jonas kaufmann early

This album for release had been announced for release in March by the Austrian label Capriccio. A review appeared in the London Times.

It is now flagged as being ‘currently unavailable… We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock.’

Can’t imagine why.

 

To a reporter’s account of the Palmyra concert: 

Correction: May 9, 2016

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misspelled the given name of a composer whose work was performed in Palmyra by Russian musicians. He was Johann Sebastian Bach, not Johan. And a picture with this article was published in error. It showed a concert in Palmyra on Friday — not the concert by the Russian musicians, who played on Thursday.

Expect Roldugin to send in a correction that he never missed a single note. 

sergei roldugin palmyra

Foreign correspondent Michael Johnson observes:

Many young pianists, increasingly desperate to draw attention to themselves, are resorting to new levels of flamboyance at the keyboard… Big hair is now in vogue.

Trifonov hair

I recently saw and heard the young Russian sensation Daniil Trifonov perform Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 to near-perfection at Boston’s Symphony Hall. But his bouncing on the piano bench, his outrageous hair-flicks and his swoons and spasms spoiled what would have been a five-star performance.

More criticism and drawings by Michael Johnson here.

Larry Johnson in Chicago hears that one of the city’s early bands is shutting down. Read here.

la calisto

Birmingham’s incoming music director, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, has come up with a vivid recollection of growing up as the child of professional musicians:

My father is a choral conductor and my mother a pianist. They wanted to steer me away from music, thinking that it’s not a secure profession. But they took me along to their rehearsals anyway, to concerts and conducting lessons. I had that instead of kindergarten. Then at one point, music was the only profession I could imagine. And as a conductor, you’re simultaneously with music and with people. Both are very important to me.

mirga graz

Read more here.

 

The Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen has linked up with scientists and rock musicians in The Sync Project, self-described as a ‘global collaboration harnessing the power of music for health’.

The team is headed by former Nokia design chief, Marko Ahtisaari.

Nothing more to see at the moment. Read more about the vision here.

Esa-pekka-salonen sky arts

He conducted his last opera as music director on Saturday. Musicians at the Met have posted video of the acclaim on Instagram here.

levine-thumb-500x280-62355

The sought-after Marc Albrecht has renewed his Dutch vows to 2020.

Marc is chief conductor at Dutch National Opera, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nederlands Kamerorkest.

marc albrecht

pictured: Marc Albrecht with Els van der Plas, Pierre Audi (Dutch National Opera & Ballet) and Rob Streevelaar (Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest|Nederlands Kamerorkest)

A US-French coloratura, Julia Kogan, is claiming in the British courts that her ex-bf stole her idea for Meryl Streep’s Florence Foster Jenkins film.

Most singers would use lawyers to deny any connection to the Jenkins screech, but Julia is claiming a screen credit as co-author from her ex-partner Nicholas Martin.

Julia Kogan, Opera Singer, 2014, Credit: Johan Persson

photo (c) Jan Persson

 

 

The Times reports:  She says that she contributed to the script by not only introducing him to the tale of the New York heiress, but by furnishing him with much of the technical knowhow and colourful detail about the “lifestyle, vocabulary, idiosyncrasies and idioms” of professional opera singers portrayed in the film.

More here (firewall).

UPDATE: We understand that the Times version above is contested by Julia Kogan.

 

 

New flare-up in the London agency wars.

Kirill Karabits, the highly regarded Bournemouth and Weimar music director has switched from HarrisonParrott to Askonas Holt.

karabits

The Nestlé award finalists were announced this morning.

They are:

Ciarán McAuley (Ireland), 32,

Alexander Prior (Great Britain), 23

and Aziz Shokhakimov (Uzbekistan), 27.

Prior, parentally promoted as a child composer, came second at 16 in the Leeds conducting competition and was named assistant conductor in Seattle the following year.

alexander prior

McCauley was raised in Zimbabwe. He is presently assistant conductor with the Malaysian Philharmonic.

Shokhakimov became chief conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan at age 17.

 

All the tabloids are reporting that the musician Kanye West awoke his wife, Kim Kardashian, on Mothers Day with a string ensemble playing on the staircase.

You wonder if the husband was aware of the origin of this custom, when Richard Wagner expiated his marital guilt towards Cosima with the Siegfried Idyll on her birthday?

cosima richard wagner