On our blog, our contemporary composers present their favorite work from our catalogs. This time: Ian Wilson writes about Cadeau by Franco Donatoni.

The world premiere of Héctor Parra’s new music theatre piece Das geopferte Leben at Münchener Biennale on May 20, 2014, received great acclaim from both the audience and the press: “a thrilling listening experience” (Die Welt), “a strong finale” (Merkur), “a triumph” (Badische Zeitung), “a well deserved stroke of luck“ (Die deutsche Bühne) – these are the just some quotes from the reviews. The work with a text by Marie N'Diaye was performed by Freiburger Barockorchester and Ensemble Recherche under the baton of Peter Tilling. Click here for some pictures of the performance.

From our Repertoire is a blog category featuring knowledgeable commentary on works from our diverse catalogues. We will introduce you on a regular basis to not only the best-known compositions but also to niche works that we think deserve a little more attention.

This time: Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos' Chôros No. 8.

On July 28, 1914 the First World War began. This war also had a strong impact on the music of that period. In our video interview, musicologist Emmanuel Reibel explains how the sorrow and terror of those times influenced the work of Darius Milhaud.

The Hungarian composer talks about his new work da capo for chamber orchestra before the world premiere on May 6 in Porto.

When Giacomo Meyerbeer died on May 2 in 1864 in Paris, he was one of the most performed composers of his time. In the last decades, his music has been enjoying a renaissance. Get more information on Meyerbeer in this contribution by Reinhold Quandt, Editor of the Critical Meyerbeer Edition.

For the last four decades, the Arditti Quartet has performed more world premieres than any other string quartet. Often these works were composed especially for the ensemble. In our interview, founder Irvine Arditti reflects on the first 40 years of this legacy.

UMPC composers Kurtág, Dusapin, Francesconi, Lim, Manoury, Stroppa, Aperghis, Fujikura and Parra send birthday wishes to the Arditti Quartet.

French composer Philippe Manoury will be the main focus of this year’s Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik. The festival also presents new chamber music works by Liza Lim and Marco Stroppa.

This month new works by Durand – Salabert – Eschig composers Oscar Bianchi, François Meïmoun, Philippe Schoeller and Baptiste Trotignon will be premiered. The composers tell us more in video interviews.