2007 in classical music

Events

• January 1 — George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Commonwealth New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame. Imogen Cooper and John Rutter are appointed CBE.^[1]
• February – A lightning strike severely damages the ageing organ at Llandaff Cathedral, which has to be replaced.^[2]
• February 26 – Gramophone magazine reports on its website a confession by William Barrington-Coupe that he released recordings by other pianists under the name of his wife Joyce Hatto, claiming that she was unaware of the deception.^[3]
• April 29 – The first precollege music conservatory for the Arab-speaking population of Israel opens in Shfaram.^[4]
• May 16–20 – The European Festival of Youth Choirs is held in Basel, Switzerland.
• 4–August 11 – The Three Choirs Festival is held at Gloucester, with a programme including Benjamin Britten's War Requiem and Mahler's Symphony No 8.^[5]
• 24 August – The Faenol Festival in North Wales, masterminded by Bryn Terfel, opens with a concert featuring Girls Aloud. Other artists appearing during the weekend include Rebecca Evans, Carlos Alvarez, and Michael Ball.^[6]
• September 22–29 – The 35th North Wales International Music Festival is held at St Asaph.
• November 9 – At the Hindu Novemberfest, Carnatic vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan and Western Classical pianist Anil Srinivasan première tracks from their collaborative album Colour of Rain.^[7]

New works

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

A

• Kalevi Aho – Oboe Concerto^[8]

• Lera Auerbach – Symphony No. 1 "Chimera"

B

C

D

• Michael Daugherty – Deus ex Machina^[9]

E

F

• Lorenzo Ferrero – Fantasy Suite, for flute, violoncello and piano

G

• Sofia Gubaidulina
  • Ravvedimento, for cello and four guitars
  • In Tempus Praesens, concert for violin and orchestra

H

• Nigel Hess – Piano Concerto

I

J

K

• Wojciech Kilar – Symphony No. 5 Advent Symphony, for choir and orchestra or instrumental ensemble

L

• Claude Ledoux – Canto a due for B♭ clarinet and cello

M

N

O

P

• Martijn Padding – And Trees Would Sing, for counter tenor/high tenor and trombone quartet

• Brice Pauset – Vier variationen, for flute, percussion, piano and string trio

Q

R

S

• Karlheinz Stockhausen – Klang^[10]
  • Balance, for flute, English horn, and bass clarinet
  • Glück (Bliss), for oboe, English horn, and bassoon
  • Hoffnung (Hope), for violin, viola, and cello
  • Glanz (Brilliance), for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and viola
  • Treue (Fidelity), for E-flat clarinet, basset horn, and bass clarinet
  • Erwachen (Awakening), for soprano saxophone, trumpet, and cello

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Opera premieres

• Alice in Wonderland (Unsuk Chin, David Henry Hwang; June 30)^[11]
• Appomattox (Philip Glass, Christopher Hampton; October 5)^[12]
• Frau Margot (Thomas Pasatieri, Frank Corsaro; June 2)^[13]
• Monkey: Journey to the West (Chen Shi-Zheng, Damon Albarn; 28 June)^[14]

Ballet

• Lorenzo Ferrero – Franca Florio, regina di Palermo^[15]

Albums

• Haydn Piano Sonatas – Fazıl Say^[16]
• P. D. Q. Bach and Peter Schickele: The Jekyll and Hyde Tour – Peter Schickele^[17]

Musical films

• War/Dance^[18]
• Water Flowing Together^[19]

Deaths

• January 1 – Julius Hegyi, American conductor, 83^[20]
• January 3 – János Fürst, Hungarian conductor and violinist, 71^[21]
• January 21 – Mina Foley, New Zealand coloratura soprano, 76^[22]
• January 28 – Karel Svoboda, Czech songwriter and composer, 68 (suicide)^[23]
• December 5 – Karlheinz Stockhausen, German avant-garde composer, 79^[24]
• December 16 – Harald Genzmer, German composer and academic, 98^[25]

Major awards

Classical Brits

Source:^[26]

• Singer of the Year — Anna Netrebko
• Musician of the Year — Leif Ove Andsnes
• Young British Classical Performer — Ruth Palmer
• Album of the Year — Paul McCartney – Ecce Cor Meum
• Soundtrack of the Year — Planet Earth – George Fenton
• Critics' Award — Freiberg Baroque Orchestra/RIAS Kammerchoir/Rene Jacobs - Mozart/La Cler
• Lifetime Achievement In Music — Vernon Handley

Grammy Awards

• See 50th Grammy Awards

See also

• 2007 in music

References

1. "New Year honours list 2007". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
2. "Llandaff Cathedral". Nicholson & Co Ltd. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
3. Charlotte Smith (17 December 2012). "I did it for my wife' Joyce Hatto exclusive, William Barrington-Coupe confesses". Gramophone. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
4. Ben Zeev (April 29, 2007)
5. "3 Choirs Festival 2007: Programme. Retrieved 14 Oct 2012". Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
6. "Bryn Terfel's Faenol Festival 2007". Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
7. Anil Srinivasan (November 17, 2021). "My November Fest". The Hindu. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
8. International Who's who in Classical Music. Europa Publications Limited. 2009. p. 84.
9. "Michael Daugherty - Deus Ex Machina". Retrieved 22 February 2017.
10. Woolfe, Zachary (28 March 2016). "Karlheinz Stockhausen's Klang, an Epic Cycle at 3 Met Museums (print edition as "Hours and Hours of Stockhausen")". The New York Times.
11. "Alice in Wonderland, Unsuk Chin" (work details) (in French and English). IRCAM. 19993. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
12. Joshua Kosman (8 October 2007). "Philip Glass opera Appomattox both impressive and inconsistent". San Francisco Chronicle.
13. "FWO Archives: The Making of 'Frau Margot' (World Premiere, 2007 Festival)". Fort Worth Opera. 31 March 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
14. Hewitt, Ivan (23 June 2007). "A whole new aria for Damon". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
15. "Franca Florio, regina di Palermo, rivive al Teatro Massimo". Morfoedro (in Italian). Retrieved 18 November 2024.
16. Haydn Piano Sonatas (Media notes). Fazıl Say. CD/Album Sleeve: Naïve Classique. 2007. p. 3. V 5070.
17. "P.D.Q. Bach and Peter Schickele: The Jekyll and Hyde Tour". schickele.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
18. "NY Times: War/Dance". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
19. Sulcas, Roslyn (8 April 2008). "Moving on and Looking Back: A Ballet Star's Afterlife". New York TImes. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
20. "Julius Hegyi Obituary". Legacy.com. 5 January 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
21. "Obituaries: Janos Furst, 'Edge of the seat' conductor". The Independent. 10 January 2007.
22. "'Voice of the century' Mina Foley dies at 77". The New Zealand Herald. 22 January 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
23. "Legendary Czech songwriter Karel Svoboda dies at 68". Radio Prague International. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
24. "Karlheinz Stockhausen: Influential and Controversial German Composer Who Pursued His Uncompromising Avant-Garde Vision through Six Decades". The Times. 8 December 2007. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
25. "Genzmer". Akademie der Künste, Berlin (in German). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
26. "Paul McCartney, Ruth Palmer among winners at Classical Brits". The Guardian. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2024.