As from 1st July, Universal Music Publishing Classical (UMPC) has taken over the hire library of one of the most important catalogues of British classical music: the repertoire of the publisher Alfred Lengnick & Co., including works of important composers such as William Alwyn, Malcolm Arnold and Alun Hoddinott.

Eric Tanguy has three important premieres coming up in the next few weeks: the world premieres of Cercle (for soprano and piano) and Nouvelle Etude (for piano) as well as the the first British performance of In a dream, a composition for violin and piano.

Béla Bartók (1881–1945) has been the most frequently performed of the “classical modernist” composers for more than sixty years. His orchestral, concerto, chamber, and piano works appear in the repertoires of well-known performers and ensembles in his own country, and around the world. The catalogue of Editio Musica Budapest features his early works.

Composer Alberto Posadas continues his work with visual art, in a new piece entitled Tres pinturas imaginarias, which will be premiered on June 20 at the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris) by Ensemble Court-Circuit during the festival Manifeste (Ircam).

On our blog, our contemporary composers present their favorite composer from our reperoire. This time Balázs Horváth introduces Dai Fujikura.

Philippe Hersant’s Paradiso for choir and archlute will be premiered at this year’s Festival Ombres et Lumières at Clairvaux. Here is an introduction by the composer.

A recently rediscovered masterpiece among Giacinto Scelsi’s (1905 – 1988) archives, [Kamakala] was premiered by Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin on January 26th 2014 in Berlin. Now the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra performs the US premiere in Charleston on June 1, 2015.

The theme of Giorgio Battistelli’s new opera, CO2 – commissioned by the Teatro alla Scala and on stage from May 16 to 29 in Milan – is climate change. With a libretto in English written by Ian Burton and stage direction by Robert Carsen, the opera promises to be the most important event in La Scala’s EXPO season. The house orchestra and chorus will be conducted by Cornelius Meister.

In an agreement between Carlo Fuortes, the Superintendent, and Ignazio Marino, the President of the Foundation and Mayor of Rome, composer Giorgio Battistelli and conductor Alessio Vlad have been appointed co-artistic directors of the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome.

On May 28, 2015 Baptiste Trotignon’s latest trio will be premiered at London’s Wigmore Hall by David Grimal (violin), Anne Gastinel (cello) and Philippe Cassard (piano). The piece called Subterfuges is co-commissioned by Wigmore Hall and supported by SACEM and André Hoffmann, president of the Hoffmann Foundation of Switzerland. Find out more in our video interview.