A private tutor in Auckland, New Zealand,  has admitted admitted sexually abusing two underage boys students and filming himself doing so.

Lam Chun Roentgen Ng, 23, will be sentenced in June.

The court was told that Ng smacked one boy regularly on the bare bottom, ‘when he felt the victim had not been doing sufficient practice.’

Sordid details here.

We are fast reaching the point where private lessons can no longer be private – for the comfort and safety of both teacher and student.

Simon Rattle and the Berlin Phil have just announced that they will play their annual Europe Concert in the Greek capital, a week from now.

Could be a tense occasion.

Press release:

Europakonzert der Berliner Philharmoniker am 1. Mai 2015 in Athen

Sir Simon Rattle und die Berliner Philharmoniker spielen Werke von Gioacchino Rossini und

Robert Schumann sowie das Violinkonzert von Jean Sibelius mit dem griechischen Geiger

Leonidas Kavakos. Das Konzert wird live im Ersten sowie im Kulturradio des RBB übertragen.

Das traditionelle Europakonzert der Berliner Philharmoniker findet in diesem Jahr zum 25. Mal statt. Sir

Simon Rattle dirigiert im Megaron in Athen die Ouvertüre zu Semiramide von Gioacchino Rossini, das

Violinkonzert von Jean Sibelius mit dem griechischen Geiger Leonidas Kavakos als Solisten sowie die

Symphonie Nr. 3 von Robert Schumann, die sogenannte Rheinische.

The mayors of Düsseldorf and Duisburg, together with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein have awarded Oleg Bryjak the title of Ehrenmitglied (honorary member).

Oleg, originally from Kazakhstan, had been an ensemble member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein for 19 years. He died on March 24 in the Germanwings air crash, together with his fellow-singer Maria Radner and her young family.

Slipped Disc editorial:

There is a strong party in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra that will vote for Christian Thielemann as music director on May 11, come what may. Many players consider him the quickest way to return the orchestra to its former prosperity and to its iconic German national status. Here are five reasons why they are wrong.

1 Karajan was an entrepreneur.

He saw the opportunity of turning Berlin rehearsals into recording sessions and playing corporate giants off against each other. Thielemann has no commercial nous.

2 Karajan was apolitical.

After 1945 he never consciously uttered a political preference, treating left and right with studious neutrality. Being Austrian helped him to rise above German factionalism. Thielemann, by contrast, is identified with the political right and is prone to making controversial statements that will get the orch into hot water.

3 Karajan had irresistible charm.

4 Karajan was a people person.

Until the late 1970s (when he grew too rich) he was involved in players’ lives and attended their family occasions. He was never aloof, as Thielemann is.

5 Karajan conducted everywhere, all over the world.

Thielemann has burned bridges in the US, the UK and France.

SEE ALSO: Why Barenboim would be wrong for Berlin Phil. Click here.

The anonymous Corymbus makes an interesting St George’s Day attempt to redefine the idea of nationalism in relation to English music. Can parochialism be universal? Read here.

Giancarlo Guerrero will cease to be principal guest conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra in Miami from next March.

Neither side is saying why*.

Guerrero is music director of the Nashville Symphony.

*UPDATE: The Cleveland Orchestra has clarified to us that it’s a matter of time. The Miami residency is being lengthened and Guerrero’s diary is full. The official lingo: ‘Giancarlo will continue to appear as a Cleveland Orchestra Miami guest conductor in future seasons. Giancarlo’s decision to step down from his titled position is in keeping with his expanding international career, and the growth of Cleveland Orchestra Miami.’

After 16 years in the outstanding Mandelring Quartet, Roland Glassl is moving onto other things. He will be replaced by Andreas Willwohl, former principal viola of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orch. In a nice parting touch, the two violas will play side by side in an upcoming recording of the Brahms sextet.

photo: Ralf Ziegler

Having turned around the fortunes of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra over the past 12 years, Marek Janowski has had enough.

The vastly experienced Janowski, 76, has turned down a contract renewal and will leave next year. Details here.

Those with memories longer than a politician’s promise will recall a time when the launch of the BBC Proms was a feast of wit and wisdom, delivered without notes and with a sparkle in the eye.

So it was under every controller since 1985 – first John Drummond, then Nick Kenyon and, until last year, Roger Wright. Sadly, no more.

The new head of Radio 3, Alan Davey, who has general responsibility for the Proms, began his address as follows: ‘This morning, as I was in my bath….’ A room full of artists, writers and managers cringed with embarrassment.

He continued: ‘… I realised that I had been at the BBC for 100 days and can now call myself a broadcaster.’

It got worse. From that point on, Davey read his introductory notes from a text in front of him. It was dreary, flat and unilluminating, adding nothing to the sum of public entertainment. The cringing intensified.

Edward Blakeman, who programmed the 2015 Proms season, tried to add a note of levity by referring to himself and Davey as Morecambe and Wise, or perhaps Ant and Dec. The attempted joke splattered like a rotten egg on a windowpane.

This was the glummest Proms launch in three decades.

Stewart French’s project to film musicians in the act of recording has moved on to the international cellist (r.). He’s playing a leaf of Holst’s.

The pianist whose anti-Kiev tweets prompted her cancellation by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, under pressure from a Ukrainian donor, has announced two recitals in the Toronto area next month.

Many in the music world will be saddened to hear of the death of Peter Föste, founder of the Literaturhaus in Berlin and dispenser of friendship and hospitality to the artistic community. He created an indispensable cultural hub. The conductor Yoel Gamzou, a recipient of his kindness, remembers a man with a passion for art.

Probably not many outside Berlin have ever heard of Peter Föste. In fact not even many people in Berlin would immediately associate the name with the man behind one of Berlin’s most legendary institutions.

There is hardly anybody in Berlin who hasn’t been or heard of the legendary Literaturhaus and its world-famous Wintergarten café, a place where one can easily encounter three or four Nobel Prize winners in one evening, sharing a space in complete discretion, let alone the numerous writers, musicians, artists, journalists and other keen Berliners who come in and out of this last safe-haven of culture, one of the last fortresses of old-world Europe, a magical place where time stops and inspiration flows.

This entire world was created by Peter Föste, a man of many passions who was unique in his humility and generosity, who yesterday lost his battle to cancer. In an age of vanity and constant thirst for recognition he was definitely a rare phenomenon. I have been extremely fortunate to be a close friend of this true gentleman, a man who avoided any attention or exposure and pursued his ideals with unparalleled conviction.

A few years ago, through his acquaintance with my orchestra – a group of some extraordinary and not quite “mainstream-compatible” musicians – Peter decided to launch a chamber-music series which has by now become an establishment in the area. He fought for those musicians he believed in with the same indefatigable integrity and energy as he did for his own moral, political and personal convictions, never expecting any acknowledgement, recognition or power – avoiding with embarrassment all situations in which one would feel or express any gratitude.

Peter Föste fostered a very special group of musicians and gave them the space to develop their personalities and cherish their individuality in a way they couldn’t find anywhere else. But first and foremost, it is us who were so incredibly lucky to have met a man of such extraordinary nobility and generosity, almost a spiritual father to us all, who taught us a huge amount about a selfless passion for the arts and true humanism. The cultural scene in Berlin has lost one of its most unique and distinctive personalities. The music scene lost a man of rare courage and integrity. We have all lost a dear friend of incomparable warmth, generosity and love. Rest in peace my dear friend.