


© Janice Yi, courtesy of WQXR
News
Alma's Piano Songs (Lieder für Klavier)
My new album of sheet music for children, Alma's Piano Songs is now out,. It's available on Amazon worldwide.
Mein neues Album für junge Pianistinnen und Pianisten, Lieder für Klavier, ist jetzt erschienen! Es ist bei Amazon erhältlich.
The Emperor's New Tune
My new musical comedy, Des Kaisers neue Walzer, (The Emperor's New Tune), premiered in Salzburg in March to standing ovations. "If you don't leave the theater humming, you've lost your marbles..." wrote reviewer Stephan Burianek (Opern.News). Performances run till May (Tickets here). You can also hear me talking about the opera on BBC Radio 4 Today, on the BBC World Service, and on Youtube
Conducting Cinderella in San Jose
So, it’s not everyday that one has something as exciting as this to announce....! In November, I will make my debut as a musical director (that is: conductor!) of a revival production of my own opera, Cinderella, in Opera San Jose, California.
More details in the video.
Premiere on November 12, 2022
New Opera in Salzburg, March 2023
My new opera, The Emperor's New Waltz, a commission of the Salzburg State Theatre, will premiere on March 4, 2023.
Mozart against modern beats, shrill dissonance against harmonic beauty: Alma Deutscher's opera takes place in a world full of music. Inspired by the fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes," the opera tells a story about pretence and truth and about the bonding power of music. The gardener and the rich heiress: Jonas and Leonie could hardly be more different. No wonder that the two can't stand each other. What unites them, however, is the dream of studying at the music academy. But Leonie's father, fashion mogul Rudolf Kaiser, thinks that her planned marriage to the renowned contemporary composer Sir Anthony Swindelle will bring enough high culture into the family. Leonie decides to visit the university disguised as a boy, and comes across Jonas there. Together they discover that Swindelle is pursuing quite self-serving plans...
Conducting at University
I have a very exciting announcement to make! As some of you may know, I have always been home-schooled, but now that I am 16, this is about to change. In October 2021, I started life as a student at university: the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW). I started a degree in conducting. This is thrilling for me in many ways. First of all, it is a huge privilege to study at the MDW with the distinguished conductor Johannes Wildner. And it is an honour to attend this great institution where, for example, Gustav Mahler was a student and, more recently, the great conductors Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado, and Kirill Petrenko have studied. Of course, it’s incredibly exciting for me to go in this new direction of leading an orchestra. I have had the pleasure of working with many wonderful conductors, who have interpreted my own music very beautifully. But I sometimes also feel the urge to interpret my orchestral music myself, and I have lots of plans about starting a series of concerts where I will be conducting my own compositions. I’m really looking forward to experiencing life at university!
Cinderella at Wexford Festival 2022
I'm very happy to report that my opera Cinderella will be put on in the prestigious Wexford Festival Opera in Ireland next year. The premiere will be on October 26, 2022. This will be the sixth production of this opera, after the productions in the Galilee (2015), Vienna - Baumgarten (2016), San Jose (2017), Vienna State Opera (children's version, 2018 and 2019), Salzburg State Theatre (2021-2).
Alma received the Premio Leonardo
On May 29, 2021, in a ceremony in Vienna, Alma received the Rotary Leonardo da Vinci International Award, given jointly by 11 Rotary clubs across Europe. Premio President Wulf Gordian Hauser said: “At 16, Alma Deutscher is the youngest prize winner ever in the 46-year history of the Premio.” Alexander Schallenberg, Foreign Minister of Austria said: “Alma Deutscher may be British by birth, and a cultural cosmopolitan, but I dare claim she is carrying a strong Austrian cultural DNA within her. She is an enrichment of the cultural scene, which we are so rightfully proud of in this country.” Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian Parliament: “Alma Deutscher acts as a cultural ambassador for Europe. Austria can be proud that in 2018, Alma Deutscher moved to Vienna. This is also a clear sign that Vienna still lives up to its reputation as the capital of classical music. Alma, you are an extraordinary talent, and music is the soundtrack of your life.” Dr. Bogdan Roščić, director of the Vienna State Opera: “one cannot help but being filled with wonder when one considers what Alma Deutscher has achieved in the 16 years of her life.”
First publication of Sheet Music
I have an exciting announcement to make! For some years now, many people have asked me when my compositions would be published and when they would be available to purchase. Well, it turns out this is more difficult and complex than what people realize, and so it has taken a very long time even to get started. But I'm now extremely happy to announce that a book of my com-positions has just been published by the distinguished publishers G. Schirmer. It's a book of piano pieces, and it contains all the pieces that appear on my Sony album, From My Book of Melodies. It's now available in print from these shops (USA or USA, UK, Europe), and it's also available for digital download. I hope you will enjoy playing my compositions!
Standing ovation for Cinderella in Salzburg
On May 26, 2021, a reduced "Corona-version" of Alma's opera Cinderella received its deferred premiere at the Salzburg State Theatre, and was greeted with standing ovation!
“Alma Deutscher's “Cinderella” at the Salzburg State theatre: a feast for the eyes and ears. Cinderella is exhilarating, enchantingly moving, and spiced with finely ground comedy, and it was deservedly honoured with a standing ovation at the end.” Orpheus Magazine
Alma to write new opera for Salzburg
The director of the Salzburg State Theatre, Carl Philip von Maldeghem, announced in January that a new opera has been commissioned from Alma Deutscher: "The Emperor's New Waltz". The premiere is planned for 2022. "The opera will be a romantic comedy, and I'm looking forward to developing and setting a new story" said Deutscher. "Already the first performance of the Siren Sounds waltz in Salzburg at the New Year's Eve concert has shown that Alma Deutscher developed a very own sound language", said director Maldeghem. "We are excited to see her new composition in Salzburg and to take the path of creative development with her." Photo: A.M.Löffelberger
Standing ovations at Carnegie Hall for Alma's concert on December 12, 2019. The concert was dedicated to Alma's own composition, and included her her new concert waltz: Siren Sounds, her violin concerto, her piano concerto (with Alma as soloist in both), and highlights from Alma’s opera Cinderella. Find out more, and watch the whole concert here.
In October 2019, Alma received the European Culture Prize in a ceremony at the Vienna State Opera. After thanking baritone Thomas Hampson for his generous words of praise, Alma made a plea for melody and for harmony in the modern world. Video here.
Photo © Johannes Zinner.
Beijing Music Festival's
Young Musician Award 2019
%20(Large)_J.jpg)
On October 12, 2019, Alma received the Beijing Music Festival’s Young Musician Award 2019.
Photo © BMF