahan Esfahani never leaves anyone indifferent. Neither when he plays music nor when he speaks. A student of Musicology and History at Stanford University, it was precisely there where he received his first harpsichord lessons from Elaine Thornburgh. From there he went to Boston to further his musical training with Peter Watchorn. He completed it in Prague, under the auspices of the historical Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Ruzickova. Read More →

The repertoire for the viola is limited. But it is growing – also thanks to Sào Soulez Larivière. The viola virtuoso, born in 1998, loves to arrange works for his instrument and experiment with the contemporary. His musical brilliance and versatility have already earned him several awards. This year he is the recipient of the ICMA Young Artist Award. In February, he took time for an interview with ICMA jury member Frauke Adrians (Das Orchester) in his current hometown of Berlin.

Dear Sào Soulez Larivière – you here in Berlin? I thought you would have been in Kronberg long ago.
At the moment I am in both places! Last year I completed my bachelor’s degree in Berlin at the HfM Hanns Eisler with Tabea Zimmermann, and now I’m sort of commuting between Berlin and Kronberg Academy, where I’m currently doing my master’s degree. There, too, I continue my lessons with Tabea Zimmermann. Read More →

« A cellistic high-flyer with fine creative ability who has phenomenal command of his instrument »: this is how music critic Norbert Hornig described the young cellist Gabriel Schwabe five years ago. Schwabe, born in Berlin in 1988, has maintained his flying height and consolidated his excellent reputation – also thanks to the highly acclaimed albums he has recorded on the Naxos label. He has been under contract there since 2015. At the ICMA awards on April 21 in Wroclaw, he will represent Naxos, ICMA Label of the Year. Frauke Adrians, of the magazine ‘das Orchester’, ICMA jury member, talked to Gabriel Schwabe.

Gabriel Schwabe, on your latest CD you play ballads by Shostakovich and Prokofiev, among others. Do you feel particularly at home in this music?
I have a natural affinity for the 20th century – there’s a repertoire there that I have the easiest access to. But that doesn’t mean I’m locked into it. In general, I’m also very comfortable with anything romantic. Read More →

German violinist Tassilo Probst and American pianist Maxim Lando, both 20 years old, won in the ICMA Chamber Music category with their CD ‘Into Madness’. Pizzicato’s Remy Franck made the following interview with the two musicians, the youngest ever to win in a category in which the competition is always particularly fierce.

First, let us talk about your musical origins. Can you share some information about how you both got started in music?
ML: My parents are both musicians and run a music school in New York. I spent every day there surrounded by music and musicians from the time I was born, so it was pretty natural that I would either love it or hate it. I loved music right from the beginning and would listen obsessively to various recordings. Read More →