Barbara Hannigan [pictured] creates international initiative investing in the future of classical music
- World’s top artists and organisations have pledged to incorporate Momentum into the 2020-21 season and beyond
- Momentum launches in two concerts on Saturday 29 August at Snape Maltings with Sir Antonio Pappano
MOMENTUM: Our Future, Now is an initiative driven by leading international artists supporting younger professional colleagues in the first substantial phase of their career. Created by Barbara Hannigan, the Momentum model is an urgent artistic and human response to the situation caused by the 2020 pandemic, yet devised with long-term staying power.
Momentum: Our Future Now, sees leading soloists and conductors supporting younger colleagues by bringing them onto main stage professional engagements, with immediate effect. Young professional soloists are invited to share the stage on leading soloists’ engagements, while young professional conductors assist leading conductors and are given invaluable opportunities to lead an orchestra during the rehearsal period. In each case the young artist receives a fee.
“I have experienced such generosity in my own career, and like many artists I’m passionate about giving back. Creating an initiative where we are collectively uniting to share the stage with our younger colleagues, now and in the future, has long-term benefits for all.” (BarbaraHannigan, soprano and conductor)
The collective initiative has very quickly attracted the support of a rapidly increasing list of the world’s leading solo artists, conductors, orchestras, organisations and festivals, who have agreed to incorporate Momentum into the 2020-21 season and beyond.
Leading soloists and conductors include: Sir Antonio Pappano, Daniel Harding, Barbara Hannigan, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Nicola Benedetti, Susanna Mälkki, Francois-Xavier Roth, Sir George Benjamin, Alisa Weilerstein, Kirill Gerstein, Vladimir Jurowski, Sir Simon Rattle, Leif Ove Andsnes, Natalie Dessay, Karina Canellakis, Rolando Villazón, Sir Mark Elder, Esa Pekka Salonen, Sir Simon Keenlyside, Dame Sarah Connolly, Mark Padmore, Carolyn Sampson, Christopher Maltman, Jakub Hrusa, Cristian Macelaru, Marc Minkowski, Hannu Lintu, Malcolm Martineau, Alice Coote, Bertrand Chamayou, Matthias Pintscher, Allan Clayton, Renaud Capuçon, Lars Vogt, Lahav Shani, Alexandre Tharaud, Thomas Adès, Michael Seal, Florian Boesch, Stephane Degout and Roderick Williams, among many others. This is in cooperation with the major ensembles and presenting organisations with whom these artists work, including Munich Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, OAE, London Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Britten Pears Arts, Wigmore Hall, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Ojai Festival, Bamberg Symphoniker and Gothenburg Symphony.
Momentum launches with its first event in two concerts led by Sir Antonio Pappano at Snape Maltings Concert Hall on Saturday 29 August. A place was created on the programme to invite the Ukrainian baritone, Yuriy Yurchuk, who will be accompanied on the piano by Sir Antonio Pappano. Pappano comments: “Yuriy Yurchuk is an outstanding baritone who was a distinguished member of our ROH Jette Parker Young Artists Programme and I am delighted to have the opportunity to present him in this exciting new initiative, Momentum. It is vital that we all look to support the next generation of performing talent, not least at this difficult time.”
As the recipient of the 2020 Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Barbara Hannigan is making a substantial financial contribution to Momentum as its first sponsor.
For full information including how the Momentum model works and how you can get involved, visit: www.momentum-now.com
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Instagram: @momentum.ourfuturenow
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