The unbelievably troubled School of Music at the Australian National university in Canberra has been hit by an allegation of ‘multiple instances of alleged negligence, maladministration and misuse of public funds, corruption, and abuse of position by senior management at the ANU’.
The charges comes in a letter to the Ombudsman by Dr Peter Tregear, head of the School from 2012 to 2015.
The ANU has responded that the allegations are false and defamatory. ‘The allegations contain material that is deeply defamatory towards multiple staff and have no basis in fact.’
The Ombudsman says: ‘I am reasonably satisfied that the information provided tends to show instances of disclosable conduct, namely conduct that constitutes maladministration and conduct which, if proved, would be grounds for disciplinary action or conduct which is in breach of a law.’
From the Ahn Trio:
After spending 3k on flights for the trio plus cello to Bucharest, Romania to play at the Peleș Castle, we are denied flight because cello ticket was under the name Cello Ahn & Lufthansa said they cannot correct the reservation name for the cello.
After spending three hours on the phone with Lufthansa plus Expedia agents standing the entire time at John F. Kennedy International Airport with no place to sit anywhere by the check in desk…spent the entire day trying to go. #ahntriocrying Agent #ahntrio talked to said, yes, the cello should be booked under cello…which is what we did… also disturbing is neither #expedia nor #lufthansa willing to refund our tickets!?!!!
Can anyone help?
Michelle Reed Baker is retiring after 18 years as second horn of the Metropolitan Orchestra.
She was asked which singers inspire her:
Dmitri Hvorostovsky is someone who comes to mind for his singing as well as the fact that he breathes very loudly, which gave me the OK to breathe loudly and take in as much air as possible. Debbie Voigt phrases beautifully. René Pape’s tone quality and smoothness is amazing, especially in his recent Met Parsifal. Also, I love Peter Mattei and the way he adds character to certain notes – he adds a little shimmer on important notes that makes his phrasing interesting and beautiful.
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra today appointed William Shaub as its new concertmaster.
William is 24.
Does any big-city US orchestra have a younger leader?
Born in 1992 in Canton, Ohio, William Shaub was a recipient of the Louis Persinger Scholarship as a student at the Juilliard School. He was a student of Cho-Liang Lin, Emilio Llinas, Stephen Clapp, and studied chamber music with Sylvia Rosenberg. He plays a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin, made in 1865.
The Pacifica Quartet has been going through uncertain times since first violinist Simin Ganatra quit eleven months ago. Two others took academic posts. Violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson joined Oberlin Conservatory and violist Masumi Per Rosta signed on at the Eastman School in Rochester.
That left the quartet clinging by its teeth.
Today, it replaced Bernhardsson with Austin Hartman and Rostad with violist Guy Ben-Ziony (pictured).
Ben-Ziony said: ‘I think almost every violist has a secret dream from early on to become a quartet player, and I’m no exception.’
UPDATE: It’s slightly more complicated. Here’s a message from their PR:
Simin announced she was leaving last June but changed plans.
That decision last June was made by Simin to better balance the pressures of intense travel on the well-being of her two young daughters. Having lived with this decision for about five months while Simin continued to tour full-time with the Pacifica, Simin and Brandon – her husband and cellist in the Quartet – came up with a plan that allowed Simin to continue in her role as first violinist. (i.e: reliable, long-term childcare support and creative tour routing.)
Over the winter, Oberlin contacted Sibbi Bernhardsson. Gregory Fulkerson, a professor of violin for 35 years at the school was retiring at the end of the academic year. (Fulkerson happens to have been a chamber music coach to Sibbi when he was a young student.) For Sibbi, the unexpected offer to join the faculty was especially timely: this position would allow him to spend more time with his family; he has two very young children. At Oberlin, he could continue teaching which has long been a passion. Sibbi has a strong connection to the Conservatory; he graduated from the conservatory in ’95.
Sibbi informed the Pacifica that he would be accepting the position at Oberlin and would be leaving at the end of the season, following their Beethoven cycle at Ravinia (5 concerts, Sept. 1-3). This news naturally led all the members in the ensemble to examine how best to move forward. Just a few weeks later, Eastman contacted (violist) Masumi Per Rostad about a faculty opening. It was very serendipitous. Masumi decided to pursue the opportunity and accept the position after 17 years on the road with the Pacifica. He and his wife Sonia (a pianist) will relocate to Rochester, NY. (Masumi is originally from New York City.)
The historic building was evacuated and a late-night techno event abandoned after parts of the ceiling crumbled onto dancers. A performance by Dixon and Job Jobse was cut short by two hours.
The hall management has posted this account:
Last night during a dance event in the Concertgebouw we found that grit had come loose from a plaster moulding above the stage in the Great Hall. We decided to end the event prematurely due to the safety of the visitors. The house is now clear. An inspection found that a small part of the stucco is damaged; this section has now been removed. No one is in danger.
‘It is being examined whether the damage is related to the event. The Concertgebouw hosts dance events a couple of times a year because we wish it to be accessible to as many people as possible. All upcoming concerts and rehearsals will continue.’
It is not clear whether the concert stage or auditorium has been affected.
Great recordings are easy to review. Likewise bad ones. About 99.5 percent of all releases fall somewhere in between. Of these, four in five quickly outlast their initial attraction.
She’s playing Ariodante at Salzburg Whitsun Festival.
photos: Monika Ritterhaus/Salzburger Festspiele
Suits you, sir!
The combative harpsichordist has been warned by Damian Thompson in the Spectator that he’s committing career suicide by picking fights.
The 33-year-old has been starting small wars since he launched himself a decade ago as the harpsichord’s global ambassador-cum-saviour. His modus operandi — damning his fellow musicians as racist snobs — is pointlessly offensive, but he can rely on the arts establishment for covering fire. A young Middle Eastern ‘baroquestar’ who supports #BlackLivesMatter? What’s not to like?
The point about Mahan is that he will pick a fight in an empty room if he thinks it will make a passing telephone engineer pay attention to the harpsichord. He is determined to push the instrument back to front of stage for the first time in two centuries and if he has to shred a few tinklers to get there, so be it. In a milieu led by tweedy academics in a fine cloud of dandruff, Mahan is a blast of fresh air in a flatulent cloister.
All of Manchester’s communities stand together in strength, resilience and love.
In this most musical of cities, Manchester’s orchestral musicians from the Hallé, the BBC Philharmonic and the Manchester Camerata will come together with The Bridgewater Hall for a concert in support of the families and friends of the victims of last Monday’s atrocity.
The event details are:
Thursday 1 June at 8pm
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Sir Mark Elder and Stephen Bell will conduct members of the Hallé, Manchester Camerata and BBC Philharmonic orchestras
Performances by Clare Teal, Alice Coote and Guy Garvey
The evening will include inspiring and uplifting classical music, a performance by Alice Coote – one of the world’s finest mezzo sopranos – as well as songs from international jazz star Clare Teal and award-winning singer-songwriter Guy Garvey.
Everyone involved with the event are giving their services free. Tickets for the concert are free, but you MUST have a ticket to gain entry.
We are asking people, if they are able, to make a donation to the WeStandTogetherManchester Justgiving page at
