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David Garrett plays Paganini on film
Violinist David Garrett, a performer who bridges the worlds of rock and classical music, will make his feature debut in Bernard Rose’s The Devil’s Violinist, a historical biopic about 19th-century Italian violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. The film, which has a budget between $15-20 million, is slated to begin filming in August throughout Europe. “It has been a lifelong ambition to be involved in a film about my hero Niccolò Paganini,” said Garrett. LJA

Festival d’opéra de Québec and Met co-produce opera
Le Festival d’opéra de Québec and the Metropolitan Opera have announced that they will work together to co-produce a new opera directed by Robert Lepage: The Tempest by Thomas Adès. The opera, which premiered in London in 2004, will be staged this summer at the Louis-Fréchette hall of Quebec City’s Grand Théâtre. It will feature many Canadian singers, including Frédéric Antoun, Julie Boulianne, Daniel Taylor, and Joseph Rouleau. The conductor has not been announced. PM

Sakari Oramo named BBC Symphony’s new conductor
Sakari Oramo has been appointed as the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s new chief conductor designate. He will resume the post at the 2013 Proms. Oramo is from Finland and 46-years-old. He currently leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the Finnish Radio Symphony. He will replace Jiří Bělohlávek, who will return to the Czech Philharmonic after five years with the BBCSO. Oramo conducted the BBCSO last October in a performance that included Sibelius’ Third Symphony. CC

Classical music at the Grammys and Junos
The latest edition of the Grammy Awards honoured the artists of classical music. Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic took home the trophy for orchestral music for their recording of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4. The award for Best Opera Recording went to John Adams’ Doctor Atomic. The Junos will take place on April 1, 2012. Several Québécois artists have been nominated, including Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain, Alexandre Da Costa and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Louis Lortie, Marc-André Hamelin, Karina Gauvin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and Jacques Hétu. PM

Paul Watkins joins Emerson String Quartet
The Emerson String Quartet is welcoming a new member for the first time in three decades. Cellist David Finckel will focus on other projects and will be replaced by Paul Watkins, who is, among other things, the English Chamber Orchestra’s inaugural music director. CC

Free Music Ed. Symposium
The Leading Note Foundation and the Ottawa Chamber Music Society are presenting a free, one-day symposium on March 31st at Ottawa’s Dominion Chalmers Church to discuss the impact of music education on children. To sign up please contact Gayle Jennings at leadingnotefoundation[at]hotmail.com or 613.859.3559. LJA

2012 National Orchestras Meeting
The 2012 National Orchestras Meetings will be held in Montreal from May 27th to 29th and will be hosted by the OSM and HEC Montréal. There will be peer discussions, workshops and networking events. LJA

In Memoriam

Charles Anthony » The tenor spent the majority of his career on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, where he performed in 69 different productions. Born in 1929 in New Orleans, he rose to fame thanks to the “Auditions of the Air” competition in 1952. Just before beginning his career on stage, he was advised to change his name (Calogero Antonio Caruso) to avoid being mistaken for a relative of Enrico Caruso, one of the greatest tenors of all time. PM

André Asselin » A composer, pianist, and musicologist, André Asselin passed away on January 26, 2012. After studying piano with Auguste Descarries, he toured in 1948 with the Paris Opera dance troupe, including in South America. A real ambassador of Canadian classical music, he championed works by Claude Champagne, Auguste Descarries, and André and Rodolphe Mathieu in Europe. After living in Paris for close to forty years, he moved back to Montreal in 1987. PM

Translation: Crystal Chan, Rebecca Anne Clark