Issue #9

Date: 2012-05-14

IAM reports on Germany, where arts organisations are bracing themselves ahead of the impending funding cuts. ‘We are in heavy weather,’ says Gerald Martens, managing director of the German Orchestra Union (DOV). We speak with Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Concerto Köln and the Berlin Radio Choir about their plans for 2012-13.

And ahead of the first ever Classical:NEXT, taking place in Munich 30 May – 2 June 2012, Lauren Murphy chats with the event’s project director Jennifer Dautermann, who explains why an evening in a concert hall can be just as visceral as time spent at a Berlin club night.

Meanwhile Clare Wiley meets David Pickard at Glyndebourne – the renowned opera festival that runs on no public subsidy whatsoever. Pickard reveals how this revered event continues to enrapture audiences with its world-class opera talent.

In News, a North Korean orchestral tour of the US suffers yet more setbacks, the health of dancers once again hits the headlines, and Enlightenment is the key theme at the Paralympics opening ceremony. Co-artistic directors Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings say the celebrations will challenge perceptions of human possibility.

Photograph: The Berlin Radio Choir © Matthias Heyde