The artist Norman Perryman came by the other day with a dazzling selection of his kinetic and music-themed works. If you’ve ever been to Symphony Hall, Birmingham, you will know his great Mahlerian mural

(c) Lebrecht Music &Arts
but the work that caught my eye this time was a magnificent portrait of the conductor Yakov Kreizberg, who died so young and beloved last month. Norman told me that he got to know Yakov in Amsterdam, while he worked with the Netherlands Philharmonic, and that they planned to work together on a Stravinsky kinetic performance. Here’s Norman’s tribute:  ‘Black and red were his colours – a comment on his cultural origins. But it would take ten more paintings to portray Yakov’s creative ablities and generous, kindly personality.’
181308_Yakov Kreizberg - conducting.jpg


(c) Norman Perryman/Lebrecht Music & Arts. all rights reserved


Barely had this reminscence sunk in than the mail brought Yakov’s last recording – four orchestral tone poems with his violinist discovery, Julia Fischer. The Suk, Chausson and Vaughan Williams pieces are beautifully played and predictably chosen. The opening piece, though, has an epitaph quality. It’s the Poema autunnale by Ottorino Respighi, a gentle, lingering parting from the great noonday glare of life.

May he rest in peace.

The protest by members of the youth orchestra who refused to play in place of sacked members of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra was cut off by the hall management, who disconnected the microphones. 

But I have been sent two texts that the young players tried to read and believe many senior musicians will be encouraged by the principles expressed.
Text 1
I am a musician of Young OSB, and this is a letter I wrote the night 
following the “concert chaos”, a letter in which I attempt to 

There are those who wonder, of course, because we did what we did and 
especially the manner in which our action has been undertaken. Before 
answering this question, I would like to ask a question that consumed 
me for whole nights: 
  
Why was the concert not canceled? 
  
The reasons why this concert should have been canceled wouldn’t fit on 
a letter. OSB is undergoing a crisis of unprecedented proportions. This 
fact is already known from the international community and the 
orchestral public at large. Virtually the entire music community spoke 
out against what is being taken forward by FOSB. Only from the top of 
my mind, The Rio de Janeiro Federal University, the UNIRIO, the 
Villa-Lobos Foundation, Petrobras Symphony, the Municipal Theater 
Symphony, The Order of the Musicians of Brazil and SindMusi published 
official notes in rejection. Artists of international level refused to 
get involved with the orchestra during this period, such as Nelson 
Freire, Cristina Ortiz, Roberto Tibiriçá, Ana Botafogo, Alex Neoral, 
Fabiano Segalote and Marina Spoladore, or published  open letters 
against the aforementioned sackings, as Isaac Karabtchevsky, Alex 
Klein, Ricardo Rocha, Alison Balsom and dozens of others. 
  
We, young and (at least in my case) unexperienced musicians, found 
ourselves in the position of involuntary replacement of our colleagues 
– and in many cases also our teachers, mentors, friends, professional 
examples. Although Conductor Minczuk has stated that “replace the 
musicians of the OSB […] was not the ‘intention’ of the Foundation,” 
this was certainly the ‘effect’ of such a decision. Questioned as it 
might be whether, in fact, that replacement of sorts IS what happened 
or if this idea was touted to harm FosB, there is no doubt that this 
was indeed the prevailing view in our ways of working and living 
together. And we suffered due it, and not little suffering. 
  
Therefore, we the youth orquestra, though not out of “free will” as was 
once said, have been placed as defenders of the actions of our 
superiors. After all, if we were still playing under their orders and 
accepting their decisions, how could we be in favor of our fired 
colleagues? 
  
And beyond all this there was the rage buildup around the concert 
itself. More than once, the subscribers of the series of OSB have come 
publicly to express they did not want, nor had paid for, to attend to a 
grafted youth orchestra. It was a known fact that musicians of the OSB 
would be playing outside the theater in protest, and that musicians 
from other groups and localities would enter the theater with the sole 
purpose of protesting Minczuk and booing the musicians. 
  
Let us, for a minute, place ourselves in this situation where the OSB 
Young saw himself: our audience divided between suspicious subscribers 
and hostile players, and at the outside our offended former classmates 
and former teachers playing in protest to the concert that we, of all 
people in the world, would be running. 
  
Hence my question: Why was the show not canceled? Why was this concert 
carried out until the very last consequences, if everything and 
everyone was against it? The Young OSB is an educational project; we 
are there to learn. What could be learned under these conditions? Why 
not one of the 11 Council members raised the question of how to be on 
that stage that day would be harmful to us? 
  
Puting it another way: between Maestro, Foundation, Council Board, 
sponsors, production and audience, why did nobody thought of us? 


                   photo: flickr
Text 2:

Music comes first! We in the OSB Youth orchestra firmly believe in this. We believe that in order to have music, and in order to have musicians, there must exist above all respect.

Faced with this whole inseparable situation – where an immoral action finds support in the law – the dignity of the entire musical class should prevail and, consequently, the OSB-YO manifests itself peacefully by refusing to play, not only because we being used to replace the professional OSB, which is a fact, but because today
we are in the role of being
the future of music in our country, and do not want our musical and social reality to remain without respect, morals or dialogue.

Although on more than one occasion it has been stated that the conductor and FOSB are open to dialogue, we don’t believe this will solve our situation as young musicians, for this same channel of dialogue was open to the professionals and FOSB did not compromise, triggering this sad scenario where the music scene is today.

We want, as of today, now and forever, to exercise our profession, making music in a healthy environment and having respect for others as a principle.

We are here today in this situation and choose to act, we choose to express ourselves on behalf of music and truth, and, with all due respect to the audiences of today and of always, we will not be playing today.

We place out hope on doing the right things, and it is with this hope that we appreciate and rely on your support.

The OSB Youth Orchestra

text 3 (in Portuguese):
A  música acima de tudo! Nós da OSBJovem acreditamos nesta afirmativa.
Acreditamos que para haver música deve haver músicos, e que para haver
músicos
deve acima de tudo existir respeito.

Frente a toda esta situação indissociável – onde uma ação imoral
encontra
respaldo na lei – a dignidade de toda a classe musical deve prevalecer
e, assim
sendo, a OSBJovem se manifesta de forma pacífica se recusando a tocar,
não
apenas por estarmos sendo usados para substituir a OSB profissional, o
que é
fato, mas porque hoje estamos no papel de ser o futuro da música no
país, e não
queremos que a realidade musical e social continue sem respeito, sem
moral e sem
diálogo.

Embora em mais de uma ocasião tenha sido colocado que a FOSB e o
maestro estão
abertos a diálogo, não acreditamos que isso possa resolver a nossa
situação como
músicos jovens, uma vez que esse mesmo canal de diálogo foi aberto aos
profissionais e a FOSB não transigiu, desencadeando este triste cenário
em que o
meio musical se encontra.

Queremos a partir de hoje, de agora e para sempre, exercer nossa
profissão,
fazer música em um ambiente saudável e tendo como principio o respeito
ao
próximo.

Hoje estamos aqui nesta situação e escolhemos agir, escolhemos nos
manifestar em
prol da música e da verdade, e é com todo o respeito à plateia de hoje
e de
sempre que não tocaremos hoje.

Temos esperança nas coisas certas, e é com essa esperança que
agradecemos e
contamos com o apoio de todos vocês.

I’ve been reading breathless reports on the birth of opera’s new baby.

Apparently, Juan Diego Florez sat up all night with his wife, Julia, in their rented Manhattan apartment. The baby was born just after noon, giving the proud father a minute or so to hold him before he had to dash for a 1pm Comte Ory at the Met with Diana Damrau and Joyce DiDonato.
Here’s a link, but the media were hours late. Joyce tweeted the news hot from her tenor’s lips.

                                     Mr & Mrs Juan-D Flo

This sun-drenched Sunday afternoon, within easy reach of Hampstead Heath, I shall be having a heated discussion with the pianist Peter Donohoe on which of the two composers, Ludwig or Gus, makes more of an impact on our lives today.

Peter is probably the cleverest pianist ever born with English as his mother tongue – go on, debate that among yourselves – and his views on Beethoven have doubtless matured since I saw him last. As have mine on Mahler.
Anyhow, we’re going to have fun at The Red Hedgehog at 3pm. You can, too.
Details below.
Map

Some kind souls have posted on youtube what happened when the Brazil Symphony Orchestra management attempted to put a concert with youth players in place of the musicians they had sacked. The conductor, Roberto Minczuk, entered to a mixed chorus of applause – people who had paid for their tickets and wanted to hear music, presumably – and an equal volume of boos.

Half the orchestra then walked off. Watch here. http://youtu.be/PkU2p6gWEjY
Here’s another view from an upper balcony, which shows a warm reception for the orchestra, followed by violent abuse for Minczuk. 
And here’s some footage outside the hall.
I await video of the truncated speech by a member of the youth orchestra.
The OSB management soon after ‘profoundly lamented’ the incident and announced the cancellation of Sunday’s concert. If the chaos continues, it may soon have to announce self-annulation. It is fast becoming a laughing stock.
A Fundação OSB lamenta profundamente o episódio deflagrado por parte dos músicos da OSB Jovem no início da tarde deste sábado (09/04). A FOSB considerou um desrespeito com o público que esteve presente para assistir ao espetáculo e com o próprio Theatro Municipal, templo da boa música. A Fundação comunica também que o Concerto da Juventude, que aconteceria neste domingo (10/04), às 11h, está cancelado. O público que comprou ingresso deve se dirigir à bilheteria do teatro para efetuar a troca. O telefone de contato para assinantes é (21) 2505-8383.



A Saturday concert in which a youth orchestra replaced the Brazil Symphony Orchestra, half of whose players were fired, was abandoned wothout a note being played when the conductor Roberto Minczuk was greeted with audience boos and applause.

A member of the youth orchestra then read a statement saying they refused to play in place of the dismissed musicians. The microphones were cut off, silencing his speech.
Full report here in O Globo (in Portuguese, with Google translate).
Earlier, the secretary of the British Musicians Union, John Smith, who is also president of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) said his members would offer all support to the sacked Brazilians. Report here.
Minczuk is due to to conduct in Liverpool next month and to audition musicians in London. He may find the session unattended.
The situation at the OSB appears to be degenerating by the day into chaos.
 

Zubin Mehta, whose Japan tour with the Maggio Musicale of Florence was wrecked by the quake and tsunami, is giving a Munich benefit concert on May 2 with members of the State Opera, the Philharmonic and the Bavarian Radio symphony orchestra.

The programme is, inevitably, Beethoven’s Ninth.

The Ninth is performed in Japan every New Years Day as a nationally unifying ritual.
Tickets here.
Dig deep, please.
Here’s Zubin in Tokyo in happier times, taken from his website.

photo © Kiyonori  Hasegawa

The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt argued on Question Time last night that leaving the healthy system unreformed in a fast-changing society was ‘not an option’.

On BBC Breakfast this morning I argued that the same applies to the arts. It is absurd to continue with an Arts Council mechanism that was improvised 66 years ago and has been allowed to blunder on, essentially unchanged, through several social revolutions.
The time has come for the arts to speak directly to government. They are a huge industry and an exceptionally sound investment. Why devolve the arts to clerks when statesmanship is needed and the public demand accountability?
That is a question the Culture Secretary has fudged so far. Maybe it’s time to take it higher.
 Star Trek actor inspired by films

photo: AP
I was appearing on the news show with the actor Sam West, who was heading off to Downing Street with the man from Star Trek and Maxine Peake from Silk to present a polite letter to the prime  minister, urging his to take a post-recessional view of the importance of arts to the nation.
Jolly good idea, and Sam was dead keen to get his letter into the right hands.
If he’d only paused to read the morning papers, he’d have learned that David Cameron has just flitted off with his other Sam for a birthday break in Spain. 
Guess he doesn’t care much for the arts.

                              photo: BBC
Her Silkiness won’t be pleased.

After telling us that the artists of the decade are four young men from a barbershop on the wrong side of town, guess who’s up for Best Male Artist of the Year?

A major singer on top of his form? 
Er, no. It’s Rolando Villazon.
Now it’s sad and common knowledge in the opera world that something’s not right with Rolando. He cancels often and, when he does sing, the zest has gone out of the voice.
So why exalt him with an award? It can only hurt his genuine efforts to recover a manageable relationship with his failing talent.
These, however, are not the concern of the pop suits who Classic Brits. They like Rolando because he appeared on a reality show, Popstar to Operastar.
Best artist of the year? Gimme a break.
Give him a break, too.

Two of the national’s leading dancers have cancelled this weekend’s performance with the strife-torn Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, which has sacked half its musicians and is using the youth ensemble in their stead.

Ana Botafogo (below) and Alex Noral have joined a growing boycott.

Earlier story here.

Rub those eyes.

Yes, it’s a genuine offer and it’s exclusive for the moment to slipped disc.
Thanks to subsidy from an anonymous donor, 80 seats are being given away for free at Grange Park Opera, in rolling Hampshire meadows, for an opera of your choice.
Well, not much choice: it’s Rusalka (Dvorak) or Tristan und Isolde (Wagner). 
But I wouldn’t grumble. Think: an hour’s preable in afternoon sunshine with Pimms in hand, an interval picnic, a night at the opera…. oh, heaven.
And it’s free.
There’s only one catch: you have to be aged 14 to 25.
If you’re under 16, you’ll need to bring an adult, but he or she will also get in for free.
It’s first come, first served – so get in fast.
Email jan@grangeparkopera.co.uk or phone her on 01962 73 73 66 and tell her why you want to see a country house opera for free.

I think she can work it out herself, but you’ll need to persuade her.

And if you mention slipped disc, I might even get the boss to buy you a non-alky drink beneath the chandeliers.