Bhupen Hazarika, composer and singer of the soundtrack to Bollywood’s misguided film Gandhi to Hitler, has died in Mumbai. He was 85.
The film, universally deplored, centres on two letters that Gandhi wrote to Hitler asking him to be a decent fellow and not start a war. Hitler was, in fact, depicted as a decent fellow, arousing a mixture of concern and derision.
Hollywood Reporter wrote: “Mel Brooks has got to see this one: somebody has actually made Springtime for Hitler. The funniest thing about this film from India is that it’s dead-on serious, replete with all-Indian actors playing the leaders of the Third Reich. “
Here’s a video clip.
Hazarika composed for many other films, without comparable controversy.

For want of record labels that will put faith in good music, the Cleveland Orchestra has gone to the banks – and one has come up with the cash.

Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich will fund the rest of Franz Welser-Möst’s Bruckner cycle. The next symphony will be recorded at St Florian in Linz, where the composer lies embalmed below.

This is Franz’s big investor. And here’s the press release:

THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA AND MUSIC DIRECTOR FRANZ WELSER-MÖST TO CONTINUE BRUCKNER RECORDINGS IN AUSTRIA SUPPORTED BY RAIFFEISENLANDESBANK OBERÖSTERREICHAt
a press conference in Vienna this morning, Cleveland Orchestra Executive Director Gary Hanson and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst announced an upcoming video recording of performances of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 at the Abbey of St. Florian near Linz, Austria in August, 2012, for future release on DVD.  The Cleveland Orchestra gratefully acknowledges both Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, the Upper Austrian bank, and Clasart production company for their generous support of the DVD release. 

 

Dr. Ludwig Scharinger and Franz Welser-Möst

 

Dr. Ludwig Scharinger, CEO of Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, commented, “We are proud to support Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra in their deep commitment to recording Bruckner’s masterpiece symphonies and sharing them with the world.”  As one of the largest corporate contributors to The Cleveland Orchestra, Raiffeisenlandsbank Oberösterreich has sponsored Cleveland Orchestra performances in both Austria and Germany, and supports the 2011 Cleveland Orchestra Residency at the Muskverein in Vienna.  In addition, Raiffeisenlandsbank Oberösterreich has organized Cleveland Orchestra performances at the Brucknerhaus in Linz as well as at the Abbey of St. Florian, the church where Bruckner is entombed.  The bank is committed to enriching Austria’s culture through the arts.

 


 

 

I have been informed that the Central Council of Church-Bell Ringers have told the organisers of the 2012 Olympics that they cannot participate in the national ring-in on the first morning of the Games. Here’s their website and, below, their objections.

The organisers went ahead with the ringing intiative, regardless. Which means the morning might be quieter than intended.

Why did Olympics 2012 not listen to the bell-ringers before they went ahead with their announcement? Any suggestions?

Here’s the CCCBR text:

The Martin Creed Project

This is another Olympic-related ringing project that I have referred to briefly before, where there is a move to have all the bells in the country ringing as loudly and fast as possible for three minutes at 8 am on Friday 27 July 2012 to mark the opening day of the Olympics. We have been involved in some very detailed discussions with the organisers, during which we tried to persuade them to have the ringing at a different time rather than 8 am, or to leave ringers free to choose the best time for them and for their local area on that day. These discussions were not successful as too much had already been irrevocably decided before we were invited to become involved, although it was agreed that ringing for longer than three minutes would be acceptable. I am aware that they are now contacting associations directly. It may help you to know that the Council’s position is as follows:

  • We are very aware of this project and have been involved in extensive but ultimately unsuccessful discussions with the organisers to try to enable their objectives to be more aligned with ringers’ views and practices.
  • Our view on ringing for any aspects of the Olympics is that all ringing should be encouraged and bands should look for reasons to link ringing to the Olympic events. Especially the Torch Relay, as this covers the whole of the UK. Friday 27 July is clearly likely to be a popular day to ring for the opening.
  • We are not able to work closely with this project as we believe it is misconceived and we were invited to become involved in its design too late to be able to help make it more workable for ringers.
  • We think 8 am is not the right time for ringing in very many towers and for very many ringers, although it is an improvement on the 4 am time they originally suggested, to mark the flame arriving in the UK.
  • We do not believe ringing for three minutes nor ringing as fast as possible is really suitable for church bell ringers.
  • We have been very involved with the New Music 20X12 project for some time now and this is the main focus of our Olympic work, although we are also encouraging ringing along the route of the Torch Relay.
And here’s a further demurral from the Essex branch:

The Martin Creed Project, also known as Work No. 1197,

or All The Bells, and SGA Productions.

 

You may have heard or read about the above project, and EACR has replied to the invitation as follows:-

 

Thank you for contacting the Essex Association of Change Ringers (EACR) in relation to bell ringing for the London 2012 Olympic Games. We have read your proposals with interest and discussed them at a recent meeting of our Management Committee. At this junction we would like to make the following comments:-

 

  • Ringing at 8.00am on a weekday morning is going to be very inconvenient for very many of our ringers as they will either already be at work, commuting or on the school run.
  • ‘Ringing bells as loudly and fast as possible for three minutes’ is not in keeping with traditional full circle change ringing, as we prefer to ring for longer periods and in specific styles as is our long standing tradition.
  • In this day and age, we do have to be mindful of our neighbours, who may not welcome church bells ringing so early in the morning for anything other than a church service.
  • We are promoting taking part in celebratory ringing throughout the Games and are taking part in as many local celebrations as possible in the 6 weeks or so prior to the Games and for events such as the Torch Relay, Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
  • EACR has been advising its members to join in with the spirit of the London 2012 Olympic Games in the towns and villages where they all worship and ring at dates and times which are convenient to individual circumstances.
  • There are also issues of child protection to consider because last minute requests from the media to take photographs in towers with ringers under 18 years of age will not be entertained as we would not have been able to seek written parental consent to the photography.
  • Some employers are already placing restrictions on staff applying for annual leave next July, so we do feel the time of day is extremely difficult.

 

All of these issues we have with the timing, notice and planning have been borne out of experiences with other nation wide celebrations. You may wish to contact the Chelmsford Diocesan Office in order to ascertain whether they would be prepared to undertake a Diocesan mailing to the churches with 1-4 bells suitable for chiming, with whom we do not tend to have as much day-to-day communication. Their postal address is 53 New Street, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1AT. Tel: 01245-294400.  EACR would like to wish you well with your concept, but I am afraid I am unable to actively promote it within the full-circle change ringing community in Essex as our Management Committee expressed all of the above concerns.

 

–          Ends –

UPDATE: An oraginising source has message me as follows:

The organizers have had meetings with CCCBR about this project from February, before the appointment of the current President, and again in July and in August, when some but not all of the details of the project were knows (date, time etc).

 

They recognise concerns over the piece title – this is a piece for all kinds of bells, each to be rung in the way that most suits. Change bell ringers are being encouraged to ring their bells in the correct way for 3 minutes and carry on for longer if they wish, fully understanding that these types of bells ring at one volume and can only be rung at a certain speed. There are many bell ringers across the country who are very excited about taking part. This includes many bell ringers in places of worship.  The project team has embraced all the concerns and appreciates that change bell ringers have to ring in a certain way as do many other types of bell.Here’s some information from the FAQ’s on the project website (www.allthebells.com). It’s intended as a celebration.

 

I can’t buy into the day’s excited announcement that bells will ring up and down the country for three minutes on July 27, 2012 to herald the first day of the London Olympics.

Most of those bells were put in churches to summon folk to prayer. Sport has its own summonses – whistles, car-horns and the like. Keep them separate.

And for thousands of sufferers from tinnitus – many of them ex-musicians who played too long in an orchestra – that morning will be sheer hell.

Scrap the idea. Let’s stop it now.

In case you missed this Bloomberg story earlier in the week, hope is blooming for singers whose vocal cords have been damaged by cancer.

MIT scientist Bob Langer has developed a vibrating gel that simulates the action of healthy cords. Trials start early in the new year.

Supporters of Langer’s research include Julie Andrews and The Who’s Roger Daltrey, both of whom have undergone laryngeal surgery.

Read more here.

Julie Andrews

The British Museum has put on display one of the finest surviving impressions of the famous Japanese print Under the Wave, off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami-ura), also known as ‘The Great Wave’, designed by Katsushika Hokusai around 1831.

Musically, it is best known as the most-used cover of Debussy’s La Mer.

The BM has kindly allowed me to share a low-res copy of the image, which has just gone on display in Room 3. Admission free. Enjoy

Here’s the press release:

Hokusai’s Great Wave

 

3 November 2011 – 8 January 2012                         Room 3                       Admission Free

 

 

Under the Wave, off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami-ura), also known as ‘The Great Wave’ is surely the most famous Japanese print and one of the most iconic images in the world. The British Museum has in recent years acquired one of the best surviving impressions of this print through the generous support of the Art Fund. The print can be seen in Room 3 this winter; a rare chance to see it on public display due to its sensitivity. Designed by the artist Katsushika Hokusai in about 1831 and published as a popular colour wood-block print, ‘The Great Wave’ was one of the 100 objects in the British Museum and BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World.

 

Around 5,000 to 8,000 impressions of the Great Wave were printed from the original wood-blocks in the early 1830s, and several hundred of these still exist today. The British Museum’s new impression is a fresh early one, with sharply printed lines and well-fitting colours. On present evidence it is likely that this is one of the top twenty impressions to have survived. The design expresses Hokusai’s wit and ingenuity in addition to the sheer graphic power of the artwork. Mount Fuji should be the highest thing in Japan but it is apparently dwarfed by the wave, and foam from the tentacles of the wave seems to fall through the sky like snow onto the mountain peak. The image has become emblematic of the power of the sea.

 

Although ‘The Great Wave’ is often seen as typically Japanese, it mixes influences from both east and west. Hokusai’s imagination was captured by his discovery of European-style perspective that he saw in paintings and prints by adventurous Japanese artists of that day. The Great Wave, designed when he was about seventy, absorbs these influences from Western art but makes something much more powerful and symbolic from them. Japanese prints were also discovered with excitement and emulated by Western artists such as Whistler, van Gogh and Monet from the 1860s onwards. By 1890, the Great Wave had been singled out for particular comment and its fame has grown ever since.

 

The display will look at the Great Wave’s continuing influence today and at how Hokusai’s vision has inspired artists from across the world.

 

 

 

 

It had gone quiet for a couple of months after the Brazil Symphony Orchestra agreed, in the face of a worldwide boycott, not to replace its players with East European mercenaries. The deal they struck was that senior musicians would join a secondary orchestra, performing community work.

But not everyone bought the deal, and dissenters are being progressively fired. Yesterday, Antonio J Augusto, professor at the federal university and OSB horn player for 23 years, posted the following statement:

Today, November 3, 2011, I was officially fired from OSB after 23 years of an intense and passionate dedication.
The only ones present were me, the Union’s lawyer, the head of HR and her assistant. No thanks, no farewell, no word.
But I publicly thank all that OSB has given to me over the years and would say that I would do all over again with the same dedication and respect that I have always cultivated for this great orchestra.
I hope the orchestra’s “new era” will be worthy to the history and social responsibility that this institution built. After all, they were primarily and essentially built upon love and dedication of its musicians.

Antonio J Augusto

In a personal mail to me, Professor Augusto adds: I was demised because I did not accept to come back to other orchestra than the real OSB. I was sacked from my chair and I understand I should be allowed to come back to it, not to a smaller and “never existing” orchestra. So, in a certain way I pushed my dismissal. Although I have all respect to my colleagues’ decision, for me was impossible to accept this agreement. It is just a position of a silly person who insists on believing in old fashioned things like ideals, humanity and music. 

I have no close knowledge of the specific circumstances, but it appears that the OSB have treated a good musician with disrespect. The orchestra’s management keeps announcing that they want to be world class. First, however, they need to adopt international standards of workplace conduct.

One of Fanfare’s veteran reviewers has quit, in part over our exposure of the magazine’s dubious editorial practices.

Charles Timbrell is professor of music at Howard University, Washington, DC.. His resignation letter follows. Beneath it you will find his mission statement on the Fanfare website.

Although Lebrecht’s expose wasn’t the primary reason for my resigning as a Fanfare critic several days ago–after 20 years– it was certainly a contributing factor. For my part, I can say that the editor’s general policies were known to Fanfare critics, but the specifics of his offers to recording artists were not.  I found it smarmy, from the very beginning. On the other hand, I must say that I was never asked to write a negative review, nor was I ever told whether an artist or a CD company had or had not placed an ad. At worst, I might get a CD marked by the editor:  “Review only if positive.”  There were quite a few that I decided not to review for that reason. At which point, I suppose the CD was sent to another critic with the same admonition.   

Charles Timbrell 
Washington, DC 

Charles Timbrell Print E-mail
Contributor Biography
I began my piano studies at age five, and by the time I was 14 I was hooked on music for life, practicing hard and spending all my allowance on bus trips into New York City to attend concerts and buy books and records. I still have some of those first LPs: Berg’s Wozzeck (Mitropoulos), Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 (Walter), Hindemith’s Four Temperaments (Aller), Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 (Bernstein), Ravel’s Piano Trio (Alma Trio). In those days my idol was Glenn Gould, so I didn’t listen to or play much Romantic music. In prep school I concentrated on academics, but in my senior year I was able to retreat to the practice room often enough to play a successful audition at Oberlin Conservatory, where my wonderful teacher Emil Danenberg quickly quashed my Gould mannerisms and fed me a strong diet of the right stuff. And I made a point of hearing recitals by every great pianist that I could—Moiseiwitsch, Rubinstein, Richter, Serkin, Michelangeli, Novaës, Arrau, and Horowitz. I then went to the University of Michigan, where I got my masters with Benning Dexter, a student of Liszt’s student Alexander Siloti. Next came two years of study in Rome with Busoni’s student Guido Agosti, followed by a doctorate at the University of Maryland with Stewart Gordon, who instilled in me a love of French music. After that I enjoyed my first teaching experiences and my first major recitals in New York, Washington, London, and Rome. On various occasions since then I’ve been able to play for some wonderful French pianists, including Gaby Casadesus, Monique Haas, Vlado Perlemuter, and Eric Heidsieck.Writing has always been a major interest of mine, and I still remember the thrill of seeing my first words in print—a review of the harpsichordist Sylvia Marlowe I wrote at age 16. My record collection mushroomed in the 1970s and I devoured all the record magazines, especially Fanfare. Finally, one day in 1990 I approached Editor Joel Flegler about the possibility of being taken on as a critic. He agreed, and I have greatly enjoyed the association ever since. My other publications include French Pianism (Amadeus Press, 2nd ed., 1999), numerous articles in American and foreign journals, performing editions of Bizet’s Jeux d’enfants and Chopin’s Barcarolle (Alfred Publications, 2004 and 2007) and Prince of Virtuosos: A Biography of Walter Rummel, American Pianist (Scarecrow Press, 2005). Currently I am working on an edition of Mozart’s sonatas for piano duet.I never tire of practicing and performing Schumann’s piano music, reading through unfamiliar chamber music and songs, listening to Mozart, Fauré, and Debussy, and reading the latest biographies of musicians. My main activity, though, is as professor of music at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where I enjoy teaching piano, piano pedagogy, and piano literature.

Marshall Marcus, head of music at Europe’s biggest arts centre, has resigned from London’s South Bank after five fruitful years.

Marshall’s greatest achievement was to maintains the peace between four resident orchestras – LPO, Philharmonia, London Sinfonietta and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment – while bringing in high-calibre promotions like Daniel Barenboim’s Beethoven cycle, Gustavo Dudamel’s residency and the present focus on Pierre Boulez.

But he’s  restless man, ready to move on. He has a long-standing relationship with José Antonio Abreu and el sistema in Venezuela and his next task will be to develop joint projects between the South Bank and the sistema. He will also head up a baroque music programme for the Simón Bolívar Music Foundation in Venezuela.

His timing is immaculate – ahead of the 2012 Olympic overkill, and the inevitable letdown that will follow. I wish him well.

UPDATE: If you read the South Bank press release, out this morning, you will be hard pressed to understand that Marshall is actually leaving. The clever smoothies have spun it to give the impression that he’s staying put forever. Read on:

4 November 2011
 
SOUTHBANK CENTRE ANNOUNCES PLAN TO BUILD NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH EL SISTEMA
Over the last half decade Southbank Centre has been at the heart of the ‘social transformation through music’ movement in the UK, working closely with Maestro José Antonio Abreu (the Founder and Director of El Sistema), the conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and young musicians from El Sistema, all of whom are inspiring figures for artists and educationalists worldwide. Following hugely successful residencies with both the Simón Bolívar and Teresa Carreño Orchestras, as well as the forthcoming residency of Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in June 2012, Southbank Centre now intends to develop a programme of work that significantly deepens that relationship.
Southbank Centre is delighted to announce that Marshall Marcus will lead the work to develop this new partnership. Marshall has had a longstanding relationship with El Sistema since its establishment in the 1970s, and this project will allow him to focus his work on the international development of El Sistema. The project will see him working on the development of a business plan that supports a wide range of music partnerships nationally and internationally, advising the Centre for Social Action Through Music (CASPM) in Caracas, and facilitating staffing exchanges between Southbank Centre and CASPM. At the same time Marshall has accepted an invitation from El Sistema’s Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar to create a new orchestra within El Sistema. He takes up the dual positions of Special Project Advisor for Southbank Centre’s El Sistema project and Director of the Simón Bolívar Music Foundation’sVenezuelan Baroque Music Programme, relinquishing his current position as Head of Music at Southbank Centre in order to fulfil these new posts. He has been resident in Venezuela as a guest of El Sistema during autumn 2011in order to commence work on these projects.
Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre, said: “We are very pleased to announce this research programme aimed at deepening the long-term partnership between Southbank Centre and El Sistema‘s Centre for Social Action Through Music in Caracas. I know we are lucky to have Marshall Marcus leading on the development of this research, and whilst I am very sorry to lose him from the Music Team after five exceptional years, this is an incredible opportunity for him.  I know we all look forward with excitement to the new project, both here at Southbank Centre, and in Venezuela.”
Eduardo Mendez, Executive Director of Maestro Abreu’s Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar, said: “London’s Southbank Centre is a profound supporter of El Sistema and embraces and espouses the values at the heart of the Simón Bolívar Music Foundation. It gives us great joy therefore to see our long-time friend Marshall Marcus help create a bridge between our two organisations and we look forward to him deepening and strengthening our bonds.’Marshall Marcus, said: “I feel privileged to be able to carry forward my commitment and enthusiasm for Venezuela’s revolutionary El Sistema, whilst at the same time retaining a close connection with Southbank Centre. I have enjoyed five spectacular years at Southbank Centre, following the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall, and am honoured by the invitation to establish an orchestra in Venezuela alongside the project to further cement ties between Southbank Centre and Venezuela.”

I am hearing from Moscow that there was unreported drama at the Bolshoi during the opening night of Ruslan and Lyudmilla.

Apparently, the international mezzo-soprano Yelena Zaremba broke her hand during the performance. She went backstage, received a painkilling injection and bandage and came right back half an hour later to resume the role of Naina.

Although the fracture has showed up on x-ray, she still plans to sing the next performance. There has been no official confirmation of the reports I am receiving and I am hedging them with appropriate caution. If you were there, please post a comment or contact the site direct.

The premiere has been surrounded with secrecy. At a press night, journalists had a chance to see only one scene from the opera (photo).photo (c) Ria-Novosti/Lebrecht Music & Arts.

The incident calls to mind Joyce DiDonato’s courage when she broke a leg in Barber of Seville at Covent Garden, in July 2009. They are made of good stuff, these mezzos.

 

UPDATE: openspace.ru  has just confirmed my original report. Here’s the google translation:

In the first part there was not a soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre.Mezzo-soprano Elena Zaremba, who sang Naina, during the performance fell badly on the stage and broke her arm. But heroically sang the show completely. And, apparently, will sing the remaining six performances. Statement before its commencement was announced in the media scandal.Indeed, the scandal was in the hall: every now and then shouts from the floor, and once the audience was divided into two camps, and began chanting “Shame!” And “Bravo!”, Trying to shout each other. That is in the best opera houses of Europe. Nothing of the kind we did not have before. So even in this sense, the first night of “Ruslan and Ludmila” can be called historic. A more detailed review of the statement will be released on OPENSPACE.RU shortly.

 

Lorin Maazel has tweeted, asking us to share this post around to help up the ante on his forthcoming violin sale.

So here’s the gospel according to Mrs Maazel: http://tarisio.com/wp/through-my-eyes/.