Lume by Leonardo Silva, born in Brazil in 1989, will be honored with 60,000 francs. Masato Kimura from Japan, born in 1981, will receive ─ ~minus~IX 25,000 francs. The third prize will be split (CHF 7500 each) for Umbilical cord for Chamber Orchestra Japanese artist Nana Kamiyama (*1986) and chameleon by the South Korean Jinseok Choi (*1982).

In collaboration with the Paul Sacher Foundation, the Basel Composition Competition was held for the first time in 2017 under the direction of jury president Wolfgang Rihm. As part of the competition, ten to twelve compositions are nominated in a selection process and performed by the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Basel Sinfonietta.

The current jury president is Michael Jarrell. For health reasons, Rebecca Saunders and Isabel Mundry were unable to serve on the jury this year. They were replaced by the Italian composer Luca Francesconi. The jury also included the composers Toshio Hosokawa and Andrea Scartazzini as well as Florian Besthorn, Director of the Paul Sacher Foundation.

Cortese was already working as a stage manager at the Lausanne Opera at the age of 19. He later worked as a director at the Grand Théâtre de Genève for eight years. From 2003, he held various artistic management positions at the Angers Nantes Opéra and the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy. He is currently artistic director of the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg.

The history of the Lausanne Opera dates back to the 1870s. In 1931, it was completely restructured and converted from a casino theater into a municipal theater. Between 1975 and 1976, the stage was modernized and the number of seats reduced to 960. In 2007, the theater had to be closed for fire safety reasons. It has been managed by Eric Vigié since 2005. He oversaw the renovation of the technical and administrative areas of the building, during which performances took place in the Salle Métropole and the Beaulieu Theater until the reopening in 2012.

Founded in 2007 by Thomas Sterchi and Marco Godat as a festival for singer-songwriters, Zermatt Unplugged has "grown into a much sought-after event for artists and music lovers alike", writes the canton of Valais. Every year, over a hundred concerts take place on a dozen stages in the village and on the surrounding mountain slopes over the five days of the festival. Last year, the festival attracted over 25,000 people to the Upper Valais vacation resort.

Internationally renowned musicians and bands perform in small groups, in tents, outdoors or in the festival's clubs. The festival's program is characterized by "versatility, quality and internationality". The "combination of acoustic music, iconic landscapes and the incomparable atmosphere at the foot of the Matterhorn" make the festival a unique musical experience in Europe.

In 2019, a research team was able to prove a connection between musical engagement and mental health problems for the first time in a large population study: Around 10,500 Swedish test subjects provided information about both their musical activities and their mental well-being. In addition, the data was linked to the Swedish patient register so that psychiatric diagnoses could also be evaluated. The result was that musically active people actually reported depression, burn-out and psychotic symptoms more frequently than those who did not make music. The results were published in the open access journal Scientific Reports.

The team subsequently expanded its research to include methods of molecular genetics. They discovered that genetic variants that influence mental health problems and those that influence musical engagement partially overlap. The results of this second study were recently published in the open access journal Translational Psychiatry.

More info:
https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/newsroom/news/news-artikel/article/ist-musizieren-gut-fuer-unsere-psyche.html

After holding positions at the China National Symphony Orchestra in Beijing, the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki and the Stadttheater Bern, among others, Cahn took over the direction of Opera Vlaanderen Antwerp/Ghent in 2009, where he was artistic director until 2019. He is also President of the European Music Theater Academy based in Vienna and is a guest lecturer at the University of Vienna and the Mozarteum Salzburg.

The opera house in Berlin-Charlottenburg, which was opened in 1912 and destroyed during the war, was reopened as the Deutsche Oper Berlin on September 24, 1961. Since then, it has been Berlin's largest and Germany's second largest music theater - and one of the most modern in Europe. The building, designed by architect Fritz Bornemann, has 1859 seats.

The current artistic director Dietmar Schwarz places an emphasis on contemporary music theater. Together with General Music Director Donald Runnicles, he also pursues the presentation of works by Benjamin Britten throughout the season.

In the 1970s, Pilleri founded the band Jammin' the Blues, with which he played numerous opening acts for greats such as Albert Collins, John Mayall and Eric Burdon. In the 1980s, he released his most successful albums on the renowned Polygram label. The highlight of his career was a performance at the Freedom Festival in Philadelphia in 1990 in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators, alongside giants such as Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bo Diddley, The Hooters and Richie Havens.

Pilleri last released his album "The Blues Never Sleeps" a few months ago, with which he was due to go on tour. He died unexpectedly at the age of 62. The musician, who never put himself in the public eye, was a typical musician's musician and was held in high esteem in the Bernese rock and blues scene, both personally and musically.

The five new lecturers in the Department of Music at Bern University of the Arts (HKB) are Chiara Samatanga (cello), Job ter Haar (cello), Philip Draganov (violin), Jonian Ilias Kadesha (violin) and Valeria Curti (bassoon). They will be present at the aptitude tests in spring to welcome new students.

Chiara Samatanga (née Enderle) is a member of the Carmina Quartet, Job ter Haar lives in Amsterdam. His ensembles include the Van Swieten Society. Philip A. Draganov studied at the Juilliard School in New York and the Zurich University of the Arts, among others. He is also active as a conductor. Jonian Ilias Kadesha has Greek-Albanian roots and lives in Berlin. He is co-founder of the Trio Gaspard. Valeria Curti has been solo bassoonist at the Musikkollegium Winterthur since the 2022/23 season.

Following Peter Kraut's year as interim head of the Department of Music, Rico Gubler took up the position of Head of Department this month. The Swiss saxophonist, composer and lawyer was previously President of the Musikhochschule Lübeck (MHL). He succeeds Graziella Contratto, who left the BUA at the end of January 2022 after almost twelve years of service in order to devote more time to her artistic work.

According to the Suisseculture press release, the association's members previously rejected an increase in membership fees, which would have been necessary for a successful collection of signatures. The initiative was unable to mobilize enough within the sectors directly affected.

In December, the board of the initiative association "For regulated compensation in the event of an epidemic" decided to convene an extraordinary general meeting to decide on an increase in membership fees. According to the Board of Directors and the office, the increase was unavoidable in order to collect the necessary 100,000 valid signatures for the compensation initiative on time. On January 10, the association members rejected higher membership fees by 14 votes to 12. They then voted by the necessary 2/3 majority to discontinue the collection of signatures and dissolve the association in the current year due to the uncovered financial requirements.

The initiative would have called for regulated compensation in the event of an epidemic for those who would be significantly affected economically by an official measure during the next epidemic. Affected companies, self-employed persons, freelancers and employees should "not suffer severe economic hardship through no fault of their own as a result of official measures during an epidemic or pandemic".

Apap is not only a first-class violinist, writes the Camerata in its blog, but is also known for "breaking conventions and combining different musical styles". His playing often combines classical music, jazz, Irish folk music and Eastern European folklore to create a holistic musical experience.

Apap was born in Algeria in 1963 and grew up in Nice. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and lives in California, where he was concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra until 2003. In 1985, he won the International Yehudi Menuhin Competition in the contemporary music category.

He regularly gives international master classes and workshops and has taught at the Menuhin Academy in Gstaad, at the Menuhin School in London and at the University of Benares (India).

The Camerata Zürich was founded in 1957 by the Swiss conductor Räto Tschupp. Following Räto Tschupp, Marc Kissóczy and Thomas Demenga, Igor Karsko has been the orchestra's Artistic Director since the 20/21 season. The orchestra created the position of Artist in Residence two years ago. It is currently held by Olli Mustonen.

Yilian Cañizares comes from Havana. The violinist, singer and composer has lived in Switzerland for over 20 years. In 2021, she was awarded a Swiss Music Prize for a work that combines Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz and classical music.

The Voix en Fête choir, formed for the 2019 Winegrowers' Festival and recently renamed, will, like Cañizares, receive CHF 20,000 for the development of an original musical creation in collaboration with singer-songwriters Céline Grandjean, Jérôme Berney and Valentin Villard.

Lausanne-based Louis Schild is a composer, instrumentalist and improviser. He received a Leenaards Cultural Scholarship in 2020. He is active in the field of contemporary creation and experimental music in particular. For the dissemination and further development of his musical work Le Recueil des Miracles he receives an amount of 20,000 francs.

Louis Matute is a guitarist and composer based in Lausanne. Trained at the HEMU - Haute école de musique Vaud Valais Fribourg, he is the initiator of numerous jazz projects that are widely recognized in Switzerland and beyond. He will receive CHF 15,000 to further develop his repertoire and the composition and concert activities of the Louis Matute Large Ensemble.

The canton of Vaud is offering several grants of between CHF 10,000 and CHF 20,000 per year, depending on the nature and scope of the project. They are primarily intended to support professional artists or ensembles from the canton of Vaud who are planning a new creative project, are writing a major musical work, wish to promote their productions at a national or even international level or want to carry out several major projects simultaneously.

Article 67a of the Federal Constitution, which was voted on by the people on September 23, 2012, stipulates that the Confederation and cantons should promote music education, particularly for children and young people. In Ticino, this constitutional article is still a dead letter ten years after its adoption by the people, writes the initiative committee. While in most cantons families bear 32% of the costs of music education, in Ticino this share is up to 75%.

This situation discriminates against the less affluent sections of the population and favors neither musical education nor the promotion of talent. It is time to bring Ticino into line with the rest of Switzerland.

The initiative committee is led by the Ticino Cantonal Association of Music Schools FeSMuT. The Ticino Wind Music Association FeBaTi and the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland are also on board. People entitled to vote in the canton of Ticino can sign the initiative until May 2, 2023.

More info: https://www.100giorniperlamusica.ch

The Primary Music School is an additional weekly lesson in the timetable for Year 1 in Chur, which goes beyond the number of lessons prescribed by the canton. It must be voluntary and free of charge in accordance with cantonal school legislation and was introduced in connection with the introduction of family-friendly block times in Chur in the 2010/2011 school year. The number of lessons in first grade has increased by almost 30 percent since 2010, from 21 to 27. The last increase in lessons in Year 1 dates back to the 2018/2019 school year, when three additional lessons in Year 1 were introduced as a cantonal requirement in connection with the introduction of Curriculum 21.

However, the difficult financial and staffing situation at the Singschule Chur is now leading to "considerable uncertainty for the affected staff at the city of Chur's primary music school", according to the city's press release. A transfer to the Chur music school is an obvious option for the future, but is not desired by the school at this time, as the future of the primary music school has not yet been clarified by the municipal council. The teachers concerned can be offered employment with the city, for the time being for a limited period until the end of the 2023/2024 school year.

According to a press release from Kiel University, new publications include "Ein deutsches Requiem" op. 45 (Series V, Volume 2), Brahms' orchestrations of Schubert songs (Series IX, Volume 4) and the piano arrangements of the Triumphlied op. 55 (Series VA, Volume 4). The volumes are a collaboration between the Brahms Research Center at the Institute of Musicology at Kiel University (CAU) and international experts.

The volume on the German Requiem op. 45 is a milestone. It was produced in international cooperation - in collaboration between the Brahms Research Center at the Institute of Musicology at Kiel University and Michael Struck, who has worked there for many years, and the British-American Brahms researcher Michael Musgrave (Juilliard School, New York). In Kiel, in addition to translation and extensive text revision, the main focus was on the scholarly preparation of the musical text and the preparation of the edition report.

Born in Colorado Springs (USA) in 1961, Michaela Paetsch studied with Szymon Goldberg at Yale University and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, among others. As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Svizzera Italiana.

Paetsch was the winner of the G. B. Dealy Awards in Dallas, at the Reine Elisabeth Competition in Brussels (bronze medal) and at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. She was the first woman in the world to record the complete Paganini Caprices.

Künstlerhaus Boswil recognizes Fleck as the founder of the Boswil Summer and the CHAARTS ensemble, who "with his skill and creativity has made a significant contribution since 2001" to Künstlerhaus Boswil becoming an internationally renowned performance and production venue and "is perceived as a stage for excellent classical concerts". The festival was awarded the European Culture Prize in 2021. Fleck is the Artistic Director of Boswil Summer and Boswil Master Concerts in Boswil.

In an email sent at almost the same time as the message from the Board of Trustees, Fleck himself writes that what Boswil and he had created together, "could still do together, should no longer exist according to the will of others. I can no longer make myself understood and must go my own way."