31May

Just in: Ring cycle loses Sieglinde and Brünnhilde

The hugely admired Opera North Ring has been hit by the withdrawal of Alwyn Mellor from its tour ‘for personal reasons’. Alwyn was singing Sieglinde in Die Walküre and Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung. She is to be replaced as Sieglinde by the Scottish soprano Lee Bisset and as Brünnhilde by the American soprano Kelly Cae Hogan. Alwyn Mellor said […]

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31May

UK arts win £21 million Lottery boost

Year-end figures from the National Lottery operator Camelot show that the arts received £380m last year, one-fifth of the £1.9bn raised for good causes. This is £21m up on 2014/5. The windfall will be mostly administered by ArtsCouncil England.

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31May

Breaking: EUYO is saved….. by Italy

We are hearing from reliable sources that the European Commission has accepted a proposal from Italy to resume funding for the European Union Youth Orchestra. The Italian culture minister has announced that Claudio Abbado’s orchestra is saved. “La commissione europea ha accolto la proposta italiana di salvare l’orchestra giovanile europea fondata dal maestro Abbado”. Lo […]

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31May

Exclusive: My Life with Maria Callas

Slipped Disc is privileged to present an extract from the newly published memoirs of veteran artists manager, Jacques Leiser.       When I saw Maria Callas it was love at first sight. The first LP of hers that I heard – I still recall my excitement when I think about it – was her […]

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31May

‘I count the ethnic minorities in the audience… I get as far as my mother’

From an outspoken interview with the half-Jamaican British baritone Roderick Williams: The baritone Roderick Williams plays a game when he sits and looks out across the auditorium from the concert platform, between solos. “The game often doesn’t last long,” says the popular and sought-after singer. “I count the ethnic minorities. But I might get as […]

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31May

England’s record batsman: ‘Playing in an orchestra taught me to concentrate’

The England cricket captain Alistair Cook scored his 10,000th Test run yesterday, the first Englisman to do so and faster than anyone in history. As a boy he sang in the St Paul’s Cathedral choir (2nd left from Kiri in the pic) and played in the school orchestra. Here’s what he said about his musical background: […]

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31May

New research: Women composers are blanked in Australia

A study by three academics shows that women get even fewer commissions in Australia than in other western democracies. Despite this disadvantage, 29 percent of all composition students in the country are female. Read here.

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31May

Composer attacks concert hall

More trouble at the Västerås Sinfonietta, a 130 year-old ensemble that is being progressively shut down by its Swedish host town, which built a new concert hall in 2002. This may be one more symptom to add to Sweden’s growing classical music emergency. The musicians’ salaries were cut last year. They have now been cut […]

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31May

EU Commissioner is called out for errors and ignorance

The EU’s Commissioner for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, was unexpectedly caught out by a question on the European Union Youth Orchestra at a ministerial meeting on families. An Austrian minister asked why the EUYO was being defunded, and the Hungarian commissioner seemed not to know his basic facts. As soon as he […]

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30May

London’s £18 artists-only hotel is open at last

A 22-room boutique hotel in north London, charging £18 ($29) a night for artists, has opened its doors to guests. Green Rooms received special funding from the Mayo of London. Book here, or send email to [email protected]

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30May

After 61 years, violinist gives up orchestra seat

Pat Francis played her first concert with the San Diego Symphony in 1955, the youngest musician it ever hired. This weekend, she played her last. Pat, at 77, bowed out with Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. She is the 9th longest serving orchestral musician on record.  

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