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Sad death of a great leader

January 31, 2011 By

A mutual friend has just informed me of the death on Friday of Raymond Cohen, the last leader appointed by Sir Thomas Beecham at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Raymond, who was 91, was the perfect concertmaster, leading by example and preserving corps morale through thick and - often in the RPO's history - thin. He held the post for six years, 1959-65.Raymond appeared often as a soloist with orchestras and in chamber music with his pianist wife, Anthya Rael. Their son is the cellist, Robert … [Read more...]

01/31/11 12:14 PM | filed under: main |

Breaking: Big Canadian coup at Scottish orchestra

January 31, 2011 By

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra has appointed Peter Oundjian as its music director, succeeding Stéphane Denève.Oundjian will job share with the Toronto Symphony, where he remains in charge.A former first violin of the Tokyo String Quartet (and all-round nice guy, by most accounts), Oundjian gave up playing the violin after suffering focal dystonia. He will attemp a one-off comeback concert with Itzhak Perlman in April 2012.The Scottish deal was negotiated for him by agents Harrison … [Read more...]

01/31/11 10:53 AM | filed under: main |

He’s not good enough for New York (but we’ll tell you about him, anyway)

January 30, 2011 By

Michael Tilson Thomas gets a rare draught of oxygen in the New York Times today, in a blog by its chief critic, Anthony Tommasini, which celebrates his 'bi-coastality'. MTT has two orchestras, one in San Francisco, the other in Miami. Nothing new there, but the Times has not thought to feature it before. Despite many virtues and a strong international career, MTT was mysteriously not supported either by the Times or by many players to head the New York Philharmonic during its various … [Read more...]

01/30/11 2:58 PM | filed under: main |

Two musical deaths – Milton Babbitt and Dame Margaret Price

January 29, 2011 By

Milton Babbitt, godfather of American ascetic music, has died aged 94. He was far more than his music let on. A mathematician and wit, he once taught Stephen Sondheim, who spoke of him ever after with warm appreciation.In a 2004 interview, Sondheim said: 'Babbitt taught me what long-line composition is about, how to organise music over a span of time. It has to be the musical equivalent of a plot in a play.'Here's a 2006 Babbitt interview.And here's his Composition for Four Instruments, … [Read more...]

01/29/11 7:36 PM | filed under: main |

Auschwitz violinist in new stage drama

January 28, 2011 By

Henry Meyer, second violin of the La Salle Quartet and a survivor of Auschwitz, is the subject of a new play to be staged in Cincinnati, where he spent the second half of his life.I met Henry at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in the late 1990s and we became firm friends. He was charming, knowledgeable and receptive to most things, except contestants' wrong notes - which drove him vertically up the wall with rage.Here's a page with his Holocaust history.And here's the news … [Read more...]

01/28/11 1:34 PM | filed under: main |

Find me a concertmaster

January 28, 2011 By

In the February issue of The Strad, I discuss the declining status of the orchestral concertmaster - once as important a figure as the maestro but now increasingly invisible. Why is that?Here's a sampler:There was a time when, woken in the middle of the night, I could rattle off the names of concertmasters in great orchestras the way a schoolboy recites his football team or a whisky priest his catechism. At Karajan's left knee in Berlin sat Michel Schwalbé, the expressionless Holocaust … [Read more...]

01/28/11 11:12 AM | filed under: main |

Question for the Culture Secretary

January 28, 2011 By

Question from the Member for Clarity (S.) to the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt.Sir: Could the Rt. Hon. Member explain why the chief executive of Arts Council England, Alan Davey, cannot find the time to meet with the Head of Arts at Britain's second largest city? Apparently, the arts boss at Birmingham City Council cannot get a date. Is this because(a) the ACE is anti-Midlands?(b) Mr Davey has a rare complaint of the right hand that prevents him from picking up a telephone receiver?(c) the ACE is … [Read more...]

01/28/11 10:46 AM | filed under: main |

What Joshua Bell does when his venue cancels

January 28, 2011 By

Most soloists would just go home, or off to a bar, when their concert hall is hit by snow or a power failure. Not Josh Bell.Here's what happened at Strathmore (whose website is still down) when the hall pulled the plug and the punters were left wanting more.There's a video clip, too. … [Read more...]

01/28/11 7:10 AM | filed under: main |

Cellist bounces back from prolonged shoulder paralysis

January 27, 2011 By

The Norwegian cellist Truls Mork is back, The Strad reports.He's been off for 18 months with a rare encephalitis that paralysed his shoulder.Norway has just awarded him the Sibelius Prize.Can't wait to hear him again, part of a terrific crop of Norwegian artists.                                                                   … [Read more...]

01/27/11 8:32 PM | filed under: main |

Big one for Brigitte

January 27, 2011 By

The wonderful Brigitte Fassbaender, once a famous mezzo soprano and now Intendant of a medium-size opera house in Innsbruck, has been appointed an honorary Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by the French Government.That, for some reason, has made by day. All too often singers get forgotten once they step off into retirement, even if they continue to play an active role in theatre management (this may be one why Placido Domingo, now 70, tries to do both). Fassbaender had a unique timbre and was … [Read more...]

01/27/11 9:57 AM | filed under: main |
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