Eugene Izotov, oboe, will leave at the end of the season to join San Francisco Symphony.

He follows soon after Matthieu Dufour, principal flute, lit off for Berlin Philharmonic.

To lose one principal is unfortunate. Two starts to look like a trend.

Read here on Chicago Classical Review.

photo (c) Todd Rosenberg

Among pioneers of early instruments, Mahan Esfahani stands out as a vigorous disputant with the consensus of academic correctness on period practice. So his appointment today as professor of harpsichord at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama is not by any means routine. It’s a gauntlet thrown down by the Guildhall at the fusty early-music establishment.

This could be fun.

Jonathan Vaughan, Director of Music, Guildhall School commented: ‘I am delighted to welcome Mahan to the School. As a soloist he has quickly acquired a towering reputation which will inspire our students by example. His breadth of interest in all periods of music, allied to a serious research ethic, engenders an approach to performance that will be embraced by all departments but particularly Keyboard and Historical Performance. As a champion of new music for both solo and ensemble harpsichord we anticipate him working very closely with composition and a variety of instrumentalists’

Mahan Esfahani said, ‘Part of my mission in widening the horizons of my instrument is an investment in young musicians. I am honoured that the Guildhall School has asked me to be involved with nurturing the next generation of harpsichordists.’

Most, I suspect, would pick the Fourth or Seventh, both full of bucolic simplicities and absolute faith in ultimate redemption. Some might choose the Eighth, in the hope that its enormous noise might attract passing shipping.

Myself, I would not want to be without….

I’d better not say which because it’s my Album of the Week on sinfinimusic.com. Click here.

We’ve received news of the death of Kenneth Raskin, associate conductor of the Sacramento Philharmonic and a recent finalist for the top jobs and Illinois and El Paso . Ken was in his 40s. Our sympathies to his family and friends.

The soprano has announced she is giving a million rubles ($19,000) in aid to the opera house in Donetsk, a disputed city whose Russian citizens have voted to secede from Ukraine. The city has come under heavy bombardment from both sides.

Netrebko insists her aid is humanitarian. ‘I have comrades in Donetsk, young musicians, who are living under bombs,’ she said at a St Petersburg press conference. ‘I am not a politician, but I really wanted to lend a helping hand to Donetsk.’

Her motives may be apolitical and well-intention, but making the announcement in Russia was ill-advised. It aligns her with its president’s support for the secessionists. Netrebko is a proud Putinista.

The top headline all day in South Korea has been the struggle at the head of the Seoul Philharmonic between chief executive Park Hyun-jung, who has been accused of bullying and sexual harrassment, and the artistic leadership of Myung Whun Chung, the music director.

Park, a member of the country’s political-industrial elite, has accused the conductor of staging a coup against her. Her supporters in the Korean media describe it as ‘a difference in perspective between a liberal, inefficient art organization and a corporate CEO used to efficiency and productivity.’

Clearly, one of them will have to go. And from what we hear, it’s touch and go which of them will fall.

 vs

That’s the claim.

Mahler’s monster has not been heard in Israel since 1996 or thereabout – with the exception of a Mariinsky performance by Gergiev at his Eilat festival which doesn’t count as it was (a) unrehearsed and ((b) mostly for Russian sun-seekers.

The one I have come to hear is the fulfilment of a life’s dream for Noam Sherriff, doyen of Israeli composers and founder of the Israel Symphony Orchestra, who is about to turn 80. It  is getting three sold-out performances at the opera house in Tel Aviv.  Schools up and down the land have been raided for the choirs and an adult chorus is being flown in from Croatia.

Should be fun. And packed. Details here  (if you read Hebrew).

These are some of the friendly folk at Singapore Airlines in Hong Kong, who refused to board the LGT Young Soloists with their instruments. Happily, after a four-hour airport standoff, Lufthansa took pity and flew the orchestra home. If you’re a travelling musician, beware the Singapore treatment. And whatever happens, don’t expect a Singapology.

Fiona Maddocks casts a fresh dimension on last week’s concert disaster, when the Korean violinist was heard to rebuke a coughing child and/or its parents.

Fiona wonders whether Kyung Wha overreacted because she wasn’t used to the hall’s acoustic, which has changed measurably in the dozen years since she last played. She has a point. The acoustic is more variable, less secure.

That doesn’t excuse the soloist’s conduct, but other artists should be aware that, on the RFH stage, what you think you hear is not necessarily what resonates. It’s a tricky recital venue.

Read Fiona here. 

First, William Christie and Les Arts Florissants were stripped of 333,900 Euros by the city of Caen in September.

Now, Mark Minkowski and the Musiciens de Louvre are losing 438,000 from Grenoble.

Is France falling out of love with period instruments?

Watch here, from 1600 London time, 1700 Paris, 1100 New York.

Tell us about it.

Alexander Gilman, artistic director of Swiss-based LGT Young Soloists tells us his orchestra is stranded in Hong Kong, refused boarding by a customer-unfriendly airline.

Hi Norman,

The LGT Young Soloists, a youth orchestra with young musicians had a tournee of 5 concerts in Asia. We arrived with Singapore Airlines to Hong Kong and were supposed to fly out today from Hong Kong back via Singapore to Zurich. They did not let us on the plane because they wanted us to check our instruments even though the cellos had extra seats booked by us. They wanted to force us to check violins with the suitcases.

I told them we had Stradivaris and extremely expensive violins. Their answer was they don’t care, it is our policy. We are stuck here in the evening now with young kids and don’t know what to do.

The pilot refused to come out and talk to us. The crew was laughing at us and telling us we can only come in if we check in 8 violins and 2 violas. The contrabass were already checked in and the two cellos had seats booked.

They did not let us on board only because of violins and violas, even though we told them that we are speaking about Millions of Euros that will be destroyed. Their answer was they don’t care and that this is Singapore Airlines Policy.

Additionally, they checked in the two cellos before and separated the minor kids who own them for two hours from us. They did not let the two girls join us for two hours. These two girls did not know what happened for two hours until the crew decided to let them and the luggage out. The two girls were panicking and scared, sitting outside in the airport not knowing what happened until we found them.

Now they are taking pictures of our instruments to send it to Lufthansa to check with them if the size is ok to be checked in.

And the outcome? Click here.