Edward Yatsun was working out in the pool at the gym, doing laps, when a heart attack caused him to go under. He was hauled out by lifeguards and doctors arrived quickly on the scene but they could not resuscitate him. Edward, 45, had played in Mikhail Pletnev’s orchestra for 19 years. He leaves a wife and small children.

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This list comes with the welts of experience. Read here.

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john shirley quirk 4We have been notified of the death last night, in Bath, of the glorious bass-baritone John Shirley-Quirk. John was 83 and still teaching at Peabody in Baltimore and at Bath Spa University in England. A colleague there writes: ‘He was very generous to students and they appreciated his wry sense of humour, to say nothing of his vast and remarkable performing experience.’

After a 1961 Glyndebourne debut, John joined Britten’s English Opera Group until the composer’s death in 1976. He recorded many Britten roles and appeared in Michael Tippet’s operas, besides. He was convivial, collegial and intense where it mattered – a fine singer who played a notable role in a generation when British singers strode tall on the world stage.

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UPDATE: Official notice:

John Stanton Shirley-Quirk CBE

Born 28 August, 1931   Died 7 April, 2014

John passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.

Beloved of wife Teresa, children Kate, Peter, Benjamin & Julia, grandchildren Edward, Alice, Hannah & Joe, and step-daughter Sara.

With thanks to all the wonderful people at Dorothy House Hospice in Winsley.

Funeral private, Memorial concert to be announced.

English baritone John Shirley-Quirk enjoyed singing and playing the violin as a child, but his true vocal talent did not become apparent until he was already studying chemistry and physics at the University of Liverpool. After several years of teaching those subjects at a British Air Force station, he began to study with the baritone Roy Henderson (1957). In 1961-1962, he sang with the Cathedral Choir at St. John’s in London; during the same time he made his debut at Glydebourne in 1961 as Gregor Mittenhofer in Henze‘s Elegy for Young Lovers.

In 1963, Benjamin Britten recruited him to join his English Opera Group; with that group he sang the premiere performances of Britten‘s Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace, The Prodigal Son, Owen Wingrave, and Death in Venice (between 1964 and 1973). During that time, he also sang Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and, later, Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande at the Scottish National Opera. He created the role of Lev in Tippett‘s The Ice Break at Covent Garden in 1977.

Though his career centered around British venues and the music of English composers, Shirley-Quirk‘s career was by no means provincial. He sang his first performances of Wozzeck in St. Louis, and debuted in Berlin with Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle in 1969. Milan’s Teatro alla Scala engaged him as Rangoni in Boris Godunov, and in 1974 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Britten‘s Death in Venice. Other important roles in his career were the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte and the Music Master in Ariadne auf Naxos.

Shirley-Quirk had equal success as a recital and concert singer. He was highly regarded for his interpretation of the major choral works of Bach and Elgar and sang Mahler‘s Des Knaben Wunderhorn on many concerts in Europe, North America, and Australia. His recitals usually included songs by his mentor Benjamin Britten as well as those of Vaughan Williams and Butterworth.

John Shirley-Quirk‘s lyric baritone voice commanded a wide dynamic and expressive range; he had a wonderful sense of phrasing. It was as an interpreter that he was best known; his intellectual curiousity allowed him to explore the inner world of the works he sang. His recordings, particularly of the works of Benjamin Britten, document his fine artistry. In 1975 he was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.       (Artist biography by Richard LeSueur)

FABIO LUISI TO STEP IN FOR LORIN MAAZEL ON SATURDAY, APRIL 12

CONDUCTING THE MUNICH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

IN ALL-RICHARD STRAUSS PROGRAM AT CARNEGIE HALLMaestro Maazel, Scheduled to Conduct on April 11 and 12, Unable To Appear Due to Illness

Conductor for Orchestra’s Friday, April 11 Program To Be Announced

Carnegie Hall today announced that conductor Fabio Luisi has agreed to step in for Lorin Maazel onSaturday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m., leading the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in the second of two all-Richard Strauss programs this week at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Due to illness, Maestro Maazel with deep regret has cancelled his professional engagements in Munich and New York this week. The April 12 program is unchanged, with soprano Karita Mattila singing Strauss’s Four Last Songs on a program that also includes Ein Heldenleben and Der RosenkavalierSuite.The conductor for the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra’s Carnegie Hall program with pianist Emanuel Ax on Friday, April 11 is to be announced very shortly.

 

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Alban Gerhardt was in Portland, Oregon, with time on his hands. So he took out his cello and played all over town. Watch.

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Peaches Geldof was 25, a mother of two. Her death is reported by BBC News.

Our sympathies to Bob, who has done more to address world hunger than a million politicians.

Respect his privacy.

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Alain Lanceron is confirmed as president and the label’s base as Paris.

Erato will be the natural home for French artists, Warner Classics for the international market.

You may notice some significant omissions from the ex-EMI artists’ list in the press release below. Their absence, we hear, is intended.

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ALAIN LANCERON NAMED PRESIDENT, WARNER CLASSICS & ERATO

Senior team confirmed; Jean-Philippe Rolland becoming EVP, International A&R and Business Development, Markus Petersen assuming title of SVP, Global Marketing and Operations, and Bertrand Castellani as VP, International Catalogue.

 

April 7, 2014, Paris: Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) today unveiled its new-look Classics division with the announcement that Alain Lanceron is named President, Warner Classics and Erato. In this newly-created role, Lanceron will spearhead Warner Music Group’s global classics operations, recently strengthened following the acquisition of Parlophone Label Group (PLG) which included the renowned EMI Classics and Virgin Classics labels, now Warner Classics and Erato respectively.

 

Lanceron will lead Warner Classics’ creative direction as well as oversee A&R, brand-related projects and global catalogue development. Based in Paris, he will also direct local French catalogue development.

 

Lanceron joined WMG following the PLG acquisition, having previously served as President of Virgin Classics and Director of EMI Classics France. He reports to Stu Bergen, President, International, Warner Recorded Music.

 

Lanceron’s senior management team includes Jean-Philippe Rolland, today announced as Executive Vice President, International A&R and Business Development, Markus Petersen, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Operations and Bertrand Castellani, Vice President, International Catalogue. Dividing his time between London and Paris, Rolland will focus on signing and nurturing the most exciting artists from around the world. Petersen will be charged with continuing to build out the worldwide infrastructure that supports them as well as delivering high-impact campaigns that bring their music to fans existing and new. Castellani will steer an international catalogue drawn from the rich vaults of EMI Classics, Virgin Classics, Teldec and Erato. An additional key appointment announced today is Patrick Gamblin, who becomes Director of Creative Services.

 

In addition to its Paris-based headquarters, Warner Classics will have dedicated teams in the UK, US, Germany, France and Japan, as well as specialist support from the wider Warner Music operations in other markets. Further local announcements will be made soon.

 

Bergen said, “Classics is an area of renewed strategic focus for us so we are delighted to have an executive of Alain’s calibre leading our global efforts. He is widely respected for his creative flair, his skill in identifying and nurturing world-class talent and his ability to translate artistic excellence into commercial success.”

 

“JP, Markus, Bertrand and Patrick are all exceptionally talented executives whose knowledge of the international landscape is second to none and who, working with Alain, will help us to further build and support a roster that truly reflects our commitment to working with the cream of classical music talent around the world.”

 

Lanceron said, “With the Warner Classics leadership team confirmed and our reinvigorated worldwide network in place, we can now truly unlock the potential created by combining these two extraordinary classical catalogues. The depth and richness of the music we represent only fuels our ambition to sign and develop more remarkable artists and continue to innovate around their work to ensure that Warner is synonymous with the greatest classical music of yesterday, today and tomorrow.”

 

Recent signings to Warner Classics include opera singers Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello, whose debut album is out in May, and the Aurora Orchestra, one of the most creative and innovative ensembles in the music industry today. On Erato, Sabine Devieilhe, Bertrand Chamayou and Edgar Moreau are the latest additions to the roster, with brand new and critically-acclaimed recordings. Forthcoming releases include, amongst many others, albums from Alison Balsom, the John Wilson Orchestra, Joyce DiDonato, Emmanuel Pahud, Philippe Jaroussky and Sir Antonio Pappano. New signings will be announced soon.

 

Key catalogue releases for 2014 will feature two of the label’s most iconic legacy artists; Herbert von Karajan, with an Official Remastered Edition, and Maria Callas, whose Complete Studio Recordings have been remastered from the original master tapes. These projects represent the very best that anyone has ever heard Maria Callas and Herbert von Karajan on record.

One of the most convivial bookstores in the world has fallen prey to developers and will shut this week. I used to go there in my 20s most days, stressed out from work at NBC News. Within minutes I was a man restored, my head in a book, or locked in conversation with one of the polymath assistants.

There’s a protest going on, but it’s too late to save the store.The wrecking ball is ready to fall. Dammit.

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The results are out today from Claudia Fritz’s Paris Experiment and they make bleak reading for the many dealers and auction houses that milk a musical fortune from the sale of old instruments.

Ten international soloists blind-tested six new and six old Italian violins under controlled conditions. More than half of them thought the new ones were old. That blows a big hole in an expensive myth.

Read a summary of the results here.

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There is no way this record should have worked. One of the two composers worked for a Catholic court, the other other was a Californian with no fixed sense of tradition. One represents the ultimate in order – old order. The other was a musical pioneer of chaos theory. One was a polysyllabic personage of an over-decorated civilisation. The other was plain John.

Together, they are my album of the week on sinfinimusic.com. Read how that works here.

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photo: (c) Betty Freeman/Lebrecht Music&Arts

Another fail day for old media.

USA Today sends its readers to the opera. The only Italian house it selects is the Olimpico at Vicenza, which it mis-spells.

Journalistmaking at its finest. Expect to find it on the Mail site in about ten minutes.

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This is unedited video from Arte. You need to fast-forward 13 minutes to the beginning. Andris Nelsons conducts the festival prochesrta, with Isabelle Faust and actor Bruno Ganz. Wonderfully hushed opening of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony.

Click here.

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