We’re saddened to read that Fazil Say, the controversial Turkish pianist and composer, has been fired as director of the festival he founded in Antalya. The town’s new mayor belongs to the ruling Islamo-fundamentalist party. Fazil, an avowed atheist, has been prosecuted in Turkey for the crime of heresy.

The mayor of Antalya has appointed the conductor  Gürer Aykal as the festival’s new director.

Musicians should give it a miss.

 

fazil

 

Opera Singer Expands Repertoire With WTF Performance

Who else but Renee Fleming? Where else but the Williamstown Theatre Festival?

See the headline here.

Renee says: ‘It’s my first time with the WTF … I want to be busy, to be challenged.’

 

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Lorin Maazel, who died yesterday, started out as a teenaged section player in Pittsburgh and wound up as music director of two of the Big Five – something very few maestros have achieved*. It is still too soon, and we’re still too shocked, to assess Maazel’s impact on the American orchestra. Moreover, almost every conclusion is immediately contradicted by an adversarial perspective. The legacy, however, is large.

Maazel, having stormed to success in Europe in the 1960s at the Deutsche Opera Berlin and the radio symphony orchestra (then known as RIAS), was named successor to Georg Szell at Cleveland in 1972, a post he held for a decade. Following Szell was an impossible task, though not a thankless one. Musicians heaved a sigh of relief at the removal of Szell’s withering glare and acid tongue.

But the players were not consulted about the succession and most would have preferred the brilliant Hungarian, Istvan Kertesz. Maazel brought vigour, new faces and international swagger. But he made few friends, in the orchestra or the city, and the first local obituary today reflects that he ‘tended to polarise the Cleveland musical community’. He was succeeded by the harmonious figure of Christoph von Dohnanyi.

 

maazel cleveland

Maazel returned to Europe in 1982 to head the Vienna State Opera. When the job went sour after three years he returned to the US as music director of his hometown orchestra, in Pittsburgh. The city’s Post-Gazette reports today:

In 1988, the orchestra was old. Many of its members were Mr. Maazel’s former colleagues from his years as a section violinist. After four years without a music director, the PSO had become lethargic.

Mr. Maazel remade the orchestra seat by seat — 37 of them, according to the book “Play On: An Illustrated History of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra” by Hax McCullough and Mary Brignano. The average age of PSO musicians plummeted. Many of those young musicians remain with the orchestra as principals and have come to define the PSO’s sound.

“His job was to attract the quality of players that would make the Pittsburgh Symphony once again a great orchestra,” said Robert Moir, senior vice president of artistic planning and audience engagement.

Maazel stayed eight years in Pittsburgh, before moving to Munich on the highest conductor wage in Europe. He was succeeded in Pittsburgh by Maris Jansons who, musicians hastened to tell me, ‘took the Maazel chill out of our playing’.

In 2002, Maazel succeeded Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic. Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti had previously turned down the job. In his opening week, he led the first-anniversary 9/11 concert with the premiere of John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls. Few regarded that as a cathartic moment. Maazel managed himself and the orchestra well, went on international tours, led an ill-advised mission to North Korea and drew near-relentless hostility throughout from the partisan New York Times. He lasted seven years.

It’s too soon to talk of legacy, but Maazel wrote a chapter in US orchestral history. The bulk of his US recordings belong to the Cleveland era and they give a good impression of how Maazel moved that ensemble from a central-European Szell sound to something more recognisably American.

 

—–

*The modern exception that springs to mind is Riccardo Muti (Philadelphia, Chicago)

Our picture was posted overnight by Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, president of the debt-plagued, runner-up state of Argentina. She is faking a climactic moment with a distinguished guest who likes to squeeze the life out of failing states – those with which he shares a common border.

The instrument is a rather battered bandoneon. Vladimir Putin will have had no trouble picking out one of his favourite Party tunes.

 

putin kirchner

We reported last night the death of Sandor Balint, a pivotal player in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra who led his colleagues’ contract negotiations for 23 years, up to the year 2000, and continued playing in the section to the end of his life. Sandy left, we hear, a manual of these negotiations, a ‘little black book’ of all the dirty tricks that get pulled when a massive institution tries to bring its employees to heel.

Musicians of the Met will invoke Sandy’s memory day by day in the countdown to a new agreement – or lockout – that must be reached by the end of this month.

There will be a wake for Sandy on Tuesday, 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm, at the Westchester Funeral Home, Inc., 190 Main Street, Eastchester, NY.  914-337-4585.  There will be a short service for him at 10 am at the Funeral Home on Wednesday with burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

sandy balint1sandy balint2

 

Today’s concert at the Castleton Festival went ahead, despite the death of its founder. The concert, dedicated to the memory of Lorin Maazel, featured the great flautist, who first played in his orchestras, in London and Berlin, half a century ago. Most of the programme was music by Maazel. The conductors were graduates of his seminar.

The programme:

Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67 – Sergei Prokofiev
Narrated by: Margaret Warner

INTERMISSION

The Empty Pot, Op. 16 – Lorin Maazel

The Giving Tree, Op. 15 – Lorin Maazel
Soloist: Daniel Lelchuk

Irish Vapours and Capers – Lorin Maazel
Guest Soloist: Sir James Galway

Galway_James_2013a_PC__Paul_Cox_300

The latter part of Lorin Maazel’s decade as music director in New York was unhappy. Some of the players and several critics found his performances slick; the conductor’s face set in a rictus of resentment.

Tonight, the orchestra expressed regrets at his death.

 

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NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC STATEMENT

The New York Philharmonic mourns the passing of Lorin Maazel, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from 2002 to 2009. The Philharmonic will dedicate its free concert in Central Park on Monday, July 14 to Maestro Maazel, performing Barber’s Adagio for Strings, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert, in honor of the late conductor, composer, violinist, and friend of the Philharmonic. Our thoughts are with Lorin Maazel’s family and friends at this time.

“I am deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Lorin Maazel’s death,” said New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert. “For decades he was a major force in the musical world, and truly an inspiration for generations of American musicians. Personally, I am grateful to him, not only for the brilliant state of the Orchestra that I inherited from him, but for the support and encouragement he extended to me when I took over his responsibilities. All of us in the New York Philharmonic family send our love and sympathy to his family.”

We have been informed of the death of Sandy (Sandor) Balint, who led the Metropolitan Opera orchestra through the 1980 lockout and helped raise it to its present excellence. More details here.

His wife, Joyce, plays mandolin in the orchestra.

sandy balint

Here’s his bio from the Met musicians’ website:

Sandor Balint was born in Bridgeport, CT and moved with his family to NYC a month later where he grew up in the South Bronx and east Manhattan. He started violin lessons at the age of seven and subsequently entered Music and Art High School. In his third year at Music and Art, at the age of seventeen, he auditioned and won a position with Leonard Bernstein, who was forming the New York City Symphony. With Bernstein’s recommendation, he auditioned for the NYC Opera and Ballet where he stayed until joining the Met in 1956. In 1950 he auditioned for Leopold Stowkowski and was made a permanent member of the RCA Victor Recording Orchestra. Balint made his recital debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1956 and concertised until he was invited to audition for the Met Opera Orchestra in December 1956. He was first elected to the Orchestra Committee in 1959, served in contract signings in 1961, ’66, and ’69. He was elected as chairman for contract negotiations for 1977, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1995, and 2000.

Lorin Maazel, who died today aged 84, was a brilliantly accomplished maestro who conquered almost all the summits of the musical world.

A childhood wizard with the baton, praised at nine years old by Toscanini, he acquired all the skills a musician could need to extract high performance from orchestras of every ability. No maestro was better at coaxing a tour-weary orchestra to play like the Vienna Philharmonic – especially if it was the Vienna Philharmonic. His technique gave players the ultimate security and his knowledge of human nature enabled them to feel cherished in difficult circumstances.

The first American, possibly the first Jew in modern times, to conduct at Bayreuth, he went to to head the radio orchestra in Berlin, to succeed Georg Szell at the Cleveland Orchestra and to become director of the Vienna Opera, a post once held by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss.

Maazel’s ambition was insatiable. When Herbert von Karajan died in 1989, he confidently expected to inherit the Berlin Philharmonic. When the players voted for Claudio Abbado, he swore he would never conduct them again. He became music director of the New York Philharmonic – ‘at last, a real job,’ his father said – and then of the Munich Philharmonic. He was lionised in China, adulated in Japan. And still he wanted more.

 

maazel11_190

 

We met and talked several times, often in unfriendly circumstances. Lorin mistrusted any media that he could not manipulate. Nevertheless, we found a point of mutual respect and our communications in recent years were cordial.

He could turn on an irresistible charm, but at its heart lay an iceberg. He despised sentiment. When he was director in Vienna he lived across a suburban road from the grave of Gustav Mahler and never went to pay respects until I physically took him there.

He would break off relations with individuals, orchestras and record labels at the slightest suspicion of disrespect. Yet he was also able to repair a shattered union with the Vienna Philharmonic into something approaching elysium. He could never project the spiritual qualities of Claudio Abbado or Colin Davis, but nobody got the work done with greater efficiency. A brilliant businessman, he dispensed with agents and commanded the highest fees in the podium – at one time exceeding $80,000 a night in Japan.

 

maazel tough

He was too gifted for his own good. Music came to him easily and he often gave the impression of being bored at work. I have seen him ask for silence in a short car ride while he studied the score of Lulu – and then enter the pit to conduct the complex three -act opera from memory.

The music he composed derivative, his opera 1984 a patchwork failure. He played the violin to concertmaster standard. He talked of writing a series of novels. He believed he could do anything.

His genius lay in the physical act of working with an orchestra, in the precision, in the creation of sound out of nothing. Among hundreds of recordings, he excelled at Gershwin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Ravel.

maazel young

The New York Philharmonic period was, after a glittering launch, largely unhappy. Munich provided balm for his wounded soul and his final years were, I think, contented. I carry his voice in my ear and cannot believe he is gone. Lorin Maazel was the master of many destinies, though never, ultimately, of his own.

(c) NL/Slippedisc

 

UPDATE: Read here for Maazel and the American orchestra.



Nicky Benedetti tonight became the first concert violinist to enter the pop charts since the classical phony Vanessa Mae in 1995 and Nigel Kennedy in 1989. Well done, her.

nicola benedetti

 

press release:

Nicola Benedetti becomes the first solo British violinist since the 1990s to enter the Top 20 of the Official UK Albums Chart with her new record Homecoming: A Scottish Fantasy, released this week on Decca Classics.  She is also the first ever Scottish classical artist to enter the Top 20.

As well as landing the No. 1 spot in the classical chart, her album is simultaneously No. 19 in the pop chart, above Ellie Goulding, Arctic Monkeys and Jack White.  It is the first time a solo British violinist has scored a top 20 album since Vanessa Mae in 1995 and Nigel Kennedy in 1989.

Nicola Benedetti says:

‘I am absolutely thrilled to have reached the Top 20, not something a classical artist ever expects. This is a deeply personal recording – inspired by Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy the project took me deep into the heart of Scottish culture. I hope the music, in all its diversity, is providing some uplift and pleasure.’

It has also been announced today that Nicola Benedetti will perform at the Opening Ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games along with other Scottish stars including Rod Stewart, Susan Boyle, Amy MacDonald and Julie Fowlis.

Nicola’s new album is her highest-charting yet, following her 2013 release The Silver Violin which reached No. 32 in the Official Album Chart.  This latest milestone comes 10 years since the Scottish-born musician won the BBC Young Musician of the Year at the age of 16.

This achievement adds to her MBE in 2013 (for her extensive educational and charity work), eight honorary degrees, and being named in Britain’s Top 30: The Young Female Power List (The Times, Feb 2014) alongside the likes of Adele, Emma Watson and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.

Homecoming: A Scottish Fantasy is a unique combination of classical, folk and song traditions.  Remarkably, Nicola’s feat means Scottish Fantasy, a piece of classical music written in 1880 by the German romantic composer Max Bruch, now sits in the pop chart alongside the likes of Pharrell Williams and London Grammar.  The recording also includes some of Scotland’s best loved songs such as Loch Lomond and My Love is Like a Red Red Rose withsome of Scotland’s most eminent folk musicians; Phil Cunningham, Julie Fowlis and Aly Bain. The album was recorded at locations including Glasgow City Halls and Castlesound Studios in Pencaitland.

 

NICOLA BENEDETTI ‘HOMECOMING’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEubjlNNHuI

 

 

He expected to live and work to 100, just as his father did. He talked to me many times of his fitness and determination. In his late 70s, he still played three strong sets of tennis. He thought nothing of stepping in for frail conductors a generation younger than himself.

News of his death this morning, aged 84, is hard to digest. he was carried off by pneumonia, following a bout of major surgery from which he appeared to be recovering. This is the last known picture of Lorin Maazel alive, published on Slipped Disc earlier today.

An appreciation will follow. Click here.

lorin maazel castleton

God bless you, God rest you, Lorin. You were a fighter to the last.

Jennifer Larmore has asked us to post this tribute:

 

William Clarence Larmore
September 9, 1917 – July 12, 2014

larmore



William Clarence Larmore, 96, completed his life’s journey on Saturday, July 12th, 2014 after a lengthy illness surrounded by his beloved family and friends.

A celebration of the life of this extraordinary man will be held at the Marietta Funeral Home in Marietta, GA. beginning with a viewing from 7 to 9:00 on Sunday, July 13,with a funeral service on Monday, July 14 at 11:00 a.m. Interment will take place on Tuesday, July 15 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Fitzgerald, Georgia.

William Larmore was the only child of William Thomas Larmore and May Eliza Davis of Ottumwa, Iowa. He joined the US Army Air Corps as a maintenance crew chief and served his country during World War II. While stationed at Spence Field Air Force Base in Moultrie, GA. He met Ava Eloise Owens. They were married December 11, 1948 and celebrated 65 years of marriage. He is survived by his wife and four children: Cathy Reynolds, Wendy Baumgarten (Richard), Ray Larmore and Jennifer Larmore-Vittone (Davide); three grandchildren and ten great grandchildren as well as several children of the heart, who he loved dearly.

Author, artist, actor, singer, poet, husband, father, friend, incurable romantic, master of corny jokes, eternal optimist and oh so much more! He was a wonderful Christian man who had the gift of evangelism. He was a deacon, bible teacher, choir member, youth worker and willing volunteer. Bill and Eloise were active members of Piedmont Baptist Church for 17 years until they left to start a mission church on Shallowford Road. They are still members of Woodstock Shallowford Baptist Church.

William Larmore was a graduate of the Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, CA. as well as the High Museum School of Art in Atlanta. He began working for the Lockheed Aircraft Company in 1952 as a commercial artist and later as editor of the training manuals. He retired from Lockheed in 1983 and for 19 years worked as a volunteer at the Noonday Baptist Association food pantry.

William enjoyed success as a published writer of short stories, poetry, a novella and a novel. He has always loved the written word, quoting Shakespeare at the age of 6, reading Joseph Conrad, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rafael Sabatini, and like Scaramouche….. “He was born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.”