This year, the jury at the international competition for compositions for youth string quartets, convened on September 30 in Milano to announce the winners of the competition’s third edition.

The composer Nikolaus Brass turned 70 on 23 October 2019, and the occasion is being marked with several events in November.

Six made-to-order concerts at six sites in a historic city: in September 2019 Georg Friedrich Haas was in the midst of an extraordinary musical event. Dr. Silke Hilger, General Manager of Ricordi Berlin, accompanied the composer to Italy and describes her impressions in this travel report.

In the new opera Denis & Katya, composer Philip Venables, librettist and director Ted Huffman, along with dramaturge Ksenia Ravvina, transform the true story of two lovers pitted against the world into a novel drama about adolescence.

In September 2019, Enno Poppe's violin concerto Schnur, commissioned by the Bonn Beethovenfest, was premiered by Carolin Widmann and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under its new principal conductor Alan Gilbert.

Lisa Streich’s new work FRANCESCA received its world premiere at the Klangspuren Schwaz festival in a performance by ensemble recherche.

Dedicated to the ageless works of William Shakespeare, the Salzburg Taschenopernfestival presented the world premiere of Sarah Nemtsov’s “miniature opera-monologue” verflucht in September 2019.

October 5 marks the world premiere in Venice of Claudio Ambrosini’s Rappresentazione di anima e corpo for soprano, bass clarinet and orchestra.

On October 3, Songbook by Tovel (aka Matteo Franceschini) makes its world premiere at Biennale Venice. Following the presentation of the 2019 Silver Lion for Music.

A busy fall is in store for Luca Francesconi in Milano. La Scala, and Milano Musica Festival will be presenting his most important compositions.