The soaring Mirga Grazinytė-Tyla has pulled out of tomorrow’s Hollywood Bowl concert, a rare cancellation for illness.

Her replacement is the Liverpool music director Vasily Petrenko, who happened to be around as he’s working with the LA Phil two days later.

The program is unchanged.

 

The UK Business Secretary Greg Clark today issued proceedings against directors of the defunct Kids Company charity, which collapsed in 2015 after receiving millions in government aid.

Nine directors are named. They are headed by the former chief executive Camila Batmanghelidjh and the chairman Alan Yentob who was forced to resign as BBC creaitve director over his role in the collapse.

 

Named among the other seven is Erica Jane Bolton, co-owner of the Bolton Quinn PR company, which has represented the South Bank Centre and other classical venues.

If found culpable, the Kids Company directors could be banned from serving on a company board for up to six years.

 

As Vanessa Paradis sings the Jules-et-Jim song at the Cannes Festival in 1995, its original interpreter bestows a glorious blessing of human generosity.

Watch.

Jeanne Moreau, RIP.

 

Wonderful actor. Unusual singer.


Jules et Jim (1961) was for years my all-time favourite film.

Jeanne Moreau,s 89, was found dead today in her Paris apartment.

 

One of the performers in last night’s Beethoven Ninth at the BBC Proms has sent the following to Slipped Disc:

As the (role withheld) in the Beethoven Ninth last evening, I hope I can offer you my thoughts on the EU flag disruption. As I entered the stage door there was a group of people giving out free EU flags to take inside……no problem with this.

As I entered the Albert hall Stage, just prior to the 3rd movement there was no site of overly ‘dramatic’ EU flags. Once the 4th movement commenced there was some rustling along the very front row of the prommers.

My comment is: from what it looked like to me, the EU flag folks (5-6 people at most) were more concerned at launching their political protest than in listening to the glorious symphony of Beethoven – the orchestra, the choirs, soloists were not phased by their flag games. Ludwig van Beethoven is enough for any thoughts on the EU. 

Is there a sinister pro-Brussels mafia at work, as there was last year?

 


Even if there is, the BBC attempt to suppress it was both inept and disruptive.

 

 

 

Today’s press release announcing Philippe Jordan’s appointment as music director of the Vienna State Opera from September 2020 makes it clear that the appointment is by order of Bogdan Roscic, the incoming general director.

Unusually, the statement was issued not by the Staatsoper itself but by ‘Leisure Communications’ acting on behalf of ‘the Büro des designierten Direktors.’ Bogdan is acting as if he’s already in charge.

His statement reads: ‘Philippe Jordan wurde als Musikdirektor der Wiener Staatsoper ab 1. September 2020 verpflichtet. Das gab der designierte Direktor Bogdan Roščić am Montag, 31. Juli 2017, bekannt. Neben der Leitung von Neuproduktionen und Repertoire-Vorstellungen wird Jordan als Mitglied der Direktion den gesamten musikalischen Bereich des Hauses leiten und strukturell mitgestalten.’

Philippe Jordan, 42, is presently music director of the Opéra national de Paris since 2009 and chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. A Swiss, from Zurich, he is the son of the Suisse Romande cnductor, Armin Jordan.

He is known to the members of the Vienna Philarmonic and will have obtained their approval before accepting the post. But despite Bogdan’s fine promises, he will be powerless in an institution where all authority rests in the general director’s office.

And Bogdan’s announcement is both presumptuous and extremely rude to the present administration. But that’s what the future looks like in Vienna.

 

Audience members at the Royal Albert Hall who waved EU flags during the finale of Beethoven’s ninth symphony last night were ordered by ushers to take them down.

A Slipped Disc correspondent writes: ‘RAH staff came in through the piece multiple times to tell people to remove them. It was a total distraction to the performers.’

‘It was an abysmal way to deal with a political statement at a classical concert; it turned attention away from the performance. There was no waving of the flags or anything that might be construed as distracting.’

EU flag being unfurled over rail

Another SD reader points out that it was the only EU flags that were removed.

The ushers had no issue with Welsh flags – waved for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales – or any other emblems.

During the Proms season, RAH staff act under instruction from the BBC.

The BBC is anxious about allowing pro-EU sentiment at the Proms ever since it got into hot water over Daniel Barenboim’s speech. Now the BBC has disrupted a Proms concert in order to cover its own back.

 

UPDATE: Who organised EU flags at BBC Proms?

 

The Russian maestro has called up George Harliono, to play Rachmaninov’s second concerto with the Mariinsky orchestra in Vladivostok on August 5.

George, 16, was born in Hackney, East London, and now lives near Cambridge where he studies with Professor Vanessa Latarche. He also travels to Switzerland to work with Vovka Ashkenazy and his father Vladimir Ashkenazy.

‘It is such an honour for me to have been asked to perform with Maestro Gergiev, he really is a world class conductor and I can’t wait to meet him,’ says the debutant.

 

The Swiss musician Lionel Cottet has passed his trial years as principal cello of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and has been awarded tenure.

But a co-principal cello seat remains vacant.

Auditions in October.

Here’s what players (including Cottet) think of the past season.

Françoise Swingle, widow of the founder of the Swingle Singers and a key element in its success, has passed away, two and a half years after her husband, Ward.

Our sympathies to their daughters Kathryn, Elizabeth and Rebecca.

 

 

The International Clarinet Association has posted the death of Hans-Rudolf Stalder, principal of the Zurich Tonhalle from 1955 to 1986 and teacher at the Basle Hochschule.

He died on July 28.