The cellist and conductor Anita Jehli is being honored in particular for her great commitment to the Orchestrina Chur. She studied cello at the Zurich University of Music with Markus Stocker and Claude Starck and is the winner of the Kiwanis Music Prize, the Chamber Music Prize of the Migros Cooperative Association and the Koeckert Prize for Cello at the Zurich University of Music.

Today Anita Jehli is the solo cellist of Camerata Schweiz. She is also increasingly active as a conductor. She has been musical director of the Zurich Old Town Church Orchestra since 2005 and of Orchestrina Chur since 2013.

The Chur Recognition Prizes are awarded in recognition of at least ten years of cultural work that is of importance to the city and its immediate region. The municipal council of the city of Chur has also approved a partial revision of Art. 10 of the Ordinance to the Cultural Promotion Act. The revision allows a total of six prizes to be awarded in 2019, i.e. one more prize than previously.

I've never been to Hall 12 before. The first thing I do here is enter an Indiana Jones world. A jungle overgrows decaying ruins, the sounds of animals and water can be heard, fog wafts through the scenery: a company specializing in projections and effects shows off its skills on a grand scale. Even after you have crossed the wilderness, the entire hall is all about event and media technology, from dance flooring to laser control. It is part of the partner trade fair prolight + sound, which takes place at the same time as Musikmesse.

While a lot of visitors (at least 90 % men) are crowding through the aisles here, it's quieter in the halls of the Musikmesse. At least in Hall 3.1, where I have an appointment with representatives of music publishers. Last year, they had their stands in a noisy hall next to the Bundeswehr brass band, among others. The stringed instruments and accordions with which they share the space this year are far more conducive to conversations about the latest editions of sheet music and music books. However, the hall now has an empty corner.
 

There are actually fewer exhibitors from the publishing houses, smaller publishers are often only present at collective stands, and national representatives of the respective music industry are now very few and far between. Is this a consequence of digitalization? A publisher's program can easily be viewed and consulted online. Musical instruments, on the other hand, still want to be viewed and played in analog form, even if many of them have long since been equipped with digital features. For example, pianos that can be turned into digital pianos at the touch of a button, with the sound coming from headphones, or drums that are compatible with the home. Materials for instrument making will be presented, modeled on wood, but improved, as they say; and violins from the 3D printer. One innovation that has already won several awards is the Gvido music reader, which is opened like a notebook and consists of two portrait-format pages or screens on which notes can be written and saved. The stands offering - grown - sound wood or therapeutic instruments, such as a sound cradle for adults in which you can lie down and let the sound of strings flow through you, seem like a deliberate departure from the technical.

The increasing popularity of the Leipzig Book Fair probably also plays a role in the reduction of the exhibitor list as far as music publishers are concerned. This is a trade fair for the general public. In Frankfurt, the focus is on the opposite trend. In the official trade fair catalog, Detlef Braun, CEO of Messe Frankfurt, explains the new concept, according to which the actual trade fair no longer lasts until Saturday: "Business first! (...) For the first time, the event will open on four working days (...), thus underlining its focus on trade visitors." The general public and city dwellers are invited to the Musikmesse Festival, concerts on the exhibition grounds and in city clubs, and to the Plaza Saturday, a mixture of musical market and folk festival. School classes are invited to the Congress Center, where they can try out musical instruments of all kinds.

The trade fair for the experts, the spectacle for the public: that makes sense. However, the publishers, whose professional contacts, i.e. music dealers, are becoming fewer and fewer, are probably not served by this. It is therefore understandable that they are looking to Leipzig. There are even plans to hold their own music fair there in the fall. For the time being, however, they can be found in Frankfurt, and they are also making it quite clear what the classical music industry will be focusing on next year: Beethoven! The 250th birthday is rightly already taking place here, because what will be played and discussed in 2020 is now available in sheet music editions and books.
 

A one-off contribution of CHF 3.7 million to the Tonhalle Society is required to cover the additional costs. In addition to the endowment capital allocated to the Kongresshaus-Stiftung in 2016 (CHF 165 million), an investment contribution to the Kongresshaus-Stiftung of CHF 9.4 million is required to cover the additional construction costs.

In addition, the Tonhalle Society requires a one-off contribution of CHF 3.7 million to cover the costs resulting from the postponement. The main reasons for the additional costs and the postponement are a deterioration in the building fabric, conflicting objectives and imprecise planning.

The Ascona Jazz Award 2019 will be presented to Leroy Jones on Tuesday, June 25, at his concert on the New Orleans stage. The artist will be honored "for the exceptional quality of his musical achievements". Born in 1955, Leroy Jones is one of the most important trumpet players (and singers) in New Orleans in recent decades, a leading representative of a musical movement that upholds the jazz tradition of New Orleans while at the same time rejuvenating it.

In the case of Leroy Jones, writes Jazz Ascona, this leads to a "recognizable sound from the very first note" due to his strong soloist personality and a clear tendency to integrate expressive elements of bebop (in particular) into his music.

The Bern International Jazz Festival was founded in 1976 by hotel entrepreneur Hans Zurbrügg. It is now run by his son Benny Zurbrügg. The 44th edition has been in full swing since mid-March and once again offers no experiments, but rather cultivated sounds. "Basically, we are sticking to remaining a genuine jazz festival and not trying to cram in everything that has sales potential in terms of style," explains Benny Zurbrügg. What has changed since the early days is the main venue, which was moved from the Kursaal Bern to the much more intimate Marians Jazzroom in the basement of the Hotel Innere Enge in 2003. This was under the motto "back to the roots"; after all, both jazz and blues originated in clubs. "Since then, each band has played one or two concerts a night with us, which gives the audience the chance to see their favorite band several times."

IJFB 2019

Bettye LaVette

The concept seems to work, as this year's example of Bettye LaVette illustrates: Four of her five concerts were sold out in advance. And not by chance, as her third appearance suggests: Accompanied by her four-piece band, the 73-year-old R'n'B and soul singer takes us through the highlights of her career since 1962. She is sometimes self-deprecating ("At my age, you shouldn't be trying to learn twelve new Dylan songs"), sometimes proud: she mentions several times that she has already been nominated five times for the most coveted of all music awards, the Grammy. The voice of Bettye LaVette, real name Betty Jo Haskins, may be showing a few signs of age, but it still manages to captivate with passion, temperament and a great deal of self-confidence. While the US-American sings the Dylan composition Things Have Changed with verve, blues and her accumulated life experience, she offers with My Man - He's A Lovin' Man a piece she performed at the age of 16 - is as crisp as it is blunt R'n'B. The 80-minute performance, during which LaVette also performed at Swamp Rock (He Made A Woman Out Of Me) and gospel (Close As I'll Get To Heaven) is dense and so full of tension that the audience feels inspired to give a standing ovation at the end of the concert.

IJFB 2019

Jerron Paxton

An hour later, Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton begins to set up on the stage of Marian's Jazzroom. The 30-year-old wears denim dungarees and looks a little like a farmer from the old days. His music, which is mainly based on the acoustic folk blues of the early 1920s, fits in with this. The audience of around 50 listeners can hear how Paxton - who almost completely lost his sight as a teenager - traces the sound of his ancestors from Louisiana and strives for the greatest possible authenticity. Particularly impressive Ole Dog Bluein which the artist reports on the years of famine following the American Civil War, during which one million black people perished. The organic interplay of banjo sounds and Paxton's haunting vocals provides a highlight. According to festival director Benny Zurbrügg, the fact that the event is not sold out is due to the fact that the musician is unfortunately not yet as well known as Bettye LaVette. However, he is convinced that the evening double concerts are perfect for promoting the popularity of artists like Paxton.

After three weeks of the festival, it is still too early to draw any conclusions, explains Zurbrügg. "But the concerts so far have been a complete success, both artistically and in terms of visitor numbers." This view is also supported by the appearance of music legend Eddie Palmieri. The 82-year-old, who never saw himself as a jazz musician but as a representative of Latin dance, needs a little help to get to his grand piano, but the New Yorker with Puerto Rican roots leads his Afro-Carribean jazz sextet with the same steady hand. However, he leaves most of the spotlight and solos to trumpeter Jonathan Powell and saxophonist Louis Fouché, who provide plenty of drive and pressure. Although Palmieri plays songs such as Mambo Picadillo from the pen of Tito Puente or Samba Do Suenho by Cal Tjader, the result impresses with its light-footedness. This is not least thanks to his adept rhythm section, consisting of Vincente Rivero on congas, Luques Cortes on double bass and percussionist Camilo Molina. The trio knows how to vary non-stop between the intricate and the elegant - which makes for a firework of thrilling moments.

IJFB 2019

Eddie Palmieri and the Afro-Carribean Jazz Sextet

According to the HKB's press release, the four-member jury selected five works from 44 entries, with Samuel Cosandey's "...Sommerzeit?" winning the first prize of 1500 euros. The five works will be premiered at the prizewinners' concert by students of the organ class at the Stuttgart University of Music on the Mühleisen organ.

Samuel Cosandey studied New Music at the HKB with Daniel Glaus and Xavier Dayer in the Master Specialized Music Performance and graduated with distinction in June 2018.
 

Under Gottstein, the festival has opened up further, writes SWR. The number of composers' countries of origin has increased significantly. While women were rarely represented with their works in earlier times, the number of female composers represented has now multiplied. The Donaueschingen Music Days have become more discursive with discussion events and lectures. The research/concert project Donaueschingen Global 2021 addresses issues of post-colonialism in contemporary music.

The Donaueschingen Music Days 2019 will take place from October 17 to 20. The program includes new orchestral works by Saed Haddad, Michael Pelzel, Gérard Pesson, Eva Reiter, Matthew Shlomowitz, Simon Steen-Andersen and Lidia Zielinska. In addition to the SWR Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Experimentalstudio and the SWR Vokalensemble, the SWR Big Band will also be performing in 2019. The Ensemble Intercontemporain, Klangforum Wien, Phace Ensemble and Ensemble Resonanz will also be performing. Mark Andre, Johannes Boris Borowski, Beat Furrer, Herbordt/Mohren, Gordon Kampe, Bernhard Leitner, Nicole Lizée, Alberto Posadas, Kirsten Reese and François Sarhan have been commissioned to compose works.

Björn Gottstein, born in Aachen in 1967, is an editor for new music at SWR in Stuttgart. From 2013 to 2014, he was one of the artistic directors of the Eclat Festival Stuttgart and the SWR concert series Attacca. He has taught at the TU Berlin, the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music, the Hochschule für Musik Basel and the Berlin University of the Arts. From 2009 to 2013, he was chairman of the board of the Initiative Neue Musik Berlin.

Oskar Lagger was born in Münster, in the Upper Valais, in 1934, but grew up in Sion. He went to school there, but retained close ties to his place of origin. In his education, he cultivated the influence of the classes he attended in Paris (1956-1961) and Vienna (1961-1962). His professional career is characterized by his loyalty to both French-speaking and German-speaking culture.

As a music teacher at the German-speaking section of the Teachers' College, as Kapellmeister of Sion Cathedral and as a conductor, teacher and director of the conservatory, he left his mark on generations of students.

Since 2003, the Valais Music Library has been building up a music collection with the support of the Loterie Romande. It currently comprises over 18,000 sound recordings, 23,500 scores, 4,500 works and audiovisual media. After Pierre Mariétan (2005), Jean-Luc Darbellay (2010), Jean Daetwyler (2013) and Marie-Christine Raboud-Theurillat (2016), the Oskar Lagger collection, created in 2018, is the fifth of its kind to be donated to the Valais Music Library by a contemporary composer. The four other collections were also the subject of a publication by the Valais Media Library.

Douglas Bostock is leaving the orchestra after 18 years at the end of the 2018/19 season. Bergmann will take up his position on July 1, 2020 for the 2020/21 season, after the argovia philharmonic has moved into its new concert hall, the Alte Reithalle Aarau. His contract as Chief Conductor of the argovia philharmonic is for a period of 3 years, with an option to extend.

According to the orchestra's press release, the decision was based on the Norwegian's two previous guest conducting engagements with the argovia philharmonic in April 2017 and more recently in January 2019, as well as following his successful work in Calgary and Szczecin.

Rune Bergmann has appeared with numerous orchestras in North America and Europe, including the Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony in the USA, Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Halle and Orquesta Sinfonica Portuguese in Europe. He was also 1st Kapellmeister at the Theater Augsburg. He is currently chief conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in Canada and the Szczecin Philharmonic in Poland as well as director of the Fjord Cadenza music festival in Norway.
 

Cohesion, unity and mutual development are terms that are used at the eighth edition of the industry get-together Classical:NEXT: Music should be made together, challenges mastered cooperatively and all voices heard in harmony.

As in previous years, Classical:NEXT offers the opportunity to gather and exchange information about developments in the field of classical music at an international level. The exhibition, where organizers and producers present their work, is complemented by a variety of conferences, workshops and concerts.

Together with Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Performers' Association (SIG), the Fondation Suisa is once again organizing the "Swiss Music" joint stand for interested parties from Switzerland. Registration is open until May 10.
Link to registration

At municipal theaters, wages ─ based on the collective wage agreement for the public sector (TVöD) ─ will increase by 3.09% retroactively from April 1, 2019 and by a further 1.06% from March 1, 2020. For artistic employees at state theaters, remuneration will be increased retroactively from January 1, 2019 by 3.17 percent, but at least by 100 euros, with reference to the collective agreement for the public service of the federal states (TV-L), and from January 1, 2020 by a further 3.17 percent, but at least by 90 euros.

The pay increases at state theaters depend on which of the above-mentioned pay scales the respective state theater is assigned to. As Hesse is no longer a member of the Tarifgemeinschaft der Länder (TdL), the collective bargaining parties agreed to apply the TV-L regulations for the Hessian State Theatres, Theater Giessen and Theater Marburg. From February 1, 2020, these theaters will then also be subject to the further increase step of the TV-L pay scale.

"Daring music between genres and away from the mainstream" - this is how the enterprising festival co-founder Fredi Bosshard once defined the focus of Taktlos. This has not changed under the new management. This year, for the second time, the event was organized by the Taktlos Association (President Tapiwa Svosve, Vice President Gregor Frei), after 34 years under the auspices of the Fabrikjazz Association. Part of the new concept is that the programmer changes from year to year. In 2018, drummer Lucas Niggli made the start. This time, the choice fell on guitarist Manuel Troller, who has made a name for himself with the post-avant-rock band Schnellertollermeier, which is known far beyond Switzerland's borders, as well as with unconventional solo works and collaborations with the writer Michael Fehr, among others. Troller says that his selection was based on the "independence and originality of the individual musical concepts": "That they move, convince and inspire me." He also made sure that the artists involved came from different scenes and generations, which he hoped would ensure a corresponding mix of audiences. "Last but not least, clear artistic attitudes were important to me. For me, this is a central requirement that I also place on my own work." 

As befits his status, Troller himself performed in the Kanzlei on Thursday to open the festival. He did so with Andi Schnellmann (bass) and David Meier (drums), who together make up the band Schnellertollermeier. "The sharply contoured grooves and minimalist guitar runs stick in your head like a pop song," you could read in the program booklet. Well, the writer of these lines wouldn't go quite that far. In any case, the intense repetitions and subtle shifts within the pieces have a hypnotic, transportive power. The brute electric volume of the trio is also pleasant. It demands dedication and concentration from the audience, but prevents them from indulging in the annoying, submissive devotion that sometimes characterizes the mood of experimental concerts.
Schnellertollermeier's opening performance was one of the highlights of the festival. He was followed by the French pianist Eve Risser. In her percussive hands, the keyboard of the grand piano is hardly more important than the sonic possibilities that arise when any objects are thrown, clamped and pushed into the sound box. I must confess that I failed to derive any pleasure from the resulting sounds. Joshua Abrams and his Natural Information Society from Chicago made access easier. They too work with repetition, scattering filigree details into the patterns that slowly unfold in flowery beauty. The instrumentation alone - gimbri, Indian harmonium, bass clarinet, percussion - is a guarantee for unusual sound experiences. The performance with all the exotic robes, instruments and beards was also pleasantly reminiscent of the old days, when the word "laptop" had not yet been invented and every sensible person wrapped themselves in patchouli from head to toe.
 

Schnellertollermeier, Eve Risser and Joshua Abrams: the stylistic range of the first Taktlos evening could hardly have been wider, perfectly fulfilling Troller's self-imposed brief. The large audience in attendance - the Kanzlei was practically sold out - also fulfilled the expectations in its age mix. The other evenings were no less varied and exciting. For example, singer Sofia Jernberg was unable to perform her planned duet with saxophonist Mette Rasmussen due to illness - but Rasmussen managed to command the stage solo without any problems. Her sometimes brilliant, sometimes tender, sometimes witty pieces were pleasantly short, focused and playful. The trio of Camille Emaille (drums), Hans Koch (sax, clarinet) and dieb13 (turntables) was billed as "a kind of summit meeting of the art of noise". I was most concerned with the question of how exactly dieb13 was able to get these sounds from his turntables. Manuel Troller set another festival highlight on Saturday at Club Zukunft with a powerful yet meditative solo performance.

Streaming revenues increased by 34% and now account for almost half (47%) of global industry sales. Paid streaming was the driver in this area (up 32.9%); a total of 255 million users of paid subscriptions ensured that audio streaming accounted for 37% of total revenue last year.

Growth in streaming more than compensated for the declines in physical sales (minus 10.1%) and downloads (minus 21.2%). The digital share now stands at 58.9% worldwide.

The figures are taken from the latest edition of the Global Music Report (GMR), which was presented by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in London.

Bärtsch is "one of the most important exponents of Swiss jazz", writes the City of Zurich. In recent years, he has continuously and highly reflectively developed his very own musical language, which has attracted a great deal of international attention. Even with this success far beyond the country's borders, Bärtsch continues to be very active in the local scene. He has been playing a concert in the city of Zurich almost every Monday for a good 15 years and is a valued mentor among young Zurich musicians.

The award for special cultural merit - endowed with 20,000 francs - is presented by the City of Zurich to publisher David Basler. As co-founder of the publishing house "Edition Moderne", which now specializes solely in comics, and with the comic magazine "Strapazin", he has put the city of Zurich firmly on the map of international comic creation.
 

With the theme she has outlined, "People of Color", the musician Joan Seiler, born in 1988, "deals with the vibrant melting pot of Chicago", writes the city of Lucerne. Seiler takes up political themes and processes them through play and composition. She plows a broad musical terrain that she constantly expands.

Roland Bucher (born 1976) is the rhythm section of the duo Blind Butcher, which has been active in Switzerland, Germany and France over the past two years. As a roommate in the Künstlerhaus Das Gelbe Haus, the musician "moves in a permeable, creative-artistic context and works in a versatile and interdisciplinary way". The jury was won over by his solo project Noise Table.

Since September 1, 2001, the Lucerne-Chicago City Partnership Association, in collaboration with the City and Canton of Lucerne and with the support of private sponsors, has maintained a studio in Chicago that is made available to Lucerne artists. The occupancy of the studio for the years 2020 and 2021 was put out to tender at the beginning of this year. The call for applications was aimed at artists of all disciplines from the canton of Lucerne.