No sooner did I name Valentina Lisitsa as the pianist with the million-most hits on Youtube than a colleague helpfully pointed out she has a release coming up next month on the yellow label.

It could be that DG’s publicists haven’t spotted it yet since the big name on the album is Hilary Hahn, playing fairly obscure sonatas by Charles Ives. But down there in second billing is our Val on piano.

And now that Berlin HQ has read about her Youtube fame on slipped disc, the DG bosses might even bump her up the publicity schedules ahead of Hilary’s twit-famous violin case for an interview or two. You never know.

The Puccini birthplace at Lucca reopens tomorrow, with more than 1,000 events planned for the next three years – or so the website says. The closure has been prolonged, with no reopening date announced. Now it has been.

Admission tomorrow afternoon is free. You’d better be quick.

(website pic before refurbishment)

Forget the politics, the music plays on.

A ‘Jewish-Moslem metal band’ from Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv has built a huge fan base for its gigs in Turkey.

Next stop Egypt, they tell Reuters.

The band is called Orphaned Land. Here’s how they look –

– and here’s how they sound: http://www.youtube.com/user/OrphanedLandTV#p/a/u/1/JlZlkq37S8c

Wednesday’s release of a posthumous single, Body and Soul, with Tony Bennett, has triggered another wave of  jabber about the poor girl’s death. Her father Mitch is putting about that she died from ‘detox to excess’.

Tony Bennett is giving interviews about ‘the things I coulda told her’ that might have saved her life.

The scurvy Mail is jabbering on about the size of her estate. Mitch is talking about a drugs foundation.

Joss Stone and Adele want to make a tribute album.

Give the girl a break. Wednesday would have been her 28th birthday. She’s dead. Let It Be.

The National Youth Orchestra of Iraq make their overseas debut at the Beethoven Fest in Bonn on October 1. Started by a 17 year-old Baghdad pianist, Zuhal Sultan, the band has 33 musicians from all war-torn parts of the country and is conducted by a Scotsman, Paul MacAlindin.

If ever an orchestra needed our support, it’s this one.

photos: dpa

You thought it was Lang Lang, right?

Wrong. Lang Lang scores 1,537,277 views for an early video, Gone Mad, that has been up for about five years. Only two other Lang Lang videos top the million mark.

Another classical pianist repeatedly outscores Lang Lang on youtube.

Her name is Valentina Lisitsa.

Her top hit is Rachmaninov’s G-minor prelude with 1,605,052 views, followed by Etude opus 39/6 with 1,304,978 views, Beethoven’s Moonlight sonata 1,296,475, Chopin’s Etude opus 10/4 at 1,037,627, op 25/4 at 1,238,364  – and that’s without clicking on Für Elise at almost two million.

How does she do it. Val’s a Ukrainian pianist based in North Carolina who has just changed management from Cami to IMG. I first heard her accompanying Ida Haendel in a London recital and was impressed both by her sensitivity and her strength of character.

But how did she get to be #1 on youtube?

No-one knows. Or, if they do, they ain’t telling for fear Lang Lang will try to beat her with Chopsticks.

Well done, Val. We’ll keep watching.

The Gergiev Festival is running this year from September 9 to 18 in Rotterdam, with the main man conducting a Dutch premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sadko and much else.

The final rites for the widely-mourned tenor were held on Friday at Vedano al Lambron, near Milan.

Here‘s an Italian news report from vimeo.

His brother spoke of his warmth and generosity. Among the larger wreaths featured in the report was one from the Grand Theatre, Shanghai.

The Italian magazine L’Arena has what appears to be a well-sourced leak suggesting that the great tenor-turned-baritone is presently studying the title role in Wagner’s Flying Dutchman. He plans to sing it at the Arena di Verona in 2013, when he will be 73 years old. Daniel Barenboim will conduct.

Here‘s the link.

And here’s the baritone, in Simon Boccanegra, with Marina Poplavskaya.

A coalition of pro-Pal groups, including the Italian campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and the Naqba Remembrance Committee, have called for this week’s Israel Philharmonic concerts in Milan and Turin to be banned. It quotes, by way of justification of the half-truths and equivocations, used by those who sought to ban and later to wreck the IPO concerts at the BBC Proms. The protestors promise to make ‘a garrison’ in Milan and Turin on the nights of the concerts.

I attach the appeal, followed by a Google translation (it’s not worthy of anything better).

The orchestra meanwhile, has continued its tour to Germany and Switzerland without disruption and evidently quite happily. Read its blog here.

photo: Mischa Maisky with IPO players

Comunicato stampa 9 settembre 2011
Oggetto: Settembre Musica ignora, come il Salone del Libro, il problema dei
diritti umani

Nell’ambito di Settembre Musica 2011 si terranno due concerti della Israel
Philarmonica Orchestra (IPO) diretta da Zubin Mehta, il primo a Milano, il 13
settembre 2011 alle ore 21.00, al Teatro degli Arcimboldi, il secondo a Torino,
il 14 settembre 2011 alle ore 21.00, all’Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli  –
Lingotto.

La Israel Philarmonica Orchestra (IPO) continua a prestare i suoi servizi
all’esercito suonando per i soldati israeliani nei loro avamposti militari.
Sul sito dell’IPO si può leggere “The IPO plays in subscription series, … and
special concerts for IDF soldiers at their outposts”.
http://www.ipo.co.il/eng/About/Profile/.aspx (L’IPO suona in stagioni in
abbonamento … e in concerti speciali per i soldati israeliani nei loro
avamposti”)

Il PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel)
ha più volte sottolineato la complicità dell’IPO nel coprire le continue
violazioni israeliane del diritto internazionale e dei diritti umani e la sua
partecipazione alle campagne di propaganda del Brand israeliano, come quella che
si è svolta a giugno con l’occupazione israeliana di piazza del Duomo a Milano

Israele continua ad occupare militarmente la Cisgiordania, Gerusalemme e la
Striscia di Gaza. In totale sprezzo del diritto internazionale, ha usato e
continua a usare la forza militare per annettere nuovo territorio, confiscare la
terra dei palestinesi e costruire insediamenti illegali.

Le numerose risoluzioni dell’ONU approvate dal 1947 non hanno mutato la
situazione. I governi del mondo non hanno fatto nulla per porre fine
all’occupazione israeliana.
Il 9 luglio 2005 la società civile palestinese ha rivolto alla comunità
internazione un invito a fare quanto è stato fatto a suo tempo per rovesciare il
regime di apartheid in Sudafrica, una campagna di boicottaggio, anche culturale,
di disinvestimenti e sanzioni contro Israele.

Per queste ragioni chiediamo a MI-To Settembre Musica 2011 di cancellare i
concerti dell’orchestra dell’esercito israeliano.

In ogni caso, effettueremo un presidio il 13 a Milano e il 14 a Torino, a
partire dalle 19.30, per contestare la presenza dell’orchestra israeliana e per
condannare l’insensibilità morale delle istituzioni culturali milanesi e
torinesi, come è avvenuto a Londra in occasione del concerto alla Royal Albert
Hall l’1 settembre u.s.

Circolo Internazionalista di Torino
ICACBI, Italian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel
ISM-Italia (International Solidarity Movement – Italia)
Comitato Ricordare la Nakba

Torino, 9 settembre 2011

Press Release September 9, 2011
Subject: Music skips in September, as the Book Fair, the problem of
Human Rights

As part of Music in September 2011 there will be two concerts of the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) conducted by Zubin Mehta, the first in Milan, 13
September 2011 at 21.00, at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, the second in Turin,
September 14, 2011 at 21:00 in the Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli –
Ingot.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) continues to provide its services
Army playing for the Israeli soldiers in their military outposts.
IPO on the site you can read “The IPO plays in the subscription series, and …
special concerts for IDF soldiers at Their outposts. ”
http://www.ipo.co.il/eng/About/Profile/.aspx (The IPO plays seasons
… subscription and special concerts for the Israeli soldiers in their
outposts “)

The PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel)
has repeatedly stressed the complicity in covering the ongoing IPO
Israeli violations of international law and human rights and its
participation in the propaganda campaigns of the Brand Israel, like the one
took place in June with the Israeli occupation of the Piazza del Duomo in Milan

Israel continues to occupy militarily the West Bank, Jerusalem and the
Gaza Strip. In total disregard of international law, has used and
continues to use military force to annex new territory, confiscating
Palestinians’ land and build illegal settlements.

The numerous UN resolutions passed since 1947 have not changed
situation. The world’s governments have done nothing to end
Israeli occupation.
On July 9, 2005 Palestinian civil society has turned to the community
internally an invitation to do what has been done in the past to overthrow the
apartheid regime in South Africa, a campaign of boycott, also cultural,
divestment and sanctions against Israel.

For these reasons we ask to MI-To Music September 2011 to remove the
concerts of the orchestra of the Israeli army.

In any case, we will make a garrison in Milan on 13 and 14 in Turin,
Starting from 19.30 to challenge the Israeli presence and orchestra
condemn the moral insensitivity of cultural institutions in Milan and
Turin, as happened in London during the concert at the Royal Albert
Hall on September 1 u.s.

International circle of Turin
ICACBI, Italian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel
Italy-ISM (International Solidarity Movement – Italy)
Remember the Nakba Committee

Turin, September 9, 2011

At the end of their BBC Proms concert, conductor Charles Dutoit presented his bouquet to a member of the second violins, buried in the belly of the orchestra. Louis Lanza, 75, had decided to retire after almost half a century in the band, putting himself automatically into slipped disc‘s hall of fame as one of the longest serving orchestral players of all time.

Lanza was part of a Philly musical dynasty. His brother, Joe, joined the orchestra in 1958 and played until his death five years ago. “Joe was a very devoted musician,” said Louis Lanza. “He had accumulated 46 weeks of sick leave, but never took off unless he had a high fever. He loved playing, always taking music home to be prepared for rehearsal, and never took time off, even to see a doctor.” Several other family members worked as professional musicians.

Here’s his official orchestra biography:

Say what you like about Rupert Murdoch’s Currant Bun, but sometimes it nails the issue with unerring precision. Most media today wittered sympathy for the paltry fine let-off awarded to the loudmouth racist. Not The Sun: