Interchanging Idioms

The St. Louis Symphony announced today a change to the September 30, 2011 concert at Powell Hall. Schoenberg’s Five Pieces for Orchestra will now be performed in lieu of Edgar Meyer’s Double Bass Concerto No. 3. The concerto was to have had its world premiere at Powell Hall, but it has not yet been completed. The September 30 program also includes works by Ives, Copland and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. Tickets are still available and can be purchased on line at www.stlsymphony.org , by phone at 314-534-1700 or in person at Powell Hall’s box office, 718 North Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63103.

On Saturday, September 10 at 7:30 PM, Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in A Concert for New York: a free performance at Avery Fisher Hall of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” given in a spirit of remembrance and renewal to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The concert (featuring soprano Dorothea Röschmann, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, and the New York Choral Artists) will be broadcast live on Classical WQXR 105.9 FM, and rebroadcast on Sunday, September 11 at 8:00 PM on WYNC 93.9 FM. It will also be telecast in the U.S. on PBS's Great Performances at 9:00 PM on September 11 (check local listings) and internationally as well: in Germany and France on ARTE at 6:15 PM CET; and on major television channels in Brazil, Asia, and other European countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Switzerland. The concert will also be webcast on nyphil.org at 9:00 PM, EDT, on September 11. Tickets for this special performance are

OVER 600 MUSICIANS ON STAGE FOR PERFORMANCES OF Karl Jenkins: A Mass for Peace and For the Fallen* US Premiere René Clausen: Memorial Sunday, September 11th at 2pm Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Karl Jenkins, the world’s most popular living composer, brings iconic music of war and peace to Avery Fisher Hall on September 11th this year, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. England’s renowned Really Big Chorus with conductor/composer René Clausen and the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra International and Distinguished Concerts Singers International will perform. This performance is presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY), whose mission is to showcase heart-stopping, innovative choral music at prestigious venues around the world. The program includes two works by Jenkins: The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and For the Fallen: In Memoriam Alfryn Jenkins , in its US premiere. Commissioned jointly by The Royal Armouries a

“Netrebko...is not just a Met star, but the Met star.” – New York Observer The coming season marks the tenth anniversary of Anna Netrebko’s debut with the Metropolitan Opera, host to many of her greatest triumphs during the past decade. To celebrate this milestone, Deutsche Grammophon will release the soprano’s first live solo album, bringing together her most memorable Met moments – performances never before issued on record, most of them previously unavailable in any format – available September 20, 2011 The album, consisting of eleven tracks from nine operatic roles, includes performances with some of Netrebko’s most renowned co-stars including tenors Roberto Alagna, Joseph Calleja and Juan Diego Flórez. In addition she is supported by a starry roster of conductors including Valery Gergiev (her house debut), Plácido Domingo, James Levine, Marco Armiliato and many others. Spanning her entire Met career, from her 2002 house debut as Natasha in Prokofiev’s War and Peace to h

According to the CTIA (International Association for Wireless Telecommunications) the number of wireless connections in the US Dec 2010 was 302.9million, doubling every 5 years.  One third of the cell phone accounts have a smart phone associated with them.  The Pew Internet estimates 8-10 adults have a cell phone with 1/4 of those in a house with no land line.  Blogging has actually declined from 2005 to 2010, particularly among those under the age of 30 switching to social media sites --73% of teenagers were using social media sites in 2009.  A recent Pew survey suggests over 50% of all adults use some form of social networking with 33% using multiple sites.  42% of cell phone users use their phones for entertainment. Smart phone users rely on online information via their phones for over 20% of their shopping choices, ranging from restaurants, concerts and store location. Given all these statistics about cell phone usage, it seems business that have a Facebook page and/or a twitte

Maria Bachmann & Matt Haimovitz performed the World Premiere of Philip Glass' Duos No. 1-5 at the Days and Nights Festival The music for Duos Nos. 1-5 are extracted from Glass' larger work Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra , 2010, similar to the Violin Concerto No. 2 where the solo violin became "The American Four Seasons." The program was followed by an early Schoenberg sextet Verklaerte Nacht Op. 4 (1899) and then Philip Glass' String Sextet (1995). The program notes suggests the music for the concert is a return to the music of Glass' youth --music he would listen to with is father during the 40's and 50's. The blend of the newly composed pieces by Philip Glass with the older Schoenberg was delightfully rich and illuminating at how subtle shifts in style can create something entirely new. As a composer, I found it fascinating to take an existing piece apart to create something new, complete with flow an

What's the point in writing a review? Doesn't anybody really care what I think This has been a busy week with the Philip Glass' Day's and Nights Festival. Add to it a variety of new CD's coming out in August/September getting ready for the Fall/Winter sales and I've a lot of reviews to get done. One of my friends asked me why I review music the other day, with the ancillary question, "does anyone read them?" Studies show blog and print media reviews have little to no effect on whether audience members actually go see a performance. This last case is even truer in the classical music world where a performance is seldom repeated, so a review is really only after the performance and has no bearing on getting audience members to buy tickets – at least not to the specific performance reviewed. However, there is the potential of using cut quotes --phrases or sentences from the review in future advertising. As such, festival and performers st

A Bold Festival of 21st Century Music by Composers 40 and Under October 14-22, 2011 SONiC – Sounds of a New Century – a brand new festival of 21st century music by more than 100 composers age 40 and under, will take over New York from Friday, October 14 through Saturday, October 22, 2011. Events will range from a daylong marathon to a DJ/VJ night, from a free symphony concert at the World Financial Center Winter Garden to collaborations between emerging choreographers and composers. SONiC concerts will take place at ten different venues throughout New York, and will include performances by 16 extraordinary ensembles featuring at least 18 world premieres, eight US premieres, and eight New York premieres. SONiC is co-curated by composer Derek Bermel and pianist Stephen Gosling, and is a production of American Composers Orchestra and The Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. SONiC is presented in partnership with Carnegie Hall and Miller Theatre at Columbia University. New Y

St. Louis Public Radio | 90.7 KWMU and the St. Louis Symphony announced today the renewal of their partnership to include live broadcasts of all 2011-12 Saturday night Wells Fargo Advisors Orchestral Series concerts. The concerts will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio’s main channel, 90.7 KWMU and will be streamed live at www.stlpublicradio.org . The series’ first live broadcast from Powell Hall will be Saturday, September 17 at 8 p.m. St. Louis Symphony Music Director David Robertson will present an all-Stravinsky celebration, highlighting three of his ballet masterpieces in one program. The broadcast includes Petrushka, The Rite of Spring , and the St. Louis Symphony premiere of Les Noces, Stravinsky’s musical rendition of an ancient wedding written for four pianos, percussion and chorus. Guest soloists include soprano Dominique Labelle, mezzo-soprano Kelly O’Connor, tenor Thomas Cooley, and baritone Richard Paul Fink. The St. Louis Symphony Chorus will also be feature

Beginning this Wednesday, August 24, medici.tv will webcast eight concerts from the Annecy Classic Festival, set in France’s glorious Rhône-Alps region. The first concert presents works by Tchaikovsky, Liszt and Grieg, with Valery Gergiev leading his Mariinsky Orchestra and soloists Gautier Capuçon and Denis Matsuev. Among the other highlights, Capuçon and Matsuev will perform in separate concerts with Yuri Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Matsuev will give a solo recital. A full list of Annecy concerts can be found below. Now in its fifth summer, medici.tv is the go-to venue on the web for classical music lovers to enjoy the world’s greatest artists performing at the most exclusive festivals. Earlier this month, medici.tv gave its first webcast from the world-renowned Salzburg Festival: a concert in which Renée Fleming sang an all-Strauss program with the Vienna Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann. In July, medici.tv webcast more than 20 live events from Sw

San Francisco Opera presents the world premiere of Heart of a Soldier , a new opera by composer Christopher Theofanidis with a libretto by Donna Di Novelli. Commissioned by San Francisco Opera in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks, Heart of a Soldier is based on the critically acclaimed non-fiction book of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James B. Stewart and the life stories of Susan Rescorla, Rick Rescorla and Daniel J. Hill. The cast features baritone Thomas Hampson, tenor William Burden and soprano Melody Moore. Heart of a Soldier will premiere on Saturday, September 10, 2011—the eve of the tenth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks—as part of the Company’s 2011–12 repertory season. Six additional performances will be presented through September 30 at the War Memorial Opera House. Francesca Zambello will direct this world premiere production and San Francisco Opera Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Su

Boston Commemoration Event at The DCR Hatch Shell on The Esplanade Boston Pops Brass Ensemble, Conducted by James Orent will present a program of music, readings, poetry, prayers, and reflections as be a Tribute to America, the heroes and fallen of September 11th, and American service men and women who have served and are serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world. Diverse communities will gather together to look back, and look forward, reaffirming what makes America great, united by our shared values of security, liberty, and justice for all. Community Service Pavilion -- Embracing the spirit of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act designating Sept. 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance: Non-profit organizations created by 9/11 family members as well as other community-based non-profits, enabling the public to learn about and engage in service activities. Sunday, September 11, 2011 3:00p.m. The DCR Hatch Shell on the Esplanade, Boston, MA

Internationally-renowned French conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier leads Colorado Symphony in a thrilling evening of Berlioz, Mozart and Strauss in first Masterworks weekend of 2011/12 season Internationally-renowned French conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier leads the Colorado Symphony in a thrilling weekend of Berlioz, Mozart and Strauss on Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24 as the Colorado Symphony presents Strauss: A Space Odyssey. Tortelier, who holds the position of principal conductor of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, enjoys a distinguished career as a guest with the world’s most prestigious orchestras and makes his much-anticipated return to the Colorado Symphony in this Masterworks opening weekend. Immortalized in Stanley Kubrick's epic science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical novel of the same name. It delights with powerful brass, lustrous strings and sheer, exp

Includes Symphonies by Bruckner, Sibelius and Nielsen, Available September 13th One of the many milestones in Gustavo Dudamel’s career was his appointment as Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on April 12, 2006, a position he assumed with the start of the 2007–08 season. Outside of Venezuela this was Dudamel’s first appointment and his first long-term collaboration with a single ensemble. The collaboration has produced many exciting concerts and elicited high praise from the press and public alike. To celebrate Deutsche Grammophon will release a 3-CD box set of live recordings which includes symphonies by Bruckner, Sibelius and Nielsen, available September 13th. I listened to this album over the weekend. It was on my list of things to do, which typically means I'd get through it once while I was occupied with other things. Then my playlist would move on to other albums and I'd not notice. Boy was I wrong. The CD captured my attention 2&

Includes Symphonies by Bruckner, Sibelius and Nielsen, Available September 13th One of the many milestones in Gustavo Dudamel’s career was his appointment as Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on April 12, 2006, a position he assumed with the start of the 2007–08 season. Outside of Venezuela this was Dudamel’s first appointment and his first long-term collaboration with a single ensemble. The collaboration has produced many exciting concerts and elicited high praise from the press and public alike. To celebrate Deutsche Grammophon will release a 3-CD box set of live recordings which includes symphonies by Bruckner, Sibelius and Nielsen, available September 13th. I listened to this album over the weekend. It was on my list of things to do, which typically means I'd get through it once while I was occupied with other things. Then my playlist would move on to other albums and I'd not notice. Boy was I wrong. The CD captured my attention 2'

Continued from Milton Babbitt: an elegy gone awry pt. 1 New Music Lover #2: Do you mean John Adams? Oh, I think that both Babbitt and Carter, even Sessions, who composed several good pieces, "The Black Maskers" and a thorny but dramatic Violin Concerto, will have minor but secure places in music history, and somewhat larger places in the history of American art music. John Adams, after the current fashion dies down, will have next to no place whatsoever, as there is no real intrinsic merit in that music as far as I can detect. "Nixon in China" may be remembered for its superb libretto and as a period piece. No, John Adams will be placed somewhere below both John Harbison (whose work I admire), Steve Reich (a wonderful composer), and Alan Hovhaness (an underrated composer). Very far below, I should think, not on Karl Marx's "ash heap of history," but somewhere in the dark, unvisited recesses of the basement. Grad Student #1: Wrong. Adams name, du

Pack a picnic basket and get ready for an evening of jazz, Dixieland standards and light classics at a free concert in Central Park at Stapleton Join members of the Colorado Symphony Brass for a free concert at Central Park on Saturday, August 27 and enjoy a wonderful evening of jazz, Dixieland standards and light classics. Be sure to pack a picnic for this free event, which begins at 7 p.m. as a quintet of the Symphony’s brass players, including principal trumpet Justin Bartels, perform a lighthearted selection of audience favorites. Everyone is welcome at this family-friendly, community event. This event is generously sponsored by the City and County of Denver. A few tips on picnicking in the park: Glass of any kind, including bottles, is not permitted. Alcohol is not permitted. Bring a blanket or low beach chair. Seating is "first come first served."

The great thing about coming out to California is the chance to catch up with very dear friends. My wife & I lived on the Central Coast for over 15 years, so we've made some strong connections to the area. Along with those connections are people who are willing to be brutally honest and ask some really difficult question, just when we need a swift kick. These same friends also provide insight into who we are better than anyone else on Earth. If we ever succeed in our endeavors (for me: a working composer, for my wife: a published author) it will be in large part to the role our friends have played in keeping us honest, true to ourselves. The other night I was engaged in a conversation about what it takes to make "my" music, music that I thrill to rather than just something that someone else wants and/or needs. Wow, difficult question. Initially my response was to say options in music are so vast some form of limitation is necessary or else projects just meander

Day Two of the Days and Nights Festival brings Chamber Music to new Heights Philip Glass has written operas, symphonies and chamber music capturing the hearts of classical music lovers since in the sixties. While his style of repetitive structures has been dubbed "minimalist" there is nothing minimal about his music. His early works immersed the listeners in waves of subtle changes like a sonic weather storm sweeping across the sky. Last night the Days and Nights Festival presented an evening of chamber music featuring both the music of Philip Glass and Franz Schubert. You might think these two composers are an odd mix, but the combination not only featured each of the composers well, but highlighted how Glass reaches back to previous forms of music to create something new and how forward seeking Schubert was with his music. The concert opened with Pendulum by Philip Glass - a work for violin and piano with Tim Fain on violin and Philip Glass on pi

While Tomás Luis de Victoria ranks as one of the greatest Spanish composers of all time, his renown in recent decades has often been eclipsed by his Renaissance contemporaries Palestrina and Lassus. Seizing the opportunity of this year’s Victoria centenary, Michael Noone and his Ensemble Plus Ultra shine the spotlight on this unique Spanish genius revealing him as the equal of any composer of the High Renaissance—a towering composer whose works glow with the passion and vibrant tonal palette of El Greco. Ensemble Plus Ultra has newly recorded 93 works by Victoria to commemorate this anniversary, and Deutsche Grammophon & Archiv Produktion are proud to release this monumental 10-CD box set on September 27, 2011. Ensemble Plus Ultra’s thorough reassessment of these works confirms in sound what James Michener so perspicaciously observed in his classic travelogue Iberia: “He [Victoria] was the equal of Palestrina…the richness of his construction and the dramatic manner in whi

NYC’s Avian Orchestra presents: Vegetative States Five World Premieres of new music and video inspired by the world of botany in Greenville, Delaware (Sept. 24) and at The Cell in New York City (Sept. 26). New York City’s Avian Orchestra ( www.avianmusic.com ) returns this fall with a new program touching on the growth of vines, carnivorous plants, psychedelic gardens, and more. The concerts will feature world premieres by a lush and vibrant range of living American composers, including  Bret Battey, Max Duykers, Peter Flint,  and  Jonathan Newman , as well as arrangements by  Michael Gandolfi  from his symphony The Garden of Cosmic Speculation. The orchestra will be performing against a backdrop of video created by composers Bret Battey and Peter Flint with collaborator Katie Flint. Pre-show will include a audio/video installation piece by Peter Flint involving long term time lapse video of one of the last stands of old growth forest in Delaware. The Avian Orchestra is: Ann St

21C Media Group  is thrilled to announce that it now represents singer and actress  Audra McDonald  for press and public relations. With four Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and a long list of other accolades to her name, the Juilliard-trained soprano returns to performing live full-time this month following four seasons playing Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s hit television series  Private Practice . First, she makes her role debut as the title character in a new musical adaptation of the Gershwins’ folk opera,  Porgy and Bess . The production – co-starring Norm Lewis as Porgy and David Alan Grier as Sportin’ Life, and directed by the Tony-nominated Diane Paulus – begins previews today, August 17 and opens on August 31 at the  American Repertory Theater ’s home base of the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In December the production is slated to begin previews at the  Richard Rodgers Theatre  in New York City, marking McDonald’s first  Broadway  appearance since 2007, wh

What was it like that first week with Adam and Eve? Was the world quiet and serene with no tasks but the naming of animals? Were the sunrises slow and majestic? In many respects I feel the First year of the Days and Nights Festival has that same atmosphere - the world just unfolding with possibilities. This afternoon's performance of John Moran…and his neighbor, Saori was a theater piece thoroughly composed. Taking elements from several of John's operas', The Manson Family and The Book of the Dead , interspersed with a piece entitled "John's Opening" you get a glimpse at his style --crafted theater set to a tempo like a composition, but far more encompassing than any musical piece could convey. There are bits of dialog to the audience which at first seem disjointed and out of place, even to the point of making the audience uncomfortable. However, these bits eventually come around again, like a theme in a piece of music, to where we begin to understa

After a rousing opening night, the Days and Nights Festival is now in full swing and all the preparation has paid off! The excitement of the gala event is propelling us forward into an action packed weekend of wonderful chamber music as well as the inimitable John Moran + Saori. I had a chance to chat with John and Saori yesterday. The relax atmosphere felt like the perfect place to discuss the experience of being at the festival. With the remote location nestled in the hills of Carmel Valley, the fresh air and natural surroundings created a sense of openness to the conversation. We were joined by Tim Fain, violinist of the festival players to find out Tim and Saori are neighbors in New York. It's a small world and the Days and Nights Festival has just that sort of feel, intimate, welcoming with a air of accessibility to the music you just don't find anywhere else. But wait, the musicians performing here are world class. John Moran is a critically-acclaimed and

Mark Swed's Review of Yuja Wang at the Hollywood Bowl Continues to be the topic of the day WHY??? The furor over Yuja's dress amazes me. I've seen Yuja in concert three times. She is amazing... not just a little bit. If you aren't stunned by her ability at the piano, you're dead. This being the case, why is the outfit she wore at the Hollywood Bowl such an issue? Mark Swed does talk about her playing saying, "...there Wang was, projected in leering close-up on the Bowl’s video screens playing a superhuman concerto with unabashed cool." IMHO - 'nuf said. There is no reason to talk about her dress, no reason to say, "Her dress Tuesday was so short and tight that had there been any less of it, the Bowl might have been forced to restrict admission to any music lover under 18 not accompanied by an adult." Classical music artists are competing for audiences with popular music artists as well as other classical music artists.

Observances Include Full Day of Concerts on Sep 9 with Choirs from Regions Forever Linked by 9/11: New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania & Boston After September 11, 2001, it was in Trinity Wall Street and St. Paul’s Chapel – just a stone’s throw from Ground Zero – that many sought spiritual refuge. Now, ten years on, the 300-year-old Episcopal parish presents a wealth of musical offerings – all free, and open to the public – in its weeklong observance of the tenth anniversary of the attacks (Sept 4–12). Opening on Sunday, September 4 at 9am, when Trinity Wall Street’s Director of Music and the Arts Julian Wachner leads the resident Trinity Choir in an all-Fauré service, the week builds to a climax on Friday, September 9, with a full day of concerts featuring celebrated choirs from New York City, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, and Boston – regions forever linked by the tragic events of 9/11. After taking turns to give hourly performances throughout the day, the five adult choirs

Announced at a signing ceremony in Shanghai last Sunday, the New York Philharmonic has signed an agreement with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to collaborate on a new orchestra training institute in Shanghai, as well as a series of touring exchanges and joint commissioning of new works. The training institute, set to launch in 2013 in conjunction with the opening of a new concert hall for the Shanghai Symphony, will provide a graduate-level music instruction for 20 to 30 students. Every two to three months, groups of New York Philharmonic musicians and staff will travel to Shanghai where they will provide master classes and other intensive sessions, said Anastasia Boudanoque, a manager at Columbia Artists Management, which represents the Shanghai Symphony's touring activities.

When we start removing music history & theory courses and replacing them with more "popular" choices we are doing our future musicians a disservice. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but I have noticed a slow decline in the emphasis on music theory and history for young musicians. Other teachers have commented that class times for these subjects have been cut and there are threats to cut them even more. This is not a good trend, so I'm speaking out. Performers of today (and tomorrow) need to be well versed in a broad variety of styles, even if they plan to focus on only one era or on only contemporary music. The audience of today is vastly different than that of even 20 years ago, and as such, they listen differently. For an example of changing musical tastes, listen to a recording of Bernstein's Mahler and then to Tilson-Thomas or Boulez; the interpretations are very different. Part of the difference is due to an individual conductor’s style, bu

The “relentlessly inventive” ( New York Magazine ) new music institution  Bang on a Can  will celebrate its  25th anniversary season in 2011-2012  with performances around the world, featuring a broad selection of brand new musical adventures alongside a recommitment to acclaimed projects from past years. Bang on a Can performances this season take place in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Amsterdam, Bordeaux, London, Moscow, Glasgow, and in many other places throughout the U.S. and internationally. Projects for the 2011-2012 season include the  Bang on a Can All-Stars  in a dizzying array of collaborations with friends old and new – joining forces with Norwegian superstars  Trio Mediaeval  (in Julia Wolfe’s  Steel Hammer ); with percussion legend  Steven Schick  (in an evening of music by Steve Reich in Los Angeles’s Disney Hall, featuring  2x5  and  Music for 18 Musicians ); with an all-new expanded live tour of  Brian Eno’s ambient classic  Music for Airports ; and with

August 19th Ravinia Performance to Launch New Album Live performance on Chicago's WFMT Impromptu on August 17th On August 30th, the Cedille label will release Notable Women, the Lincoln Trio’s first full-length CD with a program of works by six contemporary female composers — rising stars as well as established names. The trio, international ambassadors of the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL, will perform the repertoire on the recording at Ravinia in Bennett Gordon Hall at 6pm on Friday, August 19th. After this concert the Lincoln Trio will participate in a post-concert CD signing where concertgoers can purchase the album prior to the public release date. On the album, the Lincoln Trio, presents the world-premiere recordings of Lera Auerbach’s Trio for violin, cello, and piano; Stacy Garrop’s Seven for piano trio; Laura Elise Schwendinger’s C’è la Luna Questa Sera?; and Joan Tower’s Trio Cavany. Rounding out the program are Augusta Read Thomas’s Moon Jig and Jennif

A Prize-Winner at the Recent International Chopin Competition, Wunder Gives an All-Chopin Recital The International Chopin Piano Competition has a long history of awarding prizes to pianists who go on to have major international careers. In addition, record labels have always shown interest in the competition and an award has many times helped propel an artist into the recording studio. Austrian pianist Ingolf Wunder is just such an artist having placed second at the most recent competition in 2010 and who now makes his Deutsche Grammophon debut with a recital of Chopin works for solo piano, available September 13 on CD, LP and as a download. Ingolf Wunder’s refined playing and extraordinary technique has been recognized in concerts and at competitions around the world. Prior to the Chopin Competition, Wunder had taken top prizes in Turin (European Music), Hamburg (Steinway), Feldkirch (“Prima la musica”), Asti (Concours Musical de France), Casarza (“VI Trofeo Internazionale