Events

* January 14 – Opening night gala concert at the

Philharmonie de Paris The Philharmonie de Paris () () is a complex of concert halls in Paris, France. The buildings also house exhibition spaces and rehearsal rooms. The main buildings are all located in the Parc de la Villette at the northeastern edge of Paris in the ...

Tom Service Tom Service (born 8 March 1976) is a Scottish writer, music journalist, and television and radio presenter. He has written regularly for ''The Guardian'' since 1999 and presented on BBC Radio 3 since 2001. He is a regular presenter of the Proms ...

"La Philharmonie de Paris: is this a new musical and social future for Paris?"
''The Guardian'' (Tom Service on classical music blog), January 15, 2015. * January 15 – The

Alabama Symphony Orchestra The Alabama Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra based in Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The po ...

announces the appointment of Carlos Izcaray as its next music director, as of September 2015. * January 19 – The Basel Sinfonietta announces the appointment of Baldur Brönnimann as its first-ever principal conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. * January 23 ** The Konzert Theater Bern announces the appointment of Kevin John Edusei as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2015–2016 season. ** The city of

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

announces the appointment of Peter Gülke as the next chief conductor of the ''Brandenburger Theater'' and of the

Brandenburger Symphoniker The Brandenburger Symphoniker is a German orchestra based in Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin ...

, effective with the 2015–2016 season. * January 28 ** The

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History ...

announces the appointment of

Jonathan Nott Jonathan Nott (born 25 December 1962, in Solihull, England) is an English conductor. Biography The son of a priest at Worcester Cathedral, Nott was a music student and choral scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, and also studied singing an ...

as its 10th music director and artistic director, effective January 2017. ** The

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

announces the appointment of

Mason Bates Mason Wesley Bates (born January 23, 1977) is a Grammy Award, Grammy award-winning United States, American composer of Orchestra, symphonic music and Disc jockey, DJ of electronic dance music. He is the first composer-in-residence of the John F. ...

as its first-ever composer-in-residence, effective with the 2015–2016 season, for a term of three years. * February 6: ** The Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra (''Düsseldorfer Symphoniker'') announces the appointment of

Ádám Fischer Ádám Fischer (born 9 September 1949 in Budapest) is a Hungarian conductor. He is the general music director of the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, chief conductor of the Danish Chamber Orchestra, and principal conductor of the Düsseldorf ...

as its next principal conductor. ** The

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

announces that Alan Gilbert is to conclude his tenure as the orchestra's music director after the 2016–2017 season. * February 8 – First US performance of the Felix Mendelssohn edition (1841, Leipzig) of the JS Bach ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

'' * February 12 **

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

announces its intention to remove

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

from its national portfolio of regularly funded UK arts organisations, and to change its funding arrangement from a three-year plan to a two-year plan, with stipulations that ENO reform its current business model. ** The

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The orchestra performs primarily at the Bradley Symphony Center in Allen-Bradley Hall. The orchestra also serves as the orchestra for Floren ...

announces that

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch retired conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019), chief conductor ...

is to conclude his tenure as the orchestra's music director after the 2016–2017 season. * February 18 – The

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

and the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

announce that

Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born on 20 February 1940 in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) as Christoph Ringmann. His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross), a ...

is to conclude his music directorship of both organisations after the 2016–2017 season. * February 22 – The

Bruckner Orchestra Linz The Bruckner Orchester Linz is an Austrian orchestra based in Linz. Named for Anton Bruckner, the orchestra is the concert orchestra for the state of Upper Austria, and also the opera orchestra at the Landestheater Linz (Upper Austrian State Theatr ...

and Linz Opera announce the appointment of

Markus Poschner Markus Poschner (born 1 February 1971) is a German conductor and pianist. Biography Born in Munich, Poschner studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich with Hermann Michael. His mentors and supporters included Sir Roger Norri ...

as their next chief conductor, effective in 2017. * February 26 – The

BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Media ...

announces the appointment of Mark Simpson as its next Composer-in-Association, effective September 2015. * February 27: ** The

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra The Auckland Philharmonia (formerly Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, APO) is a symphony orchestra based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its principal concert venue is the Auckland Town Hall, and it is also the accompanying ensemble for Auckland stage ...

announces the appointment of Giordano Bellincampi as its next music director, effective in 2016, with an initial contract of three years. ** The

Memphis Symphony Orchestra The Memphis Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Memphis, Tennessee. The orchestra's primary performing venue is the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. History Prior to the formation of the orchestra, classical orchestras had ...

announces the scheduled conclusion of the tenure of Mei-Ann Chen as its music director, after the end of the 2015–2016 season. ** The

Cincinnati May Festival The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral music, choral festival, held in May in Cincinnati, Ohio, US. History The festival's roots go back to the 1840s, when ''Saengerfests'' were held in that city, bringing singers from all over ...

announces that

James Conlon James Conlon (born March 18, 1950) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of Los Angeles Opera and principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra. Early years Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Che ...

is to stand down as its music director after the 2016 Festival, and subsequently to take the title of music director laureate. * March 3 – The

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

announces the appointment of Sir

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British conductor with German citizenship. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rat ...

as its next music director, effective September 2017, with an initial contract of five years. * March 4 – The New York Philharmonic announces that

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American film producer, record executive, and media proprietor. In music, he co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts in 1971 before founding Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1 ...

is to donate $100M USD to the orchestra for the renovation of

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designed by Max Abramovitz, was o ...

, with the proviso that the hall be renamed "David Geffen Hall" and bear the new name in perpetuity. * March 6 – Palm Beach Opera announces the appointment of David Stern as its next music director, effective June 1, 2015. * March 9 **

announces the appointment of Cressida Pollock, a management consultant, as its interim CEO. ** The

Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...

announces the appointments of

Roberto Abbado Roberto Abbado (born 30 December 1954 in Milan) is an Italian opera and symphonic music conductor. Currently he is an Artistic Partner of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In 2015 he has been appointed music director of Palau de les Arts Reina ...

and

Fabio Biondi Fabio Biondi (born 15 March 1961) is an Italian violinist and conductor. He is a specialist in Baroque and early music. Biography Born in Palermo, Sicily, Biondi had a late start, having never even held a violin till age 11, but by the followin ...

as its next joint music directors, and of

Ramón Tebar José Ramón Tebar Sáiz (November 6, 1978, Valencia, Spain) is a conductor and pianist, currently Principal Conductor at Florida Grand Opera. He is Artistic Director of Opera Naples. He was Music Director of the Festival of Santo Domingo ...

as its next principal guest conductor. * March 11 ** The

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional rad ...

announces the appointment of Thomas Dausgaard as its 11th chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. **

Simon Halsey Simon Halsey, CBE (born 8 March 1958) is an English choral conductor. He is the chorus director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus (CBSO Chorus), a position he has held since 1983, and has been chorus director of the London Symphony Choru ...

is announced as the recipient of the Queen's Medal for Music 2014. * March 16 –

Alan Buribayev Alan Buribayev (, ''Alan Börıbaev''; surname also spelled Buribaev in English) (born 30 May 1979) is a Kazakhs, Kazakh orchestral conductor. Career The son of a cellist/conductor father and a pianist mother, he studied violin and conducting a ...

becomes principal conductor of the Astana Opera House, Kazakhstan. * March 18 – The

Birmingham Conservatoire Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly research and doct ...

announces the appointment of

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julia ...

as its next Principal, after the scheduled retirement of David Saint, the current Principal, in June 2015. * March 19 – The

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

announces a new five-year recording contract with Decca Records. * April 3 ** The

Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (, OPMC) is an orchestra based in the Principality of Monaco. The orchestra gives concerts primarily in the Auditorium Rainier III, but also performs at the Salle des Princes in the Grimaldi Forum. History T ...

announces the appointment of

Kazuki Yamada Kazuki Yamada (山田和樹; born 26 January 1979) is a Japanese conductor. Biography Yamada was born in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture. He studied music, with a focus on percussion, at the Tokyo University of the Arts, where his conducting teach ...

as its next principal conductor and artistic director, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of three years. ** The

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

announces a new recording partnership with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

that focuses on the music of

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

. * April 9 – The

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian orchestra based in Adelaide, established in 1936. The orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Hall, but the ASO also performs in other venues. It provides the orchest ...

announces the appointment of Nicholas Carter as its next chief conductor, with an initial contract of two years. * April 14 – The

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; 25 September 19324 October 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was among the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian ...

Foundation announces its selection of

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

as the Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Laureate. * April 20 – The

Japan Philharmonic Orchestra The (JPO) is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, with administrative offices in Suginami. History The orchestra was established on June 22, 1956, as the exclusive subsidiary orchestra under the Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. Akeo Wata ...

announces the appointment of

Pietari Inkinen Pietari Inkinen (born 29 April 1980) is a Finnish violinist and conductor. Biography Inkinen was born in Kouvola, Finland, and began violin and piano studies at the age of 4. As a youth, he also performed in a rock band. He attended the Sibe ...

as its next chief conductor, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of three seasons. * April 21 –

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...

announces the appointment of Stuart Stratford as its next music director, effective June 1, 2015. * April 24 – The

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...

announces the appointment of Sir Andrew Davis as its new Conductor Emeritus. * April 28 – The

Zurich Chamber Orchestra The Zurich Chamber Orchestra (Zürcher Kammerorchester; ZKO, German abbreviation) is a Swiss Orchestra, chamber orchestra based in Zurich. The ZKO's principal concert venue in Zurich is the Tonhalle (Zürich), Tonhalle. The ZKO also performs in Zu ...

announces the appointment of Daniel Hope as its next music director, effective in 2016. * May 1 – The 2015 Malko Competition for conductors announces Tung-Chieh Chuang as this year's winner. * May 8 –

Symphony Number One Symphony Number One (SNO) is a chamber orchestra primarily devoted to new music based in Baltimore, Maryland. SNO performs each year in musical venues in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, at Morgan State University, and across the city. Jordan Randall Sm ...

gives its debut concert at the Baltimore War Memorial. * May 12 – The

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) () is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both ...

announces the appointment of

Huw Watkins Huw Thomas Watkins (born 13 July 1976) is a British composer and pianist. Born in South Wales, he studied piano and composition at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, where he received piano lessons from Peter Lawson. He then went on to r ...

as its next Composer-in-Association, for the period 2015–2018. * May 26 – The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

announces the appointment of David Pickard as the next Director of the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

. * June 3 – The

Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur The Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur is a Swiss symphony orchestra based in Winterthur, Switzerland at its namesake venue, the Musikkollegium Winterthur. The orchestra performs around 60 concerts a year, and in addition to orchestra concerts, ...

announces the appointment of

Thomas Zehetmair Thomas Zehetmair (born 23 November 1961) is an Austrian violinist and conductor. Biography Zehetmair was born in Salzburg, and studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, where both of his parents taught. His festival debut was at age 16. He was in ...

as its next principal conductor, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of three seasons. * June 9 – The

RAI National Symphony Orchestra The RAI National Symphony Orchestra () is an Italian symphony radio orchestra, owned by the public radio and television company RAI. Its primary concert venue is the Auditorium RAI in the Piazza Rossaro in Turin. Its concerts are broadcast on Ra ...

announces the appointment of

as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. * June 10 – The

Regina Symphony Orchestra The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the Regina Orchestral Society in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year. Becoming the Regina Choral and Orchestral Society in 1 ...

announces the appointment of Gordon Gerrard as its next music director, effective with the 2016–2017 season. * June 11 – The

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...

announces the appointment of

Daniel Harding Daniel John Harding (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor and airplane pilot. Biography Harding was born in Oxford. He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, ...

as its 9th principal conductor, effective September 2016. * June 12 – Queen's Birthday Honours 2015 **

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, TOSD (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is Jam ...

and

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins, , Honorary Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, HonFLSW (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus (song), Adiemus" (1995, from the Adi ...

are each made

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

. ** Sir

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English conductor and violinist. Described as "one of the world's greatest conductors", Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ra ...

is made a

Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The ord ...

. **

and

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage (born 10 June 1960) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Life and career Mark-Anthony Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex on 10 June 1960. Turnage was the eldest of three children. His parents were lov ...

are each made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. * June 17 – The

Residentie Orchestra Het Residentie Orkest (; known also in English as ''Residentie Orkest The Hague'') is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. The orchestra is currently resident at the Amare performing arts centre in The Hague. History Henri Viotta founded the orch ...

announces the appointment of

Nicholas Collon Nicholas Collon (born 7 February 1983 in London) is a British conductor. Biography A viola player, organist and pianist by training, Collon played viola in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYOGB). He studied at Eton and was an org ...

as its co-principal conductor, effective August 1, 2016, for a minimum term of three years. * June 19 – Jongmin Park wins the Song Prize in the 2015 Cardiff Singer of the World competition. * June 21 **

Nadine Koutcher Nadine Koutcher (, born 18 May 1983) is a Belarusian opera singer. A dramatic coloratura soprano, she was the winner of the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Life Koutcher was born in Minsk in 1983. In 2003 she graduated from ...

wins the final, Main Prize of the 2015 Cardiff Singer of the World competition. ** Amartuvshin Enkhbat is the winner of the Audience Prize of the 2015 Cardiff Singer of the World competition. * June 22 – The

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

announces its election of

Kirill Petrenko Kirill Garrievich Petrenko (, Latin script: ; born 11 February 1972) is a Russian-Austrian conductor. He is chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. Early life Petrenko was born in Omsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, to a violinist father and m ...

as its next chief conductor. * June 29 ** The

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the New Zealand Government, per the New Zealand Symphony ...

announces the appointment of

as its next music director, effective in 2016. ** The

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...

announces the appointment of

Christian Thielemann Christian Thielemann (born 1 April 1959) is a German conductor. He is Generalmusikdirektor of the Berlin State Opera (''Staatsoper Unter den Linden'') and chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Berlin. Biography and career Born in West Berlin, ...

as its music director. ** The

European Union Youth Orchestra The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) is a youth orchestra with members drawn from the 27 members states of the European Union. Since its foundation in 1976, it has connected music colleges and the professional music world for generations ...

announces the appointments of

Vasily Petrenko Vasily Eduardovich Petrenko (; born 7 July 1976) is a Russian-British conductor. He is currently music director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Biography Of Russian and Ukrainian ancestry, Petrenko was born in Leningrad, USSR. He attend ...

as its next chief conductor effective September 2015, and of

Bernard Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink (; 4 March 1929 – 21 October 2021) was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to Lond ...

as its conductor laureate with immediate effect. * June 30 – The

Sinfonieorchester Basel The Sinfonieorchester Basel (Symphony Orchestra Basel; Swiss abbreviation SOB) is a symphony orchestra based in Basel, Switzerland. Its principal concert venue is the ''Musiksaal'' of the Stadtcasino. In addition, the orchestra accompanies balle ...

announces the appointment of

Ivor Bolton Ivor Bolton Ivor Bolton (born 17 May 1958) is an English conductor and harpsichordist. Early life and education Bolton was born in Blackrod, Greater Manchester, England. He studied at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn and Clare C ...

as its next chief conductor, as of the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of four years. * July 2 – The

Beethoven Orchester Bonn The Beethoven Orchester Bonn is a German symphony orchestra based in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. It dates back to 1907, when a professional orchestra was established. Named for Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn, the orchestra's princ ...

announces the appointment of

Christof Perick Christof Prick (born 1946) is a German orchestra conducting, conductor. He uses the name Christof Perick in English-speaking countries. His father was the concertmaster of the Hamburg Philharmonic. Biography Born in Hamburg, Prick studied at th ...

as its interim ''Generalmusikdirektor'' for the 2016–2017 season. * July 3 – The

Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar The (DNT), or German National Theater and Weimar State Orchestra, is the most significant arts organization in Weimar. The institution unites the (German National Theater) with the (Weimar State Orchestra). It plays on a total of six stages ...

announce the appointment of

Kirill Karabits Kirill Karabits (; born 26 December 1976) is a Ukrainian conductor. Biography Early life The son of the conductor and composer Ivan Karabyts, Karabits was born in Kyiv (then in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union). In his youth, Karabits s ...

as its next ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) and chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of three years. * July 10 –

announces the departure of John Berry as artistic director. * August 6 – The Ames Stradivarius violin, stolen from

Roman Totenberg Roman Totenberg (January 1, 1911 – May 8, 2012) was a Polish-American violinist and educator. A child prodigy, he lived in Poland, Moscow, Berlin, and Paris, before formally immigrating to the U.S. in 1938, at age 27. He performed and taught ...

in 1980, is returned to Totenberg's family in New York City. * August 7 – The Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra announces that

Sarah Ioannides Sarah Ioannides (born 1972, Canberra) is a British conductor, collaborator, and multimedia producer living in the United States. She is currently the music director of Symphony Tacoma, the founding artistic director of Cascade Conducting and Com ...

is to conclude her tenure with the orchestra after the 2016–2017 season. * August 13 ** The

Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it curr ...

announces the appointment of

Riccardo Chailly Riccardo Chailly (, ; born 20 February 1953) is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and of La Scala. Prior to this, he held chief conducting positions at the Gewandhausorchester (2005–20 ...

as the next music director of the

Lucerne Festival Orchestra The Lucerne Festival Orchestra is a European ''ad hoc'' seasonal orchestra based at the annual Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. History The Lucerne Festival had featured a resident orchestra as far back as 1938, with Arturo Toscanini conducting ...

, effective with the 2016 Lucerne Festival, with an initial contract of five years. ** The

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

announces that Mary Jo Heath is to be the new radio host for the Metropolitan Opera Saturday radio broadcasts, effective in September 2015. * August 17 – The

Lahti Symphony Orchestra The Lahti Symphony Orchestra (''Sinfonia Lahti'') is a Finland, Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. The orchestra is resident at the Sibelius Hall. The orchestra was founded in 1910, and placed under the control of the Lahti municipali ...

announces the appointment of Dima Slobodeniouk as its next principal conductor, effective in the autumn of 2016, with an initial contract of three seasons. * August 24 – The

Theater Bonn Theater Bonn (also known as the Stadttheater Bonn) is the municipal theatre company of Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is an organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts. It operates several performance venu ...

announces the appointment of

Jacques Lacombe Jacques Lacombe, (born July 14, 1963 in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec) is a Canadian conductor. Biography Lacombe began his musical learning with choral singing. He later trained as an organist, and continued his studies at the Conservatoire de ...

as the new chief conductor of Bonn Opera, effective with the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of two years. * September 2 –

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

announces the appointment of

Alain Altinoglu Alain Altinoglu (born 9 October 1975) is a French conductor of Armenian descent, and an academic teacher. He is chief conductor of both the La Monnaie opera in Brussels and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and has conducted at international opera ...

as its next music director, effective January 2016. * September 3 – The

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

announces that

is to conclude his tenure as ''Gewandhauskapellmeister'' in June 2016, four years ahead of their most recent contract agreement. * September 4 ** At a conference of the International Musicological Society in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Natalya Braginskaya announced the re-discovery of an early orchestral work of

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

, ''Pogrebal'naya Pesnya'' (''Funeral Song''), which had gone missing since its only performance in January 1909. ** The

announces the appointments of

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (; 13 March 1952 – 27 July 2024) was a German composer of contemporary classical music and an academic teacher based in Karlsruhe. He was an influential post-war European composer, as "one of the most original and independent mus ...

as the new director of the

Lucerne Festival Academy The Lucerne Festival Academy is an orchestra-sized educational institution devoted exclusively to the interpretation and performance of contemporary classical music. It has taken place each summer since 2003 in the Swiss city of Lucerne as part of t ...

, and of

Matthias Pintscher Matthias Pintscher (born 29 January 1971) is a German composer, conductor and academic teacher. Biography Pintscher was born in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia. As a youth, he studied the violin and conducting. He began his music studies with Gise ...

as principal conductor of the Lucerne Festival Academy. * September 7 – The

Bamberg Symphony The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a renowned German orchestra top-class orchestra that has been residing in Bamberg since its foundation in 1946 and travels the world as a touring orchestra. ...

announces the appointment of

Jakub Hrůša Jakub Hrůša (born 23 July 1981 in Brno) is a Czech conductor. He is chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony. Education Hrůša is the son of the architect . There were no professional musicians in his family who were drawn mainly from technica ...

as its next chief conductor, as of the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of five seasons. * September 9 – The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra announces the appointment of

Andris Nelsons Andris Nelsons (born 18 November 1978) is a Latvian conductor. He is currently music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and ''Gewandhauskapellmeister'' of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was previously music director of the Lat ...

as its 21st ''Gewandhauskapellmeister'', effective with the 2017–2018 season, with an initial contract of five seasons. * September 11: **

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in p ...

's 80th birthday is celebrated worldwide. ** The Zuger Sinfonietta announces the appointment of Daniel Huppert as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. * September 13 – The

Chineke! Orchestra Chineke! Orchestra () is a British orchestra, the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black & ethnically diverse musicians. The word Chineke derives from the Igbo language meaning "God". The orchestra was founded by m ...

, the first black and minority ethnic orchestra in Europe, gives its ensemble debut concert at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

, London. * September 15 ** The Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of

Stefan Sanderling Stefan Sanderling (born 2 August 1964 in East Berlin, East Germany) is an orchestral conductor. He is the son of the conductor Kurt Sanderling and the double-bass player Barbara Sanderling. His half-brother is the conductor Thomas Sanderling. H ...

as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. ** The

Colorado Symphony Orchestra The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Perfor ...

announces that Andrew Litton is to stand down from his post as the orchestra's music director after the 2015–2016 season, and to become the orchestra's artistic advisor and principal guest conductor through the 2017–2018 season. * September 16 – The

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is an annual Festival dedicated to contemporary symphonic music by living composers. The music director since 2017 has been Cristian Măcelaru. According to Jesse Rosen, CEO of the League of American Orc ...

announces that

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop (; born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor. She is the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate of the Baltimor ...

is to conclude her tenure as its director in August 2016. * September 18 – The

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has a ...

announces the appointment of

Vladimir Jurowski Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (;() born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conducting, conductor resident in Germany. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski. Early life B ...

as its next chief conductor. * September 21: ** English National Opera formalises the full appointments of Harry Brünjes as chairman, with immediate effect, and of Cressida Pollock as chief executive officer, for an additional three years. ** The

Munich Chamber Orchestra The Munich Chamber Orchestra (, or MKO) is a German chamber orchestra based in Munich. Its primary concert venue is the Prinzregententheater, Munich. The MKO also gives concerts in Munich at such venues as the Pinakothek der Moderne and the ', an ...

announces the appointment of Clemens Schuldt as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of three years. ** The Dalasinfoniettan announces the appointment of Daniel Blendulf as its next chief conductor, with immediate effect, with an initial contract of three years. * September 22 –

San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...

announces the appointment of Matthew Shivlock as its 7th general director, effective July 2016. * September 23 –

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...

announces the appointments of Tomáš Hanus as its next music director as of the 2016–2017 season, and of Carlo Rizzi as its conductor laureate with immediate effect. * September 27 – The world premiere of the eight-hour version of ''Sleep'', composed by Max Richter in collaboration with David Eagleman, occurred at the

Wellcome Collection Wellcome Collection is a museum and library based at 183 Euston Road, London, England, displaying a mixture of medical artefacts and original artworks exploring "ideas about the connections between medicine, life and art". Founded in 2007, the W ...

and was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, the single longest musical composition ever broadcast live in the history of the BBC. * October 1: **

Gotham Chamber Opera Gotham Chamber Opera was a professional opera company located in New York City. The company was founded in 2000 under the name of the Henry Street Chamber Opera by Artistic Director Neal Goren and specialized in producing rarely performed chamber ...

announces immediate cessation of operations, because of a fiscal deficit that the company judged itself unable to redeem. ** The Memphis Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Robert Moody as its new principal conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of two years. ** PIAS officially takes full control of the music assets of harmonia mundi. * October 5 – Camerata Notturna announces the appointment of Gemma New as its next principal conductor. * October 6 – The

Iceland Symphony Orchestra Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) (ISO) is an Icelandic orchestra based in Reykjavík. Its primary concert venue is the Harpa (concert hall), Harpa Concert Hall. The Iceland Symphony is an autonomous public institution u ...

announces the appointment of

Yan Pascal Tortelier Yan Pascal Tortelier (born 19 April 1947) is a French conductor and violinist. Biography Born in Paris, Tortelier is the son of the cellist Paul Tortelier, and the brother of Maria de la Pau. Tortelier began piano and violin studies at age 4. A ...

as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of three years. * October 8 – The

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families ...

announces the appointment of

Robin Ticciati Robin Ticciati (born 16 April 1983, in London) is a British conductor of Italian ancestry. Biography Ticciati's paternal grandfather, Niso Ticciati, was a composer, arranger, cellist, and keyboardist. His father is a barrister, and his mother ...

as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2017–2018 season, with an initial contract of five years. * October 13 – The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra announces that Kirill Petrenko is formally to begin his tenure as its new chief conductor with the 2019–2020 season. * October 14 –

Opera Lyra Ottawa Opera Lyra Ottawa (OLO) was a non-profit professional opera company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1984 by Canadian soprano Diana Gilchrist after the demise of the National Arts Centre's annual summer opera productions. The com ...

announces immediate cessation of operations, citing insufficient revenue and funding. * October 23 – The

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...

announces the appointment of

Alondra de la Parra Alondra de la Parra (born 1980) is a Mexican conductor. Early life and education Alondra de la Parra was born in New York City, the daughter of Manelick de la Parra, a writer and editor, and Graciela Borja, a sociologist and educator. Her fat ...

as its first-ever music director, effective in 2017, the first conductor ever to have the title of music director with an Australian orchestra, and the orchestra's first female conductor in a leadership post. * November 5 – The

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

announces Martha Argerich as the 101st recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal. * November 9 –

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is an American summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the ...

announces that music director Stephen Lord is to stand down from the post after the 2017 season, and to take the title of music director emeritus. * November 11 – Orchestras Live announces the appointment of Sarah Derbyshire as its next chief executive. * November 16 – The

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra The New Jersey Symphony, formerly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), is an American symphony orchestra based in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Symphony is the state orchestra of New Jersey, performing classical subscription concer ...

announces the appointment of Xian Zhang as its 14th music director, as of the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of four years. * November 17 –

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

announces the appointment of Sebastian F. Schwarz as its next general director, effective in May 2016. * November 18 ** The

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester) and originally fe ...

announces the appointment of Alexis Paterson as its new chief executive, effective in January 2016. ** The Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie announces the appointment of Garry Walker as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2017–018 season. * November 24 – The Grawemeyer Foundation announces

Hans Abrahamsen Hans Abrahamsen (born 23 December 1952) is a Danish composer born in Kongens Lyngby near Copenhagen. His ''Let me tell you (Abrahamsen), Let me tell you'' (2013), a song cycle for soprano and orchestra, was ranked by music critics at ''The Guard ...

as the winner of the 2016 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, for his song cycle ''let me tell you''. * December 1 – The

announces the appointment of Xian Zhang as its next principal guest conductor, the first female conductor ever named to a titled post with any BBC orchestra. * December 2 –

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) is a British chamber ensemble based in Birmingham, England specialising in the performance of Contemporary classical music, new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symph ...

announces the appointment of Christoph Trestler as its new chair. * December 3 – The

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...

announces that

Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...

is to conclude his tenure as the orchestra's music director after the 2017–018 season, and subsequently to take the title of music director emeritus. * December 5 –

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical ...

announces via his website that he is retiring from conducting, the day before his 86th birthday, wi–h a handwritten note scanned to his website. This note is reproduced in the concert programme of the

Concentus Musicus Wien Concentus Musicus Wien (CMW) is an Austrian baroque music ensemble based in Vienna. The CMW is recognized as a pioneer of the period-instrument performance movement. History Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Alice Harnoncourt co-founded the CMW in 19 ...

the next day at the Musikverein, Vienna, on the actual day of his 86th birthday. * December 8 – The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra announces Bethan Morgan-Williams as the winner of its first annual Christopher Brooks Composition Prize. * December 9 – The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden announces that

Kasper Holten Kasper Holten (born 29 March 1973) is a Danish stage director. From 2011 until 2017 he was Director of Opera for the Royal Opera House in London. He is Vice President of the Board of the European Academy of Music Theatre. Career Born in Copenhag ...

is to leave the post of Director of Music in March 2017. * December 16 – The

Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra ( Bulgarian: Симфоничен оркестър на Българското национално радио) is a Bulgarian radio orchestra based in Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia is the Capital cit ...

announces the appointment of Rossen Gergov as its next chief conductor, effective January 2016. * December 22 –

Anonymous 4 Anonymous 4 was an American female ''a cappella'' quartet, founded in 1986 and based in New York City. Their main performance genre was medieval music, although later they also premiered works by recent composers such as John Tavener and Steve R ...

gives their final live concert performance at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

in New York City before formally disbanding. * December 29 –

Myung-whun Chung Myung-whun Chung (; born 22 January 1953) is a South Korean conductor and pianist. Career Performer Chung studied piano with Maria Curcio and won joint second-prize in the 1974 International Tchaikovsky Competition. He performed in the Chun ...

submits his resignation as music director of the

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is a South Korean orchestra based in Seoul. Founded in 1945, it is one of the oldest orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia ...

. * December 30 –

Angela Hewitt Angela Hewitt (born July 26, 1958) is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for her Bach interpretations. Career Hewitt was born in Ottawa, Ontario, daughter of the Yorkshire-born Godfrey Hewitt (thus she also has British nationality) ...

is appointed a

Companion of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the ...

. * December 31 ** New Year's Honours 2016 ***

Radu Lupu Radu Lupu (30 November 1945 – 17 April 2022) was a Romanian pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time. Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teache ...

is made a

. ***

Steuart Bedford Steuart John Rudolf Bedford (31 July 1939 – 15 February 2021) was an English orchestral and opera conductor and pianist. He was the brother of composer David Bedford and of singer Peter Lehmann Bedford and a grandson of Liza Lehmann and H ...

, Leslie East,

Malcolm Martineau Malcolm Martineau, OBE (born 3 February 1960) is a Scottish pianist who is particularly noted as an accompanist. Life Martineau was born to the pianist Hester Dickson Martineau and Canon George Martineau in 1960. He was an only child but he had ...

and Helen Odell-Miller are each made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. *** Catherine Arlidge,

Alina Ibragimova Alina Rinatovna Ibragimova (; born 28 September 1985) is a Russian-British violinist. Early life and education Ibragimova was born in Polevskoy, Russian SSR, to a Tatar family. Her family was musical, and she began playing the violin at ...

, Michael McCarthy, and Michael Rafferty are each made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. ** Finchcocks Musical Museum in

Goudhurst Goudhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies in the Weald, around south of Maidstone, on the crossroads of the A262 and B2079. The parish consists of three wards: Goudhurst, Kilndown a ...

closes permanently.

New works

The following composers' works were composed, premiered, or published this year, as noted in the citation.

A

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

** Second Quartet ** '' Scheherazade.2'' (symphony for violin and orchestra) *

John Luther Adams John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953) is an American composer whose music is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska, where he lived from 1978 to 2014. His orchestral work ''Become Ocean'' was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize ...

– ''Across the Distance'' *

Eleanor Alberga Eleanor Deanne Therese Alberga (born 30 September 1949) is a Jamaican contemporary music composer who lives and works in the United Kingdom. Her most recent compositions include two Violin Concertos, a Trumpet Concerto and a Symphony. Career E ...

– ''Arise, Athena!'' *

Julian Anderson Julian Anderson (born 6 April 1967) is a British composer and teacher of composition. Biography Anderson was born in London. He studied at Westminster School, then with John Lambert at the Royal College of Music, with Alexander Goehr at Cambr ...

** ''In lieblicher Bläue'' (Violin Concerto) ** ''Van Gogh Blue'' * B Tommy Andersson – ''Pan'' *

Timo Andres Timo Andres (born Timothy Andres in 1985 in Palo Alto, California) is an American composer and pianist. He grew up in rural Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Biography After growing up in rural Connecticut, an environment that greatl ...

– ''Strong Language'' (for string quartet) * Cathy Applegate – ''Piano Concertantrum'' (composed 2012–2013; premiered March 2015) *

Richard Ayres Richard Ayres (born 29 October 1965) is a British composer and music teacher. Biography Born in Cornwall, England, Richard Ayres followed Morton Feldman's classes at the Darmstadt and Dartington summer schools. He studied Musical composition, c ...

– ''No 48'' (In the Night Studio)

B

* David Balasanyan ** ''Six Microludes'', for piano ** ''Monument'', for piano and tape *

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

– ''The Lanterne of Light'' * Gerald Barry – ''The One-Armed Pianist'' *

Sally Beamish Sarah Frances Beamish (born 26 August 1956) is a British composer and violist. Her works include chamber, vocal, choral and orchestral music. She has also worked in the field of music, theatre, film and television, as well as composing for ch ...

– "Be still" (Introit) *

Luke Bedford Luke Bedford (born 25 April 1978) is a British composer. He studied composition with Edwin Roxburgh and Simon Bainbridge at the Royal College of Music, and won the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 2000. This was followed by post-graduate study with Si ...

** ''Instability'' ** Saxophone Quartet * Fiona Bennett – ''The New Lady Radnor's Suite'' *

Judith Bingham Judith Bingham (born 21 June 1952) is an English composer and mezzo-soprano singer. She was a member of the BBC Singers from 1983 to 1995. She is a Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music. Bingham won the 1977 BBC Young Composer Award, an ...

** ''Ghostly Grace'' ** ''Zodiack'' *

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

** ''The Cure'' ** ''The Silk House Sequences'' *

Victoria Borisova-Ollas Victoria Borisova-Ollas (born 21 December 1969) is a Russian-Swedish composer who first received international recognition for her symphonic poem ''Wings of the Wind'' which won second prize in the 1998 Masterprize International Composition Com ...

– ''... and time is running past midnight ...'' *

Mark Bowden Mark Bowden (; born 1951) is an American journalist and writer. He is a former national correspondent and longtime contributor to ''The Atlantic''. Bowden is best known for his book ''Black Hawk Down (book), Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern W ...

and

Owen Sheers Owen Sheers (born 20 September 1974) is a Welsh poet, author, playwright and television presenter. He was the first writer-in-residence to be appointed by any national rugby union team. Early life Owen Sheers was born in Suva, Fiji, and was ...

– ''A Violence of Gifts'' *

Luc Brewaeys Luc Brewaeys (25 October 1959 in Mortsel, Belgium – 18 December 2015 in Antwerp, Belgium) was a Belgian composer, conductor, pianist and recording producer at the VRT (Flemish Radio & Television). He studied composition with André Laporte in Br ...

– ''Sonnets to Sundry Notes''

C

* Gary Carpenter – ''Dadaville'' *

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...

– ''The American Sublime'' *

Friedrich Cerha Friedrich Cerha (; 17 February 1926 – 14 February 2023) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and academic teacher. His ensemble in Vienna was instrumental in spreading contemporary music in Austria. He composed several operas, beginning with ...

– ''Piccola Commèdia'' *

Unsuk Chin Unsuk Chin ( ; born July 14, 1961) is a South Korean composer of contemporary classical music, who is based in Berlin, Germany. Chin was a self-taught pianist from a young age and studied composition at Seoul National University as well as with ...

– ''Mannequin – Tableaux vivants for orchestra'' * Pete Churchill – ''Echoes: A Song of Poland'' * James Clapperton – ''Northern Sky'' *

Anna Clyne Anna Clyne (born 9 March 1980) is an English composer resident in the United States. She has worked in both acoustic music and electroacoustic music. Biography Born on 9 March 1980 in London, Clyne began writing music as a child, completing her ...

– ''The Seamstress'' * Edward Cowie – ''Three Spitfire Motets'''BBC Singers at RAF Museum' programme, 18 September 2015
/ref> * Paul Crabtree – ''O Icarus'' *

Laurence Crane Laurence Crane (born 1961 in Oxford) is a British composer of contemporary classical music. Career Laurence Crane is closely associated with the ensemble Apartment House, who have given over 40 performances of his works. Some performances th ...

– Chamber Symphony No 2 ("The Australian")

D

Richard Danielpour Richard Danielpour (born January 28, 1956) is an American composer and academic, currently affiliated with the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of California, Los Angeles. Early life Danielpour was born in New York City of Persian Jew ...

– ''Of Love and Longing'' *

Tansy Davies Tansy Davies (born 29 May 1973, Bristol) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. She won the BBC Young Composers' Competition in 1996 and has written works for ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orc ...

– ''Re-greening'' *

Luis de Pablo Luis de Pablo Costales (28 January 1930 – 10 October 2021) was a Spanish composer belonging to the generation that Cristóbal Halffter named ''the Generación del 51''. Mostly self-taught as a composer and influenced by Maurice Ohana and Max ...

- ''Pensieri'' (Rhapsody for Flute and Orchestra) *

Bryce Dessner Bryce David Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American composer and guitarist based in Paris, and a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother, Aaron is also a member of the group. Together, they write the music in collabo ...

– ''Quilting'' * Zosha Di Castri – ''Dear Life'' *

Hugues Dufourt Hugues Dufourt () is a French composer and philosopher associated with the spectral school of composition. Born in Lyon on September 28, 1943, Dufourt studied piano and composition at the Geneva Conservatory. Dufourt became co-director of the E ...

– ''Ombre portée'' *

Frédéric Durieux Frédéric Durieux (born 27 February 1959, Paris) is a French composer of orchestral, vocal, and chamber works. He is a professor of composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice an ...

– ''Entscheiden'' *

Richard Dünser Richard Dünser (born 1 May 1959) is an Austrian composer of stage works, orchestral music and chamber music, among others. Life Born in Bregenz, Dünser studied composition after his Matura first at the of his hometown and later at the Vienn ...

– ''Entreacte'' *

Benjamin Dwyer Benjamin Dwyer (born 3 August 1965) is an Irish composer, guitarist and musicologist. Life Dwyer was born in Dublin and studied the classical guitar at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama, Dublin, and at the Royal Academy of Music, London. ...

- ''Nocturnal, after Benjamin Britten''

E

Jason Eckardt Jason Eckardt (born 17 May 1971 in Princeton, New Jersey) is an American composer. He began his musical life playing guitar in heavy metal and jazz bands and abruptly moved to composing after discovering the music of Anton Webern. Compositions ...

- ''Practical Alchemy'' * Benjamin Ellin – ''Miyabi'' – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra *

Thierry Escaich Thierry Joseph-Louis Escaich (born 8 May 1965) is a French organist and composer. Life Born in Nogent-sur-Marne, Escaich studied organ, improvisation and composition at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), where he won eight First Prizes a ...

– ''Concerto for Orchestra''

F

Mohammed Fairouz Mohammed Fairouz (born November 1, 1985) is an American composer. He is one of the most frequently performed composers of his generation and has been described by Daniel J. Wakin of ''The New York Times'' as an "important new artistic voice". ...

– ''Locales'' (composed 2014; premiered February 14, 2015) *

Ivan Fedele Ivan Fedele (born 6 May 1953 in Lecce) is an Italian composer. He studied at the Milan Conservatory. Fedele's compositions are published by Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, and many of his works are recorded on Stradivarius Records. Selected works ; ...

– ''Hommagesquisse'' *

David Fennessy David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

– ''Hirta Rounds'' *

Lorenzo Ferrero Lorenzo Ferrero (; born 1951) is an Italian composer, librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and has written over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral, ...

** ''Country Life'', for saxophone and piano ** ''A Night in Nashville'', for saxophone and piano *

Michael Finnissy Michael Peter Finnissy (born 17 March 1946) is an English composer, pianist, and pedagogue. An immensely prolific composer, his music is "notable for its dramatic urgency and expressive immediacy". Although he rejects the label, he is often reg ...

– ''Janne'' * Alan Fletcher ** Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra ** ''On a winter's night a traveler'' * Cheryl Frances-Hoad – ''From the Beginning of the World'' * Peter Fribbins – Violin Concerto * Vivian Fung – Violin Concerto No 2 ('Of Snow and Ice')

G

Michael Gandolfi Michael James Gandolfi (born July 5, 1956) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He chairs the composition department at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC). Gandolfi was born in Melrose, Massachusetts. He taught hims ...

– ''Ascending Light'' *

– Concerto for Two Pianos *

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; 10 August 1932 – 26 August 2024) was a German-born English composer of contemporary classical music and academic teacher. A long-time professor of music at the University of Cambridge, Goehr influenced many notable c ...

** Variations (''Homage to Haydn''), for solo piano ** Seven Impromptus, Op. 96, for two pianos *

Iain Grandage Iain Andrew Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as artistic director. Early life Grandage initially lived in B ...

– ''Dances with Devils'' (percussion concerto) *

Helen Grime Helen Grime (born 1981) is a Scottish composer of contemporary classical music. Her work, ''Virga'', was selected as one of the best ten new classical works of the 2000s by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Early life Grime's grandparents ...

– Concerto for clarinet and trumpet *

HK Gruber Heinz Karl "Nali" Gruber (born 3 January 1943), who styles himself HK Gruber professionally, is an Austrian composer, conductor, double bass player and singer. He is a leading figure of the so-called Third Viennese School. Career Gruber is said ...

– ''into the open...'' *

Barry Guy Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London, England) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of or ...

– ''Mr Babbage is Coming to Dinner''

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Georg Friedrich Haas Georg Friedrich Haas (born 16 August 1953) is an Austrian composer. In a 2017 ''Classic Voice'' poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000, pieces by Haas received the most votes (49), and his composition ''in vain'' (2000) topped the li ...

** "I can't breathe" (In memoriam Eric Garner) ** Saxophone Quartet *

Chris Paul Harman Chris Paul Harman (born 19 November 1970) is a Canadian composer of contemporary classical music. He grew up in Toronto, attending Maurice Cody Public School, then North Toronto Collegiate Institute. He is currently a Professor of music compos ...

– ''Lieder und Arien'' *

Jennifer Higdon Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Awards for Best Contemp ...

** ''Civil Words'' ** Viola Concerto *

Robin Holloway Robin Greville Holloway (born 19 October 1943) is an English composer, academic and writer. Early life Holloway was born in Leamington Spa. From 1953 to 1957, he was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was educated at King's College School, ...

** ''Soldered Schumann'' ** ''Silvered Schubert'' ** ''Europa and the Bull'' (tuba concerto) *

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American film composer. He worked on more than 160 film and television productions between 1978 and 2015. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements alongside tr ...

– '' Collage: A Concerto for Four Horns and Orchestra'' *

Emily Howard Emily Howard (born 1979) is a British composer whose work is best known for its inventive connections with mathematical shapes and processes. Early life Howard was born in Liverpool, England. After completing a degree in mathematics and comp ...

– ''Afference'' *

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, orchestrator and music producer. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

– Violin Concerto *

Philippe Hurel Philippe Hurel is a French composer of contemporary music and the artistic director of the Ensemble Court-Circuit. Early life and education Hurel studied violin, analysis, composition and musicology at the Regional Conservatory of Toulouse. Fro ...

– ''Inserts''

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Márton Illés Márton Illés (born 12 December 1975 in Budapest), is a Hungarian composer and pianist. Illés received musical training in piano, composition and percussion in Győr from 1981 to 1994. In 1993, he spent one academical term at the conservatory ...

– ''Re-akvarell'' (concerto for clarinet and orchestra)

J

* Marisol Jiménez - ''XLIII – MEMORIAM VIVIRE'' *

Betsy Jolas Elizabeth Jolas (born 5 August 1926) is a Franco-American composer. Life and career Jolas was born in Paris on 5 August 1926. Her mother, the American translator Maria McDonald, also studied singing. Together with Betsy's father, the poet and j ...

– ''Ravery Pour Pierre en ce jour''

K

* Darryl Kubian – ''O for a Muse of Fire'' *

György Kurtág György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. According to ''Grove Music Online'', with a style that draws on " Bartók, Webern and, to a lesser extent, Stravinsky, his work is c ...

– ''Petite musique solennelle en hommage à Pierre Boulez 90'' ucerne Festival Academy programme, August 23, 2015/ref>

L

Libby Larsen Elizabeth Brown Larsen (born December 24, 1950) is a contemporary American classical composer. Along with composer Stephen Paulus, she is a co-founder of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum. A former holder of the Pa ...

– ''The Birth Song Cycle'' *

James Ledger James Ledger (born 1966) is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music, and senior lecturer in composition at the UWA Conservatorium of Music, Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia, where he is chair of orche ...

and Paul Kelly – ''War Music'' * Joanna Lee - ''Hammer of Solitude'' *

Georges Lentz Georges Lentz is a contemporary composer and sound artist born in Luxembourg in 1965 and that country's internationally best known composer. Since 1990, he has been living in Sydney, Australia. Despite his relatively small output and his reclusi ...

– ''Jerusalem (after Blake)'' (composed 2011–2014; premiered January 16, 2015)Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra programme, 16 January 2015
/ref> *

Mica Levi Micaela Rachel "Mica" Levi (born February 1987), also known by their stage name Micachu, is an English musician, composer, producer, singer, and songwriter. Levi studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but left without a ...

– ''Greezy'' *

Magnus Lindberg Magnus Gustaf Adolf Lindberg (born 27 June 1958) is a Finnish composer and pianist. He was the New York Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer-in-residence from 2014 to 2017. Ear ...

– ''Accused''

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Tod Machover Tod Machover (born November 24, 1953, in Mount Vernon, New York), is a composer and an innovator in the application of technology in music. He is the son of Wilma Machover, a piano, pianist and Carl Machover, a computer scientist. He was named ...

– Symphony in D *

Steven Mackey Steven "Steve" Mackey (born February 14, 1956) is an American composer, guitarist, and music educator. Biography As a musician growing up listening to and performing vernacular American musics as well as classical music, Mackey's compositions a ...

– ''Mnemosyne's Pool'' *

** ''A Little Mass'' ** Symphony No 4 *

Philippe Manoury Philippe Manoury (born 19 June 1952) is a French composer. Biography Manoury was born in Tulle and began composition studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with Gérard Condé and Max Deutsch. He continued his studies from 1974 to 1 ...

– ''Chaconne'' *

Bruno Mantovani Bruno Mantovani (born 8 October 1974) is a French composer. He has been awarded first prizes from the Conservatoire de Paris which he joined in 1993. His work has been commissioned by the French government as well as other organizations. In Septe ...

– ''B'' *

Colin Matthews Colin Matthews, OBE (born 13 February 1946) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Noted for his large-scale orchestral compositions, Matthews is also a prolific arranger of other composer's music, including works by Berlioz, ...

and

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo ('' né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as '' War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytelli ...

– ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' * David Matthews – Symphony No 8 * Melinda Maxwell – ''Fractures: Monk Unpacked'' * Christopher Mayo – ''Supermarine'' *

Anna Meredith Anna Howard Meredith (born 12 January 1978) is a Scottish composer and performer of electronic and acoustic music. She is a former composer-in-residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and former PRS/RPS Composer in the House with S ...

– ''Smatter Hauler'' *

Claudia Molitor Claudia Molitor (born 1974) is an English-German composer based in Brighton, East Sussex, England. Biography Born in Germany, Claudia Molitor studied Music and Media at University of Sussex. After an MA in Music at City University London, she com ...

– ''2TwoLO'' * Marc Monnet – *

Samy Moussa Samy Moussa (born June 1, 1984) is a Canadian conductor and composer of classical music, living in Berlin. His works have been performed internationally. Early life and education Moussa was born and grew up in Montreal. He completed his undergrad ...

- ''Crimson'' *

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestra ...

** Viola Concerto ** ''Mixed Messages'' ** ''Sentences'' *

Dominic Muldowney Dominic Muldowney (born 19 July 1952 in Southampton) is a British composer. Biography Dominic Muldowney studied at the University of Southampton with Jonathan Harvey, at the University of York (with Bernard Rands and David Blake), and privat ...

– ''Smooth between Sea and Land'' *

Thea Musgrave Thea Musgrave Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972. Biography Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Barnton, Edinburgh, Mus ...

– ''Power Play''

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* Marc Neikrug: ** ''Acequias'' for Guitar and String Quartet ** ''Canta-Concerto'' *

Andrew Norman Andrew Norman (born October 31, 1979) is an American composer of contemporary classical music whose texturally complex music is influenced by architecture and the visual arts. His string trio '' The Companion Guide to Rome'' (2010), was a runn ...

** ''Frank's House'' ** ''Switch'' (percussion concerto) ** ''Split'' (piano concerto)

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Enno Poppe Enno Poppe (born 30 December 1969 in Hemer, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German composer and conductor of classical music, and an academic teacher. Career Enno Poppe studied composition and conducting at the Universität der Künste Berlin, Ho ...

– ''Zwölf'' *

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

– Nonet

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Torsten Rasch Torsten Rasch (born 1965 in Dresden) is a German composer of contemporary classical music. He lives in Berlin, but has found success in the UK. Biography Torsten Rasch was born in Dresden in 1965 and began piano lessons at the age of six. From ...

– ''A Welsh Night'' *

** Violin Concerto No. 6 (''Gedicht des Malers''; composed in 2014, premiered in 2015) ** ''Über die Linie VIII'' ** ''Con Piano? Certo!'' ** ''Funde im Verscharrten'' ** ''Geste zu Vedova'' ** ''Gruss-Moment''

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David Sawer David Sawer (born 14 September 1961) is a British composer of opera and choral, orchestral and chamber music. Biography Sawer was born in Stockport, England. After attending Ipswich School, he studied music at the University of York where he b ...

– ''Coachman Chronos'' * Albert Schnelzer – ''Tales from Suburbia'' *

Pascal Schumacher Pascal Schumacher (born 12 March 1979 in Luxemburg) is a Luxembourgish jazz musician, composer and percussionist who has founded a number of groups including the Pascal Schumacher Quartet. He also plays and composes classical chamber music. Edu ...

– ''Windfall Concerto'' (for vibraphone and orchestra) *

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical music, contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, author, and visual artist. A central figure in the Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimenta ...

– ''Wannsee Noir'' * Sean Shepherd: ** ''Concerto for Ensemble'' ** String Quartet No. 2 * Mark Simpson ** ''Israfel'' ** ''The Immortal'' (text by Melanie Challenger) *

Howard Skempton Howard While Skempton (born 31 October 1947) is an English composer, pianist, and accordionist. Since the late 1960s, when he helped to organise the Scratch Orchestra, he has been associated with the English school of experimental music. Skempt ...

– ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' *

Derrick Spiva Derrick Skye (born Derrick Spiva Jr; 19 November 1982) is a composer, conductor, musician, and educator based in the Los Angeles area who often integrates musical practices from cultures around the world in his works. The ''Los Angeles Times'' des ...

– ''Prisms, Cycles, Leaps'' *

Johannes Maria Staud Johannes Maria Staud (born 17 August 1974) is an Austrian composer. Biography Staud was born in Innsbruck and studied with, among others, Brian Ferneyhough and Michael Jarrell (at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna). In 1999/ ...

** ''Moment, Leute, Moment!'' ** ''Segue II für Pierre Boulez''Philharmonie de Paris, 22 March 2015 programme
/ref> ** ''Auf die Stimme der weißen Kreide'' (Specter I-III) ** ''Wasserzeichen'' (Auf die Stimme der weißen Kreide II)

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Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a pairing which has shaped much of his life and mu ...

– ''The Wolf'' (concerto for double bass and orchestra; composed in 2014, premiered in 2015) *

Conrad Tao Conrad Yiwen Tao (born June 11, 1994) is an American composer and pianist and former violinist. Tao's piano and violin performances since childhood brought him early recognition at music festivals and competitions. At age 13, he was featured on ...

– ''An Adjustment'' *

Augusta Read Thomas Augusta Read Thomas (born April 24, 1964) is an American composer and University Professor of Composition in the Department of Music at the University of Chicago, where she is also director of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition. B ...

– ''Of Being Is a Bird''

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* Shiori Usui: ''Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l.''

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Errollyn Wallen Errollyn Wallen (born 10 April 1958) is a Belize-born British composer and musician, who moved as a child with her family to London, England. Wallen was appointed Master of the King's Music in 2024 by King Charles III, in his first appointment ...

– ''Rebuttal Blues No 1'' * Bertram Wee – ''Dithyrambs'' *

Judith Weir Dame Judith Weir (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer. She served as Master of the King's Music from 2014 to 2024. Appointed by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir was the first woman to hold this office. Early life Weir was born in Cambridge, Englan ...

– ''Good Morning, Midnight'' * Lotta Wennäkoski – ''Päärme'', for piano trio *

Michael F. Williams Michael F. Williams (born 1962, New Zealand) is a composer of contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, ...

– ''Letters from the Front'' * Michael Wolters – ''Requiem to Let'' * Hugh Wood – ''Epithalamion''

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Raymond Yiu Raymond Yiu (), born 1973; is a composer, conductor, jazz pianist and music writer. Biography Born in Hong Kong, he started piano lessons at the age of four. He went to England in 1990 and now lives in London. He began writing music as a teenag ...

– Symphony *

Nina C. Young Nina C. Young (born 1984) is an American electro-acoustic composer of contemporary classical music who resides in New York City. She won the 2015 Rome Prize in musical composition, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, and a 2014 Charles Ives Prize from ...

– ''Agnosco Veteris''

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Opera

Listed by composer surname.

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Mark Adamo Mark Adamo (born 1962) is an American composer, librettist, and professor of music composition at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He was born in Philadelphia. Early life and education A native ...

– ''Becoming Santa Claus'' *

Matthew Aucoin Matthew Aucoin (born April 4, 1990) is an American composer, conductor, pianist, and writer best known for his operas. Aucoin has been commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the American Repertory Theater, t ...

– ''Crossing''

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* Jeremy Howard Beck and Stephanie Fleischmann – ''The Long Walk'' * Per Bloland and Paul Schick – ''Pedr Solis'' *

Charlotte Bray Charlotte Bray (born 1982) is a British composer. Her work has been performed by The Royal Opera, London Sinfonietta, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and BBC Symphony Orchestra. Biography Charlotte Bray was born in 1982 and raised in High W ...

and

Amy Rosenthal Amy Rosenthal (born 1974) is a British playwright from Muswell Hill, London. She is a recipient of ''The Sunday Times'' Drama Award. Biography Amy Rosenthal was born in 1974, the daughter of dramatist Jack Rosenthal and actress Maureen Lipman. ...

– ''Entanglement''

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D

and

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridg ...

– ''Between Worlds'' * Johanna Doderer – ''Fatima, oder von den mutigen Kindern'' *

Donnacha Dennehy Donnacha Dennehy (born 17 August 1970) is an Irish composer and leader of the Crash Ensemble specializing in contemporary classical music. According to musicologist Bob Gilmore, Dennehy's "high profile of his compositions internationally, togeth ...

and

Enda Walsh Enda Walsh (born 1967) is an Irish playwright. Biography Enda Walsh was born in Kilbarrack, North Dublin on 7 February 1967. His father ran a furniture shop and his mother had been an actress. He is the second youngest of six children. Walsh ...

– ''The Last Hotel''

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Hans Gefors Hans Gefors (born 8 December 1952) is a Swedish composer. He was born in Stockholm and has lived in Lund since the mid-1990s. Selected works * ''La boîte chinoise'', for guitar (1975) * ''Poeten och glasmästaren'', chamber opera (1979, libretto ...

and Kerstin Perski – ''Notorious'' *

and Christopher Hampton – ''Appomattox'' (revised version) *

Ricky Ian Gordon Ricky Ian Gordon (born May 15, 1956) is an American composer of art song, opera and musical theatre. Life Gordon was born in Oceanside, New York. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam, and he grew up on Long Island with his three sist ...

and William M. Hoffman – ''Morning Star''

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and

Jon Fosse Jon Olav Fosse (; born 29 September 1959) is a Norwegian author, translator, and playwright. In 2023, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable." Fosse's work spans over se ...

– ''Morgen und Abend'' *

Jake Heggie Jake Heggie (born March 31, 1961)Slonimsky, Nicholas; Kuhn, Laura; ed. (2001). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians Volume 3: Haar-Levi'. New York: Schirmer Books. pp. 1509–1510. . is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestra ...

and

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," M ...

– '' Great Scott'' *

and

Gene Scheer Gene Scheer (born April 28, 1958) is an American songwriter, librettist and lyricist. He is the brother of Samuel Scheer, who is an English teacher at Windsor High School and a part-time musician. Education and early career Scheer was born in New ...

– '' Cold Mountain''

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* Jimmy López and

Nilo Cruz Nilo Cruz is a Cuban-American playwright and pedagogue. With his award of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Anna in the Tropics'', he became the second Latino so honored, after Nicholas Dante. Biography Early years Cruz was bor ...

– ''Bel Canto'' * Gilda Lyons and Tammy Ryan – ''A New Kind of Fallout''

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* Ben Moore and

Nahma Sandrow Nahma Sandrow is an American scholar of theater and cultural history,Freedman, Samuel G. (December 3, 1984).A Goldfadn Hit of 1880 Is Reborn Off Broadway. ''New York Times''. Retrieved 2016-12-28. and author of the books ''Vagabond Stars: A Wo ...

– ''Enemies, a Love Story''

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Kevin Puts Kevin Matthew Puts (born January 3, 1972) is an American composer, best known for his opera ''The Hours (opera), The Hours'' and for winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for his first opera ''Silent Night (opera), Silent Night'' and a Grammy Award i ...

and Mark Campbell – ''The Manchurian Candidate''

Q

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* Matt Rogers and Sally O'Reilly – ''The Virtues of Things''

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Daniel Schnyder Daniel Schnyder (born March 12, 1961) is a Swiss jazz reedist and composer of both jazz and classical music. Schnyder learned to play cello before saxophone. He attended Berklee College of Music and the Conservatory of Winterthur. He has record ...

and Bridgette A. Wimberly – ''Charlie Parker's Yardbird'' * Mauricio Soleto and Andrés Ibáñez – ''El Público'' *

Gregory Spears Gregory Spears is an American composer of instrumental and operatic works that blend aspects of romanticism, minimalism, and early music. Among his best known works are the operas '' Fellow Travelers'' and ''Paul's Case'', as well as his Requiem ...

and

Royce Vavrek Royce Vavrek is a Canadian-born Brooklyn-based librettist, playwright, dance scenarist, musical theatre writer and filmmaker known for his collaborations with composers David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Mikael Karlsson (composer), Mikael Karlsson, ...

– ''O Columbia''

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Joby Talbot Joby Talbot (born 25 August 1971) is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes, with a broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and works for dan ...

and

– ''

Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

'' *

Marco Tutino Marco Tutino (born 30 May 1954) is an Italian composer. His emergence during the late 1970s was as the spearhead of an Italian ''Neo-Romantico'' group, founded with two other composers, Lorenzo Ferrero and Carlo Galante. He graduated from the Mi ...

and Fabio Ceresa – ''La Ciociara'' (''Two Women'')

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Derrick Wang Derrick Wang is an American composer and writer. Education Wang graduated ''magna cum laude'' and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College, Harvard University, where he composed works including two musicals for the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. He r ...

– ''Scalia/Ginsburg''

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Albums

Havergal Brian William Havergal Brian (29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer, librettist, and church organist. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies—an unusually high number amongst his contemporaries—25 of them ...

– ''The Tigers'' (first commercially issued recording, from 1983 BBC performance) *

Kaija Saariaho Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; 14 October 1952 – 2 June 2023) was a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the En ...

– ''Émilie Suite; Quatre Instants; Terra Memoria'' *

Ēriks Ešenvalds Ēriks Ešenvalds (born 26 January 1977) is a Latvians, Latvian composer, mainly of choral music. From 2011 to 2013 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge, Trinity College, University of Cambridge. Biography Ērik ...

– "Northern Lights" (Hyperion) *

Rebecca Saunders Rebecca Saunders (born 19 December 1967) is a London-born composer who lives and works freelance in Berlin. In a 2017 ''Classic Voice'' poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000, Saunders' compositions received the third highest total ...

, ''Fletch''; Benedict Mason, Second String Quartet;

, ''Wonderful Four-Headed Nightingale'';

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

, ''Pandora's Box'' –

Arditti Quartet The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974 and led by the British violinist Irvine Arditti. The quartet is a globally recognized promoter of contemporary classical music and has a reputation for having a very wide repertoire. They ...

, Sarah Maria Sun (Col Legno) *

Johann Adolph Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

– ''

Siroe ''Siroe, re di Persia'' ('' Siroes, King of Persia'', HWV 24), is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was his 12th opera for the Royal Academy of Music and was written for the sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bord ...

'' (first complete recording) *

Liza Lim Liza Lim (born 30 August 1966) is an Australian composer. Lim writes concert music ( chamber and orchestral works) as well as music theatre and has collaborated with artists on installation and video projects. Her work reflects her interests in ...

– ''The Compass''; ''Pearl, Ochre, Hair String''; ''The Guest'' *

Kevin Volans Kevin Volans (born 26 July 1949) is a South African-born Irish composer and pianist. He studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Mauricio Kagel in Cologne in the 1970s and later became associated with the ''Neue Einfachheit'' (New Simplicity) mo ...

– Trio Concerto; Piano Concerto; Symphony "Daar kom die Alibama" *

Mario Capuana Mario Capuana (1576 in Sicily – 4 May 1647 in Noto) was an Italian composer of motets and a requiem. He was ''maestro di capella'' at the Cathedral of Noto in the Province of Syracuse from 1628 to his death in 1647. In the years before and imme ...

Bonaventura Rubino Fray Bonaventura Rubino (c. 1600–1668) was an Italian composer. According to his publications, his origin of "Montecchio di Lombardia" probably indicates that he was from Montecchio in Darfo Boario Terme, one hour east of Bergamo. He was ''mae ...

– Requiem Masses (Namur Chamber Choir) *

Agostino Steffani Agostino Steffani (25 July 165412 February 1728) was an Italian bishop, polymath, diplomat and composer. Education Steffani was born at Castelfranco Veneto on 25 July 1654. As a boy he was admitted as a chorister at San Marco, Venice. Steff ...

– ''

Niobe, regina di Tebe ''Niobe, regina di Tebe'' is an opera in three acts by Agostino Steffani, premiered at Salvatortheater, the Munich court theatre on 5 January 1688, during the carnival season . It is a tragedy focusing on the Ancient Greek character of Niobe. The ...

'' *

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (3 April 1895 – 16 March 1968) was an Italian composer, pianist and writer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In ...

– Violin Concerto No 2 (''I Profeti''), ''Concerto Italiano'' *

Nikolai Medtner Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (; – 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immediately after his death, he is now becoming recognized as one of the most significant Russian com ...

– Piano Sonatas, 'Ein Idyll' *

Tabea Zimmermann Tabea Zimmermann (born 8 October 1966) is a German violist who has performed internationally, both as a soloist and a chamber musician. She has been artist in residence of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Bavarian ...

(viola), Thomas Hoppe (piano) – ''Romance oubliée'' (Myrios Classics) * Donnacha Dennehy – ''Crane''; ''O''; ''The Vandal''; ''Hive'' *

and

– ''27'' * Marc Andre – ''...auf...'' *

Félicien David Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer. Biography Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverish ...

– ''Le Désert'' * Michael Gordon – ''Dystopia''; ''Rewriting Beethoven's Seventh Symphony'' *

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

– Piano Concerto No. 1 (world premiere recording of 1879 version) /

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

– Piano Concerto No. 2 (Myrios Classics) *

– ''Zählen und Erzählen'' *

Missy Mazzoli Missy Mazzoli (born October 27, 1980) is an American composer and pianist who has received critical acclaim for her chamber, orchestral and operatic work. In 2018 she became one of the first two women to receive a commission from the Metropolitan ...

– ''Vespers for a New Dark Age'' *

Théodore Dubois Clément François Théodore Dubois (; 24 August 1837 – 11 June 1924) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, organist, and music teacher. After study at the Paris Conservatoire, Dubois won France's premier musical prize, the Prix de Ro ...

– ''Musique Sacrée et Symphonique'' * Wolfgang Rihm – ''Et Lux'' *

– ''Storm'' *

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

– ''Magnificat'', ''Kadisz'' *

– ''Angel Fighter'', ''In Broken Images'', ''Virelais'' * Lotta Wennäkoski – ''Soie'', ''Hava'', ''Amor Omnia'' Suite * ''Wartime Consolations '': Shostakovich – Sonata for Violin and Piano (unfinished) /

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (December 8, 1919 – February 26, 1996) was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. He taught him ...

– ''Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes'' (orchestral version) /

Karl Amadeus Hartmann Karl Amadeus Hartmann (2 August 1905 – 5 December 1963) was a German composer. A major figure of the musical life of post-war Germany, he has been described as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century. Life Born in Munich, the son ...

– ''Concerto funebre'' * Roger Sacheverell Coke – ''Preludes and Variations'' *

Václav Tomášek Václav Jan Křtitel Tomášek (in German: Wenzel Johann Tomaschek; 17 April 1774, Skuteč, Bohemia – 3 April 1850, Prague) was an Austrian-Bohemian, by other accounts a Czech composer and music teacher. He was known as the Musical Pope of Prag ...

– Songs *

Bob Chilcott Robert Chilcott (born 9 April 1955) is a British choir, choral composer, conducting, conductor, and singing, singer, based in Oxfordshire, England. He was a member of the King's Singers from 1985 to 1997, singing tenor. He has been a composer ...

– ''The Angry Planet'' *

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (; born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2023, Widmann was the third most performed living contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of ...

– String Quartets * John Adams – ''Absolute Jest'', ''Grand Pianola Music'' *

Grażyna Bacewicz Grażyna Bacewicz Biernacka (; 5 February 1909 – 17 January 1969) was a Polish composer and violinist of Lithuanian origin. She is the second Polish female composer to have achieved national and international recognition, the first being Ma ...

– String Quartets, Vol 1 * Christopher Simpson – ''Ayres'' * Sadie Harrison – 'Solos and Duos for Piano and Strings' *

Boris Tischenko Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (Russian Бори́с Ива́нович Ти́щенко; 23 March 1939 – 9 December 2010) was a Russian and Soviet composer and pianist. Life Tishchenko was born in Leningrad. He studied at the Leningrad Music ...

– Piano Sonatas Nos 7 and 8 *

Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Early life Brett Dean was born, raised, and educated in Brisbane. He attended Brisbane State High School. He started learning violin at age 8, and later stu ...

– String Quartets Nos 1 & 2; ''Five Epitaphs'' * David Lang,

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

, Betty Olivero – ''Song of Songs'' *

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

– ''The Long Christmas Dinner'' * Cheryl Frances-Hoad,

Gordon Crosse Gordon Crosse (1 December 1937 – 21 November 2021) was an English composer. Biography Crosse was born in Bury, Lancashire on 1 December 1937, and in 1961 graduated from St Edmund Hall, Oxford with a first class honours degree in music, where h ...

Piers Hellawell Piers Hellawell (born 14 July 1956) is a British composer and professor of composition, currently residing in Northern Ireland. Biography Hellawell grew up in England and studied composition with James Wood and later Nicholas Maw at the Univer ...

– ''Bach 2 the Future'' (Fenella Humphreys, violin) *

Wim Henderickx Wim Henderickx (; 17 March 196218 December 2022) was a Belgian composer of contemporary classical music. He was composer in residence at Muziektheater Transparant and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, writing operas and other stage works. His m ...

– ''Triptych'' *

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music, a development associated with the experimental New York School o ...

– ''For Bunita Marcus'' * Jonathan Rathbone – ''Under the Shadow of His Wing'' *

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, virtuoso oboist, and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Clas ...

– ''Machaut Transcriptions'' * John Luther Adams – ''Ilimaq'' * Charles Gounod – ''La Colombe'' *

Patricia Kopatchinskaja Patricia Kopatchinskaja (born March 1977) is a Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist. Biography Early life Kopatchinskaja was born in Chișinău, in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Moldova). She comes from a family of musicians. H ...

(violin) – ''Take Two'' (including music by Jorge Sanchez-Chiong et al) *

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio '' Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

– ''Voyage VIII'' et al. *

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...

– ''War Work'' * Robin de Raaff – ''Waiting for Miss Monroe'' * Jürg Frey – Third String Quartet * Joseph Kuridka – ''Beauty and Industry''

Deaths

* January 2 –

Bob Gilmore Bob Gilmore (6 June 1961 – 2 January 2015) was a musicologist, educator and keyboard player. Born in Larne, Northern Ireland, he spent his early years in Carrickfergus. He studied music at the University of York, England, then at Queen's Un ...

, British musicologist, 53 * January 6 – Lawrence Gushee, American musicologist, 83 * January 9 –

Colin Sauer Colin Sauer (13 July 1924 – 9 January 2015 ) was a violinist and chamber musician who was one of the founding members of the Aeolian Quartet in 1944. He later lead the Dartington String Quartet for over 20 years. He played with the Hallé Orch ...

, British violinist, 90 * January 10 – Countess

Yoko Nagae Ceschina (5 April 1932 – 10 January 2015) was a Japanese-born patron of the arts and noted patroness of classical music. Biography Born in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, to a businessman father and mother who played the piano domestically, Yoko Nagae was ...

, Japanese-born Italian aristocrat and patroness of classical music, 82 * January 12 –

Elena Obraztsova Elena Vasilyevna Obraztsova ( rus, Еле́на Васи́льевна Образцо́ва, , ɪ̯ɪˈlʲenə vɐˈsʲilʲɪ̯ɪvnə ɐbrɐˈstsovə; 7 July 1939 – 12 January 2015) was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano. She was awarded the Pe ...

, Russian operatic mezzo-soprano, 75 * January 13 –

Frank Glazer Frank Glazer (February 19, 1915 – January 13, 2015) was an American pianist, composer, and teacher of music. Career details Glazer was born in Chester, Wisconsin on February 19, 1915, the sixth child of Benjamin and Clara Glazer, Jewish emigran ...

, American pianist, 99 * January 19 **

Vera Gornostayeva Vera Gornostayeva (October 1, 1929 – January 19, 2015) was a Russian pianist and pedagogue. An Emeritus Artist of the Russian Federation at the time of her death, Gornostayeva was a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where her t ...

, Russian pianist and piano teacher, 85 **

Ward Swingle Ward Lamar Swingle (September 21, 1927 – January 19, 2015) was an American vocalist and jazz musician who founded The Swingle Singers in France in 1962. Life and career Born in Mobile, Alabama, Swingle studied music, particularly jazz, from a ...

, American singer, 87 * January 29 – Israel Yinon, Israeli conductor, 59 * February 1 –

Aldo Ciccolini Aldo Ciccolini (; 15 August 1925 – 1 February 2015) was an Italian pianist who became a naturalized French citizen in 1971. Biography Aldo Ciccolini was born in Naples. His father, whose family bore the title of Marquis in the city of Macera ...

, Italian-born French pianist, 89 * February 3 – Andrew Patner, American music critic, 55 * February 9 –

Marvin David Levy Marvin David Levy (August 2, 1932 – February 9, 2015) was an American composer, best known for his opera ''Mourning Becomes Electra''. ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' was given its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in 1967. Although deemed ...

, American composer, 82 * February 13 –

John McCabe John McCabe may refer to: *John McCabe (composer) (1939–2015), British composer and classical pianist *John McCabe (writer) (1920–2005), Shakespearean scholar and biographer *Christopher John McCabe Christopher John McCabe (born 20 Oc ...

, British composer and pianist, 75 * February 28 –

Ezra Laderman Ezra Laderman (29 June 1924 – 28 February 2015) was an American composer of classical music. He was born in Brooklyn. Biography Laderman was of Jewish heritage. His parents, Isidor and Leah, both emigrated to the United States from Poland. Thou ...

, American composer, 90 * March 1 –

Jennifer Ward Clarke Jennifer Ward Clarke (20 June 1935 – 1 March 2015) was a British cellist. After an early career in contemporary music, she later specialised in baroque music and performances on period instruments. Early life and career Jennifer Ward Clarke was ...

, British cellist, 79 * March 19 –

Peter Katin Peter Roy Katin ( ) (14 November 193019 March 2015) was a British classical pianist and teacher. Biography Katin was born in London; his father was sign-painter Jerrold Katin (who was born in Lithuania) and mother Gertrude. Katin was educated ...

, British pianist, 84 * March 22 – Norman Scribner, American choral conductor, 79 * March 24 (killed in the crash of

Germanwings Flight 9525 Germanwings Flight 9525 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Barcelona–El Prat Airport in Spain to Düsseldorf Airport in Germany. The flight was operated by Germanwings, a low-cost carrier owned by the German airline Luftha ...

): ** Oleg Bryjak, Kazakh-born German opera singer, 54 ** Maria Radner, German opera singer, 33 * March 28 –

Ronald Stevenson Ronald James Stevenson (6 March 1928 – 28 March 2015) was a Scottish composer, pianist, and music scholar. Biography The son of a Scottish father and Welsh mother, Stevenson was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 1928. He studied at the Roya ...

, British composer and pianist, 87 * March 29 – Ronald Knudsen, American orchestral violinist and conductor, 83 * April 2 – Dennis Marks, British radio & television producer and opera administrator, 66 * April 3 – Andrew Porter, British music critic, librettist, scholar and editor, 86 * April 5 –

Claudio Prieto Claudio Prieto (24 November 1934 – 5 April 2015) was a Spanish composer. He was born in Muñeca de la Peña, Palencia, and began his musical career as a boy in the mid-20th century playing various musical instruments for the municipal band of G ...

, Spanish composer, 80 * April 17 –

Brian Couzens Brian William Couzens (17 January 1933 – 17 April 2015) was a British music industry executive, recording engineer, and producer. He founded Chandos Records in 1979. Biography Born in Southend-on-Sea, Couzens was the son of Vera and William Co ...

, British record producer and founder of Chandos Records, 82 * April 27 – Rolf Smedvig, American trumpeter, 62 * April 29 ** Ronald Senator, British-born composer resident in the USA, 89"Famed Composer, Wife Killed In Yonkers House Fire". CBS TV, Channel 2 (New York City, NY, USA), 30 April 2015
/ref> ** Miriam Brickman, American pianist, 81 * May 2 –

Clarice Carson Clarice Carson ( Katz; December 23, 1929 – May 2, 2015) was a Canadian soprano singer who made her name in opera from the 1950 to 1986. Born to Polish émigrés in Montreal, she sought to become a signer at an early age and made her public dé ...

, Canadian soprano, 85 * May 3 –

Margaret Garwood Margaret Garwood (March 22, 1927, Haddonfield, New Jersey, Haddonfield, New Jersey – May 3, 2015, Philadelphia) was an American composer who is best known for her operas. She turned into composition relatively late in her life, at age 35. She st ...

, American composer, 88 * May 10 **

Jack Body John Stanley Body (7 October 1944 – 10 May 2015) was a New Zealand composer, ethnomusicologist, photographer, teacher, and arts producer. As a composer, his work comprised concert music, music theatre, electronic music, music for film and d ...

, New Zealand composer, 70 **

Victor Salvi Victor Salvi (March 4, 1920 – May 10, 2015) was an American-born Italian harpist, harp maker, and entrepreneur. Salvi, who has been called "harpmaker of the world". Born in Chicago, Illinois, he immigrated back to Italy several years into ...

, American-born harpist and harp manufacturer, 95 * May 28 – Steven Gerber, American composer, 66 * May 29 –

Peter Cropper Peter Cropper (19 November 1945 – 29 May 2015) was a British violinist, leader of the Lindsay String Quartet, and founding artistic director of Music in the Round, a charitable organisation he founded in the 1980s to promote chamber music conc ...

, British violinist and leader of the Lindsay Quartet, 69 * May 31 –

Nico Castel Nico Castel (born Naftali Chaim Castel Kalinhoff; August 1, 1931 – May 31, 2015) was a Portuguese-born comprimario tenor and language and diction coach, as well as a prolific translator of libretti and writer of books on singing diction. Altho ...

, American tenor, comprimario and vocal coach, 83 * June 2 – Günther Schneider-Siemssen, German opera stage designer, 88 * June 3 – Margaret Juntwait, American radio broadcaster and host of the

radio transmissions, 58 * June 12 –

Ernest Tomlinson Ernest Tomlinson MBE (19 September 1924 – 12 June 2015) was an English composer, particularly noted for his light music compositions. He was sometimes credited as 'Alan Perry'. Tomlinson wrote over 100 pieces of library music, thirteen ...

, British composer, 90 * June 13 – Ronald Wilford, American artist agency manager and executive, 87 * June 14 –

Walter Weller Walter Weller (30 November 1939 – 14 June 2015) was an Austrian-born conductor and classical violinist. He made several recordings over the years, founded his own string quartet, and led or co-led several well known orchestras and operas. Wel ...

, Austrian conductor and violinist, 75 * June 17 – Neil Courtney, American orchestral double bass player, 82 * June 21 –

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

, American composer, conductor, teacher and author, 89 * June 22 ** Joseph de Pasquale, American orchestral violist, 95 ** John (Jack) McCaw, New Zealand-born British orchestral clarinetist, 96 * July 1 –

Edward Greenfield Edward Harry Greenfield OBE (3 July 1928 – 1 July 2015) was an English music critic and broadcaster. Early life Edward Greenfield was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. His father, Percy Greenfield, was a manager in a labour exchange, while his ...

, British music critic, 86 * July 7 – Friedemann Weigle, German violist and member of the Artemis Quartet, 52 * July 10 –

Jon Vickers Jonathan Stewart Vickers, (October 29, 1926 – July 10, 2015), known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a Canadian heldentenor. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a s ...

, Canadian tenor, 88 * July 15 – Alan Curtis, American harpsichordist, conductor and scholar, 80 * July 19 – David Roth, American opera administrator, 56 * July 21 ** Paul Freeman, American conductor and founder of

Chicago Sinfonietta The Chicago Sinfonietta is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. The orchestra was founded in 1987 under the guidance of conductor and music director Paul Freeman (conductor), Paul Freeman (1936–2015) to address the disconnect be ...

, 79 ** Vera Stern, American arts administrator and arts ambassador, 88 * July 26 –

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...

, American orchestral timpanist and percussionist, 85 * July 27 –

Ivan Moravec Ivan Moravec (9 November 1930 – 27 July 2015) was a Czech concert pianist whose performing and recording career spanned nearly half a century. Media and critics worldwide often called Moravec "a poet of the piano" or "pianist supreme". He is cons ...

, Czech pianist, 84 * August 2 – J. Durward Morsch, American composer, 94 * August 12 – John Scott, British-born organist and choirmaster resident in the USA, 59 * August 18 –

Roger Smalley John Roger Smalley (26 July 1943 – 18 August 2015) was an Anglo-Australian composer, pianist and conductor. Professor Smalley was a senior honorary research fellow at the School of Music, University of Western Australia in Perth and honorary ...

, British-born composer resident in Australia, 72 * August 22: **

Nikolaus Lehnhoff Nikolaus Lehnhoff (20 May 1939 in Hanover – 29 August 2015 in Berlin) was a German opera director. Life and career Born in Hanover to Erika (née Fiediger) and Friedrich Lehnhoff, Lehnhoff studied at the University of Munich and the University o ...

, Austrian opera director, 76 ** Francis Dillnutt, British classical recording engineer, 91 * August 27 –

George Cleve George Wolfgang Cleve (July 9, 1936 – August 27, 2015) was an Austrian-born American conductor. He was best known for his interpretation of Mozart. Life Born in Vienna, the son of Felix Cleve (born Feb. 8th, 1890 in Vienna) and the former ...

, Austrian-born American conductor, 79 * August 30 – Natalia Strelchenko (Strelle), Russian-born pianist, 38 * August 31 – Bruce Lawrence, American orchestral double bassist, 88 * September 5 –

Jacques Israelievitch Jacques Israelievitch, CM (May 6, 1948 – September 5, 2015) was a French violinist, and one of Canada's foremost chamber musicians. Born in Cannes, France, at 11 years old he was the youngest graduate in the history of the Le Mans Conservatory ...

, French-born Canadian orchestral violinist, 67 * September 7 **

Susan Allen Susan Allen (born March 27, 1963) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented District 62B, a southside district encompa ...

, American harpist, 64 (brain cancer) ** Cor Edskes, Dutch organ builder and restorer, 90 * September 17 – Sir

David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridg ...

, British choirmaster, 95 * September 28 –

Alexander Faris Samuel Alexander "Sandy" Faris (11 June 1921 – 28 September 2015) was a Northern Irish composer, conductor and writer, known for his television theme tunes, including the theme music for the 1970s TV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. He compos ...

, Irish composer and conductor, 94 * October 1 – Dieter Kober, German conductor, 95 * October 5 – Reinhardt Elster, American opera orchestra harpist, 101 * October 13 –

Duncan Druce Robert Duncan Druce (23 May 193913 October 2015) was an English composer, string player and musicologist, noted for his breadth of musical interests ranging from contemporary music to baroque and early music, as well as music of India. Educatio ...

, British musicologist, 76 * November 2 – Richard Horowitz, American opera orchestra timpanist and crafter of conductor batons, 91 * November 10 –

Robert Craft Robert Lawson Craft (October 20, 1923 – November 10, 2015) was an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate professional relationship with Igor Stravinsky, on which Craft drew in producing numerous recordings and books. ...

, American classical music writer, conductor, and amanuensis to

, 92 * November 16 –

Seymour Lipkin Seymour Lipkin (May 14, 1927 – November 16, 2015) was an American concert pianist, conductor, and educator. Early life and piano career Lipkin was born in Detroit. At age 11, he entered the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Davi ...

, American pianist and conductor, 88 * November 21 –

Joseph Silverstein Joseph Harry Silverstein (March 21, 1932 – November 21, 2015) was an American violinist and conductor. Known to family, friends and colleagues as "Joey", Silverstein was born in Detroit. As a youth, Silverstein studied with his father, Bernard ...

, American orchestra leader (concertmaster) and conductor, 83 * November 23 –

Jouni Kaipainen Jouni Ilari Kaipainen (24 November 1956 – 23 November 2015) was a Finnish composer. Kaipainen was born in Helsinki to the physician and politician Osmo Kaipainen, and his wife, the author Anu Mustonen. He studied at the Sibelius Academy T ...

, Finnish composer, 58 * November 28 –

Luc Bondy Luc Bondy (17 July 1948 – 28 November 2015) was a Swiss theatre and film director. Life and career upright=1.3, '' Charlotte Salomon'' at the Salzburg Festival 2014 Trained in Paris with the theatre teacher Jacques Lecoq, he received a jo ...

, Swiss theatre and opera stage director, 67 * December 2 –

John Eaton John Eaton may refer to: * John Eaton (divine) (born 1575), English divine * John Eaton (pirate) (fl. 1683–1686), English buccaneer *Sir John Craig Eaton (1876–1922), Canadian businessman * John Craig Eaton II (born 1937), Canadian businessman ...

, US composer, 80 * December 4 –

Rodney Milnes Rodney Milnes Blumer OBE (26 July 1936 – 5 December 2015) was an English music critic, musicologist, writer, translator and broadcaster, with a particular interest in opera.Rodney Milnes. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, ...

, British opera critic and translator, 79 * December 8 – Mattiwilda Dobbs, American opera singer and recitalist, 90 * December 15 –

Stella Doufexis Stella Doufexis (15 April 1968 – 15 December 2015) was a German mezzo-soprano in opera and concert. She was married to the German composer and musician Christian Jost. She died of cancer at age 47.Aafje Heynis Aafje Heynis (2 May 1924 – 16 December 2015) was a Dutch contralto. In 1961, she was awarded the Harriet Cohen International Music Award. A tea rose, hybridised by Buisman 1964, was named after her. She died on 16 December 2015, aged 91. Dis ...

, Dutch soprano, 91 * December 18 –

, Belgian composer, 56 * December 19 –

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...

, German conductor, 88 * December 22 – John Duffy, American composer and music administrator, 89

Major awards

* 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Music:

Julia Wolfe Julia Wolfe (born December 18, 1958) is an American composer and professor of music at New York University. According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', Wolfe's music has "long inhabited a terrain of its own, a place where classical forms are rech ...

– ''Anthracite Fields'' * 2015 Grawemeyer Award Winner in Music:

– ''IN-SCHRIFT 2''

Grammy Awards

* Best Orchestral Performance:

– ''City Noir'', Saxophone Concerto –

St. Louis Symphony The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony o ...

; David Robertson, conductor (Nonesuch) * Best Opera Recording:

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

– ''

La descente d'Orphée aux enfers ''La descente d'Orphée aux enfers'' H. Wiley Hitchcock, H.488 (English: ''The Descent of Orpheus to the Underworld'') is an incomplete chamber opera in two acts by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was probably composed in early ...

'';

Boston Early Music Festival The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, to promote historical music performance. It arranges an annual Boston and New York City concert series, produces opera recordings, and ...

Chamber Ensemble and Vocal Ensemble;

Paul O'Dette Paul Raymond O'Dette (born February 2, 1954) is an American lutenist, conductor, and musicologist specializing in early music. Biography O'Dette, who was born in Pittsburgh, began playing the electric guitar in a rock band in Columbus, Ohio, ...

and

Stephen Stubbs Stephen Stubbs (born 1951) is a lutenist and music director and has been a leading figure in the American early music scene for nearly thirty years. Born in Seattle, he studied harpsichord and composition at the University of Washington where, at ...

, conductors (CPO) * Best Choral Performance: ''The Sacred Spirit of Russia'' –

Conspirare Conspirare is a choral ensemble based in Austin, Texas. They were formed in 1991 by conductor and musical director Craig Hella Johnson as New Texas Festival but did not begin to regularly perform until 1999. They have released over 25 albums a ...

; Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (harmonia mundi) * Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: ''In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores'' –

Hilary Hahn Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. A three-time Grammy Award winner, she has performed throughout the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors, and as a recitalist. She is an avid supporter of contemp ...

and Cory Smythe (Deutsche Grammophon) * Best Classical Instrumental Solo: ''Play'' –

Jason Vieaux Jason Vieaux (born July 17, 1973, in Buffalo, New York) is an American classical guitarist. He began his musical training in Buffalo, New York at the age of eight, after which he continued his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 1992, ...

(Azica Records) * Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: ''Douce France'' –

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swedi ...

Bengt Forsberg Bengt Forsberg (born 1952) is a Swedish concert pianist most famous for his numerous collaborations with the mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. He participated in her project to record songs written in the concentration camp of Terezín. Forsberg ...

et al. (Naïve) * Best Classical Compendium:

Harry Partch Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...

– ''Plectra and Percussion Dances'' (Bridge Records) * Best Contemporary Classical Composition:

– '' Become Ocean'' –

Seattle Symphony Orchestra The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchest ...

;

Ludovic Morlot Ludovic Morlot (born 11 December 1973) is a French conductor. Early years Morlot was born in Lyon on 11 December 1973. As a youth, he trained as a violinist. He later attended the Royal Academy of Music, and began his studies in conducting in Lo ...

, conductor (Cantaloupe Music)

Juno Awards

Classical Albums of the Year: * Solo or Chamber Ensemble:

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

– ''Chamber Works for Violin, Volume 3'';

James Ehnes James Ehnes (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian- American concert violinist and violist. Early life Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey E ...

et al. (Chandos) * Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

– Piano Concertos Nos 22 & 24;

National Arts Centre Orchestra The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian orchestra based in Ottawa, Ontario. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Since its inception, the Orchestra has commissioned more ...

Hannu Lintu Hannu Petteri Lintu (born 13 October 1967) is a Finnish conductor. Early life and education Hannu Lintu was born in Rauma, the son of Johannes Lintu, an electrical engineer, and his wife Lilja Lintu (née Toivonen), a photographer. He studied p ...

(Hyperion) * Vocal or Choral Performance:

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

– ''

Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert (Schubert Thematic Catalogue, D. 911, published as Opus number, Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 Poetry, poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the ...

'';

Gerald Finley Gerald Hunter Finley, (born January 30, 1960) is a Canadian bass-baritone opera singer. Early life Finley was born in Montreal and studied music at St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Ottawa, the University of Ottawa, King's College, Cambridge and ...

Julius Drake Julius Drake (born 5 April 1959) is an English pianist who works as a song recital accompanist and chamber musician. Biography Drake was educated at the Purcell School and the Royal College of Music; he made his professional debut at the Purcell ...

(Hyperion) Classical Composition of the Year: Brian Current – ''Airline Icarus'' (Naxos)

Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2015

* Baroque Instrumental: JS Bach – Cello Suites; David Watkin, violoncello (Resonus) * Baroque Vocal: Monteverdi – ''Vespri solenni per la festa di San Marco''; Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini (Naïve) * Chamber: Smetana – String Quartets Nos 1 & 2; Pavel Haas Quartet (Supraphon) * Choral: Elgar – ''The Dream of Gerontius''/''Sea Pictures''; Sarah Connolly, Stuart Skelton, David Soar, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Andrew Davis (Chandos) * Concerto: Beethoven – Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 4; Maria João Pires, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (Onyx) * Contemporary: Per Nørgård – Symphonies Nos 1 & 8; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (Dacapo) * Early Music: 'The Spy's Choirbook'; Alamire, English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, David Skinner (Obsidian) * Instrumental: JS Bach – English Suites Nos 1, 3 & 5; Piotr Anderszewski (Warner Classics) * Opera: Richard Strauss – ''Elektra''; Evelyn Herlitzius, Waltraud Meier, Adrianne Pieczonka, Mikhail Petrenko, Tom Randle, Orchestre de Paris, Esa-Pekka Salonen; Stage director – Patrice Chéreau; Video director – Stéphane Metge (Bel Air Classique) * Orchestral: Bruckner – Symphony No 9; Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Grammophon) * Recital: 'A French Baroque Diva'; Carolyn Sampson, Ex Cathedra, Jeffrey Skidmore (Hyperion) * Solo Vocal: Schubert – 'Nachtviolen'; Christian Gerhaher, Gerold Huber (Sony Classical) * Recording of the Year: Bruckner – Symphony No 9; Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Grammophon) * Young Artist of the Year: Joseph Moog * Label of the Year: Channel Classics * Artist of the Year:

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia (then occupied by the Soviet Union), to Liilia Järvi and the Estoni ...

* Lifetime Achievement Award: Bernard Haitink

British Composer Awards

* Amateur or Young Performers: Kate Whitley – ''Alive'' * Choral: James Dillon – ''Stabat Mater dolorosa'' * Community or Educational Project:

Stuart Hancock Stuart Hancock (born 5 August 1975) is a British composer of film, TV and concert music. Hancock is known for having composed the original soundtracks to series 2 of the BBC fantasy series Atlantis, the animated TV adaptation of We're Going O ...

– ''Snapshot Songs'' * Contemporary Jazz Composition: Trish Clowes – ''The Fox, The Parakeet & The Chestnut'' * Large Chamber: Sinan Savaskan – ''Many stares (through semi-nocturnal Zeiss-Blink) – Module 30'' * Liturgical: Michael Finnissy – ''John the Baptist'' * Orchestral: Harrison Birtwistle – ''Responses: Sweet disorder and the carefully careless'' * Small Chamber: Julian Anderson – ''String Quartet No. 2'' * Solo or Duo: Michael Finnissy – ''Beat Generation Ballads'' * Sonic Art: Yann Seznec – ''Currents'' * Stage Works: Julian Anderson – ''Thebans'' * Wind Band or Brass Band: Rory Boyle – ''Muckle Flugga''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015 In classical music Classical Classical music by year