The 2010 winner, Yulianna Avdeeva, was a student of the jury member, Fou Tsong.

Neither of them mentioned the relationship at the time. Claims were later made that the winner had *only* participated in Fou Tsong’s masterclasses. She’s a fine pianist but full disclosure should have been made. Second prize went to Ingolf Wunder, third to Daniil Trifonov.

We understand that Warsaw has tightened the rules for the next competition in 2015.

Here’s a trailer to Christine Jezor’s film made around the 2010 contest.

avdeeva_yuliana

And here’s the winner.

1 No judge shall have taught any student within the past two years.

2 Contestants must disclose all past teacher relationships.

3 Contestants must disclose any previous contact with any of the judges.

4 No more than four students shall be admitted of the same nationality.

5 No more than 60 percent of contestants shall be of the same sex.

6 A judge who recognises a contestant from a previous competition must withdraw from the round.

Any more?

paganini competition

The first three Christmas albums hit my doormat this morning.

Okay, I understand, buy early and avoid the rush.

But we haven’t got past the Jewish New Year and the marketing machine has begun chinging Christmas? Gimme a break.

christmas renee fleming

Sally Peece, 49, was cycling in Scotland to raise funds for Alzheimer treatment when she was hit by a car. She died in hospital the following day, leaving a husband and two teenaged children. She had hoped to cycle the length of Britain, from John O’Groats to Lands End.

Among many good works, Sally was the organiser of the Cheltenham Connections charity concerts in her home town and played in the Cheltenham Philharmonic Orchestra. 

sally preece

 

The US composer collected the supreme accolade for lifetime achievement at the Venice Biennale on Sunday.

steve reich golden lion

The ceremony was followed by a performance of his Nagoya Marimbas.

ASO president Stanley Romanstein’s attempt to impose cuts by locking out his musicians has begun to fail.

Hours after he announced that concerts were cancelled until November, a member of his board, Ron Antinori, made public his resignation, saying the musicians should never have been shut out.

Romanstein has now quietly proposed that both sides should meet a federal negotiator to find a way forward.

The mediator will be Allison Beck, deputy director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, who last month saved Peter Gelb’s skin at the Metropolitan Opera by giving away key executive powers in exchange for small wage cuts.

The Atlanta musicians have agreed to meet her.

This looks promising.

allison_beck

Protestors wearing yellow stars and carrying anti-Gelb placards failed to fill the plaza outside the Metropolitan Opera yesterday as blck-tie patrons arrived for a season-opening gala.

anti-met2

 

 

Despite busing in classes of schoolchildren from the outer boroughs, the number of demonstrators was estimated by our observers at barely one thousand. On the plus side, the demo was peaceful and light-hearted. One congressman called for cuts to Lincoln Center’s public funding (he will have to search hard to find any).

The Death of Klinghoffer will open next month.

anti-met

photos (c) Shawn Milnes/Slipped Disc

Ivan Repušić, a Croat who served 2010-13 as first kapellmeister, will succeed Karen Kamensek next year at the opera house in Hanover, Germany. Repušić, 36, has led several operas this year at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin.

repusic

photo 1

The demonstrators, fewer than 1,000, are chanting ‘shame on the Met’ and similar slogans. They announced their intention to picket the opera every night of the run.

photo 3

UPDATE: The crowd has swelled to more than 1,000, augmented by students in school buses.

photo 4

photos (c) Shawn Milnes/Slipped Disc

 

Almost every word in this press release is an approximation of the truth.  The ASO has locked out its musicians.

atlanta musicians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 22, 2014
Contacts: Holly Hanchey
(404) 733-4998, holly.hanchey@woodruffcenter.org
Sean Ward
(404) 733-4842, sean.ward@woodruffcenter.org
ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
TO CANCEL ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS
THROUGH NOVEMBER 8, 2014

Concerts Cancelled Due To Ongoing Labor Negotiations
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) today announced the cancellation of its orchestral concerts
through November 8, 2014, including the opening performance of the 2014-15 season on September
25, due to negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement.

If an agreement is reached between ASO management and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Players’ Association (ASOPA) before November 8, the classical season will be re-launched as soon
as possible. The complete list of cancelled concerts can be found online at
http://atlantasymphony.org/1415postponed.

The contract between ASO management and ASOPA expired on September 6, 2014 without
agreement on terms of a new contract.

Ticketholders for affected concerts are encouraged to hold tickets until a new agreement is reached.
Details on ticket exchanges and refund policies are available at here.

“We’ve made this decision with a great deal of reluctance,” said Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
President & CEO Stanley E. Romanstein, Ph.D. “Cancelling concerts is the last thing any of us wants
to do, but out of respect for our patrons and the many people who play a role in producing the
concerts we all enjoy, we feel we have no other choice.”

The ASO has suffered annual operating deficits for 12 consecutive years, including a $2 million
deficit in the recently completed 2014 fiscal year. The most recent collective bargaining agreement
proposal from the musicians would add another $2 – $2.5 million to these deficits.

“These are the unfortunate economic realities we face. If we are to have a strong future, we must
take care of our business now to make sure we stay in business,” said Dr. Romanstein. “At the end of
the day, we all want the same thing: an artistically vibrant and financially stable ASO that serves this
community for years to come. I’m confident that we’ll get there, and I’m immensely grateful for the
continued support of the community.”
Current details and updates about the negotiations can be found on the ASO website:
atlantasymphony.org/2014musiciantalks.

Alexis Hauser, artistic director of the symphony orchestra at McGill University, fired off an open letter to the Quebec government today, urging it to reconsider reported plans to shut Montreal’s Conservatoire of Music.

‘Created in the image of its mother institution in France,’ Hauser argues, the Conservatoire feeds ‘local talents… into the world-class OSM.’ That, Hauser adds, should be ‘a cause of enormous pride.’

The institution has accumulated debts of $14 million. Has the appeal come too late?

conservatoire quebec

 

An unpleasant story from the Roman – now tourist – city of Bath, where buskers perform morning to night in front of the ancient cathedral. Their amplified activities have disrupted Evensong for quite a while. The Cathedral asked them politely to tone it down. Then they asked the council to intervene. Neither approach worked. So Evensong is now cancelled in Bath until further notice.

Bath-19

 

(You wonder why they didn’t just shut the cathedral doors. Or blast an amplified service out onto the square.)