29May

Leipzig delivers one of the great Mahler 8s

I’ve had three night to sleep on it and I am still under the spell of Mahler’s Symphony of 1,000 conducted by Riccardo Chailly with the Gewandhaus Orchestra on Thursday, as the climax to the city’s revelatory and rehabilitatory Mahler Festival. Chailly has conducted the eighth more than any other Mahler symphony and – though […]

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25May

Mahler's graphic revisions uncovered

Sotheby’s are offering for sale a rare first edition of Mahler’s third symphony with his own revisions for the next printing. ?What’s remarkable about it is its unremarkability. Mahler never regarded a work of his as finished, always trying it one way in concert, then another, driving publishers to distraction with his changes. In the […]

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25May

Washington slams lid on the Domingo era

In a manoeuvre that has been conducted with the pace of a lame tortoise, Washington National Opera has finally divested itself of an absentee director and appointed an artistic advisor of energy and commitment. Francesca Zambello will be planning the show, with Michael Mael as executive director and Kennedy Center chief Michael Kaiser involved more […]

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25May

Guess who's moving in on the Rattle vacancy in Salzburg

When the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra cancelled its deal with the Salzburg Easter Festival 10 days ago, many saw the withdrawal as a crippling blow for the Karajan-founded event. The Berliners said they had been offered more money by Baden-Baden. After 45 years, they were happy to trade down high prestige for a mess of pottage. […]

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25May

Bregenz names Pountney's successor

The Bregenz Festival – the one with a stage on the lake – was left in the lurch when David Pountney flitted off last month to head Welsh National Opera. Moving with a speed that would be envied by most football teams, it has installed Roland Geyer of the Theater an der Wien in his […]

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25May

Breaking: sacked Welsh player wins on appeal

The oboist Murray ‘Sandy’ Johnston who took his dismissal by Welsh National Opera to court has succeeded in overturning the original verdict. His case will be heard again by a different panel. Johnston claimed he was unjustly treated by the former WNO music director Carlo Rizzi. He now has all to play for. PRESS RELEASE […]

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24May

I'm thinking of tweeting the BBC Proms

Not in the Royal Albert Hall, of course. Except in intervals. But if I’m watching a concert on telly at home and it has failed to grip my ear or has thrown up an incident of general interest, why should I or anyone else wait for the time delay of a newspaper review to describe […]

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24May

A funny thing happened last night at the Coliseum

Ahead of Nico Muhly’s new opera, Two Boys, the composer appeared on a panel with the polemicist Claire Fox and the writers Will Self and myself, with Christopher Cook in the chair, to discuss whether the internet was making monsters of us all. The opera, whose subject matter we were asked to avoid, deals with […]

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24May

First thing in my ears on Bobcat Day

I had trouble picking the day’s first disc. Bob Dylan is 70 and I really don’t want to be thrust back into all the mythology and false naivety. Far better to sample Barb Jungr’s sophisticated re-interpretations of Dylan classics, with supple vocal and sensitive instrumentation. Yeah, that does the trick.

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24May

Violin tragedy in Israel – more details emerge

It is reported on Hebrew websites (and here), and confirmed by mutual acquaintances, that the violinist Matan Givol took his own life shortly before he was due to play in a concert with the Tel Aviv Soloists. (Tel Aviv Trio: L to R Matan Givol, pianist Jonathan Aner and Matan’s brother, cellist Ira Givol) Matan […]

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23May

Will OSB crisis undercut Rio's cultural ambitions?

The city of Rio de Janeiro is doubling its culture budget from $33 to $66 million, challenging the capital Brasilia for creative leadership. The plans include a renewal of the Cidade da Musica, abandoned in mid-construction. But who will play there if the Brazil Symphony Orchestra cannot resolve its dispute with the musicians it sacked […]

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