Germany's cultural scene largely avoided showing solidarity with the victims of the Hamas attacks in Israel, pianist Igor Levit has said, which is why he wanted to hold an event that would break the silence.
The conductor Joana Mallwitz, artistic director of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, has been awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The federal citation states that Mallwitz, 37, stands for 'the future of classical music with its universal, people-unifying language'. Timing is everything in politics, as in music. The award is being made
"Thrashing up and down the keyboard, he scattered discordinance with mesmerising accuracy, until finally, jumping up from the piano, he ran from the stage, leaving his astonished audience cheering." BILL STEPHENS reviews Jeonghwan Kim.