NEWS ANALYSIS

PRELUDES

Jonas Kaufmann moves to Sony, while Decca gains a soprano from South Africa

Label hopping has been on the agenda for several highprofile artists in recent months, with three major signings in June alone. The big winner to emerge from the shuffle is Sony Classical, which has managed to poach Jonas Kaufmann from Decca Classics – his home since 2008 – with an exclusive long-term recording agreement. Barely taking time to shift gear, the German tenor will release his debut album for Sony in September, which follows ‘Wagner’, his most recent release for Decca, in February this year. ‘The Verdi Album’ for Sony includes 13 highlights of the composer’s operatic repertoire, 11 of which are firsts for the singer. Featured are tenor arias and scenes from Macbeth, Luisa Miller, La forza del destino, Un ballo in maschera, Otello, Aida, Il trovatore, I masnadieri and Simon Boccanegra.

Also jumping aboard the Sony ship is flamboyant American organist Cameron Carpenter, who has previously released two albums for Telarc. The first in a promised string of albums for Sony Classical will be released in 2014, recorded on Carpenter’s new International Touring Organ – an instrument that combines the characteristics of both classical cathedral and cinema organs. The disc will feature many of Carpenter’s own transcriptions – ranging from the American Songbook to the world premiere of his Music for an Imaginary Film.

Finally, despite the loss of Kaufmann, Decca Classics has managed a coup of its own by signing Pumeza Matshikiza. The soprano, who grew up in the violent townships of Cape Town during South Africa’s apartheid regime, has not only a fascinating story to recommend her, but also a voice ‘of haunting beauty that goes straight to the heart’, according to Decca Classics managing director Paul Moseley. Her debut album will feature traditional

‘The big winner to emerge from the shuffle is Sony Classical, with not one but two high-profile signings’

African songs in her native Xhosa language alongside popular arias by Mozart and Puccini. She will also record a specially commissioned song by composer Paul Mealor setting the poem ‘Invictus’ – which was often recited by former South African president Nelson Mandela to his fellow inmates during his 27-year incarceration.

T here are competitions and then there are competitions – those that carry real acclaim, and the chance of launching the winner to dizzying heights of success. Two such events took place during June – the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas, held every four years, and the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, held biennially and celebrating its 30th anniversary. Winner of the 14th Van Cliburn was 26-year-old Ukrainian Vadym Kholodenko, who triumphed over 30 competitors to take home a cash prize of $50,000. Crucial to his path to international renown will be studio and live recordings produced by Harmonia

Mundi USA and worldwide concert tours, which he also receives as part of his award. A seasoned competitor, the pianist won first prize at the International Schubert Competition in Dortmund in 2012 and at the Sendai International Music Competition in 2010.

The title of Singer of the World went to American mezzosoprano Jamie Barton, who also took home the Song Prize for best Lieder performance. Though her more modest prize amounted to £15,000, the award is no less prestigious: her performances were broadcast on BBC Four and Radio 3, and the competition counts seasoned pros Karita Mattila, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Nicole Cabell among its previous winners. Barton is already making a name for herself, having appeared on the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Bavarian Opera stages.

I t’s been a good few months for Mariss Jansons. The chief conductor of both the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Symphony has extended his contract with the latter orchestra for a further three years until August 31, 2018. The day before his contract extension was announced, Jansons was also presented with the 2013 Ernst von Siemens Prize which, at €250,000, dwarfs the Van Cliburn award. The Ernst von Siemens Prize honours a composer, performer or musicologist each year for his or her exceptional contribution to the profession. The list of previous winners includes Benjamin Britten, Mstislav Rostropovich, Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein.

F inally, as the Britten centenary continues to inspire a number of performances and broadcasts of the composer’s works, Dame Janet Baker has officially opened the Britten-Pears Archive. Constructed in the grounds of The Red House in Aldeburgh – which Benjamin Britten shared with Peter Pears from 1957 until his death in 1976 – the purpose-built archive is the result of a £4.7m investment by the Britten-Pears Foundation and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Designed by architects Stanton Williams, the archive includes manuscripts for more than 700 pieces of music, diaries, 80,000 letters, photographs, recordings, films, costumes, set models, art and books. Charlotte Smith

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GRAMOPHONE AUGUST 2013 13