Bob Dylan’s first muse, who has died aged 67, was the girl with the golden hair in the Freewheelin Bob Dylan album – a picture taken by the great Don Hunstein without serious intent and transformed overnight into the defining image of a liberated generation. 

Hunstein was a CBS studio photographer who seldom saw daylight. A decade older than Dylan, he struck up an easy rapport with the rough kid from Duluth and caught him in poses of uncommon informality. Hunstein’s work is archived and copyrighted at www.lebrecht.co.uk. 
Rotolo’s life is recounted here.






























 



Bob Dylan’s first muse, who has died aged 67, was the girl with the golden hair in the Freewheelin Bob Dylan album – a picture taken by the great Don Hunstein without serious intent and transformed overnight into the defining image of a liberated generation. 

Hunstein was a CBS studio photographer who seldom saw daylight. A decade older than Dylan, he struck up an easy rapport with the rough kid from Duluth and caught him in poses of uncommon informality. Hunstein’s work is archived and copyrighted at www.lebrecht.co.uk. 
Rotolo’s life is recounted here.






























 



Jens Winther, the meditative Danish master, has died in Geneva, aged 50. He appears to have suffered a stroke, while asleep.

This obituary from Dagbladet translates into comprehensible English.
Here’s the biographical text from his website:

Jens Winther was born in Denmark in 1960 and started to learn the trumpet at age 10. In 1978 he became a professional freelance trumpet player in the jazz area. In 1982 Jens was appointed solo trumpet player in the Danish Radio Big Band which he began writing for three years later.

In 1989 he left the Big Band and made the big move to New York, due to an invitation to join a two-year workshop under the direction of Bob Brookmeyer. He worked as a professional trumpet player in New York with various groups and musicians such as Toshiko Akoishi Band, Eddie Palmieri, Kenny Barron, Max Roach, Tito Puente, Marie Bauza Orchestra, George Mraz, Xavier Cugat Orchestra, and others. He has worked full time since 1991 as a composer and trumpet soloist besides having his own small group (Jens Winther Group).

On May 5th 1994 Jens performed his first Trumpet-concerto for Symphony Orchestra, “Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra”. The concerto was subsequently performed at an international music festival in Riga.

In 1998 Jens was commissioned to work for the Metropole Orchestra in Holland (60 piece orchestra) where he also acted as a soloist. He was then commissioned to work for the Danish Radio Big Band and the Danish Radio Concert Choir. Jens toured with George Gruntz Concert band in Oct-Nov 1998.

On April 29th 1999 Jens teamed up with Århus Symphonic Orchestra for the first performance with the 2nd. Trumpet concerto “The Eagle” in Århus Musikhus.

Shortly after that he composed “Pluto and Beyond”, a 40 min. commissioned work for the Metropole Orchestra.

Since then Jens has been touring with his own group and various German small groups internationally.

Throughout the years Jens Winther has toured with such great musicians as Joe Henderson, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Bob Brookmeyer, Thad Jones, Al Foster and George Gruntz.

Jens has also had the opportunity to perform with Miles Davis (on “Aura”), Abdullah Ibrahim, Hermeto Pascoal, Michel Camillo, Dizzy Gillespie, Cella Cruz and Clark Terry to name but a few.

And here’s a fabulous youtube demo.
JW European Quartet
                                          Winther (2nd right) with his quartet

Jens Winther, the meditative Danish master, has died in Geneva, aged 50. He appears to have suffered a stroke, while asleep.

This obituary from Dagbladet translates into comprehensible English.
Here’s the biographical text from his website:

Jens Winther was born in Denmark in 1960 and started to learn the trumpet at age 10. In 1978 he became a professional freelance trumpet player in the jazz area. In 1982 Jens was appointed solo trumpet player in the Danish Radio Big Band which he began writing for three years later.

In 1989 he left the Big Band and made the big move to New York, due to an invitation to join a two-year workshop under the direction of Bob Brookmeyer. He worked as a professional trumpet player in New York with various groups and musicians such as Toshiko Akoishi Band, Eddie Palmieri, Kenny Barron, Max Roach, Tito Puente, Marie Bauza Orchestra, George Mraz, Xavier Cugat Orchestra, and others. He has worked full time since 1991 as a composer and trumpet soloist besides having his own small group (Jens Winther Group).

On May 5th 1994 Jens performed his first Trumpet-concerto for Symphony Orchestra, “Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra”. The concerto was subsequently performed at an international music festival in Riga.

In 1998 Jens was commissioned to work for the Metropole Orchestra in Holland (60 piece orchestra) where he also acted as a soloist. He was then commissioned to work for the Danish Radio Big Band and the Danish Radio Concert Choir. Jens toured with George Gruntz Concert band in Oct-Nov 1998.

On April 29th 1999 Jens teamed up with Århus Symphonic Orchestra for the first performance with the 2nd. Trumpet concerto “The Eagle” in Århus Musikhus.

Shortly after that he composed “Pluto and Beyond”, a 40 min. commissioned work for the Metropole Orchestra.

Since then Jens has been touring with his own group and various German small groups internationally.

Throughout the years Jens Winther has toured with such great musicians as Joe Henderson, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Bob Brookmeyer, Thad Jones, Al Foster and George Gruntz.

Jens has also had the opportunity to perform with Miles Davis (on “Aura”), Abdullah Ibrahim, Hermeto Pascoal, Michel Camillo, Dizzy Gillespie, Cella Cruz and Clark Terry to name but a few.

And here’s a fabulous youtube demo.
JW European Quartet
                                          Winther (2nd right) with his quartet

Dickon Stainer, head of the Decca Records Group, has been telling Billboard why he brought the label back from the dead and what he plans to do with it.

No more crossover, says Dickon:  “We’re not decrying the attraction of crossover but we need to pay attention to the classical music which is filling concert halls the world over.”
And no quick-fix solutions, either:  “Building a career like Pavarotti’s takes decades. That long-term planning can’t exist within the mentality of needing a hit in six months.”
All good news, right? He gets the point that classical music has its own dynamics and needs to be treated as a special case. Then he spoils it by saying “The classical industry can learn from digital innovation in the pop world, and the speed with which artists are being broken in pop needs to be mirrored, at least.”
Which must be why Decca is signing competition winners like Bezhod Abduraimov and breaking them overnight – not to mention footballers like the saxophone playing Tyler Rix, pictured with Dickon below.

Anyone spot a contradiction?


Dickon Stainer, head of the Decca Records Group, has been telling Billboard why he brought the label back from the dead and what he plans to do with it.

No more crossover, says Dickon:  “We’re not decrying the attraction of crossover but we need to pay attention to the classical music which is filling concert halls the world over.”
And no quick-fix solutions, either:  “Building a career like Pavarotti’s takes decades. That long-term planning can’t exist within the mentality of needing a hit in six months.”
All good news, right? He gets the point that classical music has its own dynamics and needs to be treated as a special case. Then he spoils it by saying “The classical industry can learn from digital innovation in the pop world, and the speed with which artists are being broken in pop needs to be mirrored, at least.”
Which must be why Decca is signing competition winners like Bezhod Abduraimov and breaking them overnight – not to mention footballers like the saxophone playing Tyler Rix, pictured with Dickon below.

Anyone spot a contradiction?


The Guardian has raised the Berlin noise another notch by asking, on its op-ed page, why London (among other great cities) can’t have an orchestra like Berlin. The question has been rumbling for almost 50 years – ever since Lord Goodman at the Arts Council tried to bang heads together and form a super-orchestra. Charlotte Higgins yearns for much the same.

The point is, there is no point. Berlin has a Mercedes of an orchestra that is driven smoothly and with little apparent friction by Simon Rattle. Good luck to them. London has five orchestras that are driven to distraction by the need to earn a living and are forever on the point of combustion.
That makes listening to most of the London bands a far more exhilarating experience than hearing Berlin being put through its immaculate paces. Berlin is a terrific machine; it seldom fails; sometimes it verges on smugness. London’s music is always on the edge of risk. Not a week goes by without a conductor or manager feeling that his/her job hangs by a thread.
That makes music in London far more exciting than Berlin, a superior spectator sport in much the same way as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will always be more fun to watch than Bayern Munich – as millions of Germans would agree.
London has an awkward yet entirely unique musical ecology. Attempts by official bodies to tamper with it are doomed to failure. We should celebrate what we’ve got, ever striving for improvement, rather than trying to emulate the sleek solutions of a different civilisation.

The Guardian has raised the Berlin noise another notch by asking, on its op-ed page, why London (among other great cities) can’t have an orchestra like Berlin. The question has been rumbling for almost 50 years – ever since Lord Goodman at the Arts Council tried to bang heads together and form a super-orchestra. Charlotte Higgins yearns for much the same.

The point is, there is no point. Berlin has a Mercedes of an orchestra that is driven smoothly and with little apparent friction by Simon Rattle. Good luck to them. London has five orchestras that are driven to distraction by the need to earn a living and are forever on the point of combustion.
That makes listening to most of the London bands a far more exhilarating experience than hearing Berlin being put through its immaculate paces. Berlin is a terrific machine; it seldom fails; sometimes it verges on smugness. London’s music is always on the edge of risk. Not a week goes by without a conductor or manager feeling that his/her job hangs by a thread.
That makes music in London far more exciting than Berlin, a superior spectator sport in much the same way as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will always be more fun to watch than Bayern Munich – as millions of Germans would agree.
London has an awkward yet entirely unique musical ecology. Attempts by official bodies to tamper with it are doomed to failure. We should celebrate what we’ve got, ever striving for improvement, rather than trying to emulate the sleek solutions of a different civilisation.

Arnost Lustig, author of Night and Hope, has died in Prague, aged 84.

A prisoner of the Nazis in Terezin, he jumped off a train to Dachau and reached Prague in time to take part in its liberation. He quit the country after the Soviet invasion in 1968, returning after the fall of Communism in 1989. He received the Kafka award three years ago, in the footsteps of Philip Roth, Harold Pinter and Haruki Murakami.
Much of his fiction is Holocaust-related. The most recent novel was Lovely Green Eyes (2004).

                                                                                                                                                        Foto archiv Pravo.

Arnost Lustig, author of Night and Hope, has died in Prague, aged 84.

A prisoner of the Nazis in Terezin, he jumped off a train to Dachau and reached Prague in time to take part in its liberation. He quit the country after the Soviet invasion in 1968, returning after the fall of Communism in 1989. He received the Kafka award three years ago, in the footsteps of Philip Roth, Harold Pinter and Haruki Murakami.
Much of his fiction is Holocaust-related. The most recent novel was Lovely Green Eyes (2004).

                                                                                                                                                        Foto archiv Pravo.

The Bochum Symphony Orchestra is presenting a double performance on March 18 of Bach’s St John Passion with the Sephardic Passion by the Israeli composer Noam Sheriff, originally premiered in 1992 with Placido Domingo as lead tenor. 

The concerts are being given as part of an extended theme on relations between German and Jewish musicians, led by conductor Steven Sloane. Here’s the Bochum website, which does not give much away (in German). 

But here, as bonus, is Domingo singing the Shema Yisrael and a Ladino lullaby, durme durme, from Sheriff’s Passion.
Be amazed.

The Bochum Symphony Orchestra is presenting a double performance on March 18 of Bach’s St John Passion with the Sephardic Passion by the Israeli composer Noam Sheriff, originally premiered in 1992 with Placido Domingo as lead tenor. 

The concerts are being given as part of an extended theme on relations between German and Jewish musicians, led by conductor Steven Sloane. Here’s the Bochum website, which does not give much away (in German). 

But here, as bonus, is Domingo singing the Shema Yisrael and a Ladino lullaby, durme durme, from Sheriff’s Passion.
Be amazed.