The budget airline has upgraded its website with happy messages for musicians who fly with instruments. Yes, you can carry them on board.

But not all their staff read the website, apparently.

Here’s the latest incident from Aingeala De Búrca, who recently ha such trouble with Aer Lingus.

Norwegian is an airline that presents itself as ‘musician-friendly’ with guidelines on its website that clearly states that violins and violas may be stored in the overhead if it is the only carry-on bag.

Last week, I flew from Stockholm to London with Norwegian. Full of confidence, I boarded,stored the violin in the overhead and sat down. Minutes later, a member of the cabin crew saw it and shouted ‘what’s THIS?’and ‘Who owns it?’ and I found myself, once again, in difficulties.

She insisted I should have bought a seat for it. I protested saying I had followed the website guidelines but this had no effect. She told me that the flight was full and my violin would have to go in the hold. Oh the FEAR of hearing those words again so soon after my Aer Lingus nightmare.

In the end, she did me the ‘big favour’ of ‘allowing’ me to strap the violin into a window seat. Such drama. So unnecessary. And clearly this Norwegian employee had no idea of what their policy is.

Wuilly Arteaga, a Sistema violinist who plays his instrument in anti-government protests, has posted a video of his bullet-swollen face, pledging continued defiance.

He was hit by a volley from armed police.

‘Neither rubber bullets nor pellets will stop us,’ tweets Wuilly.

Reuters video report here.

Attacks on musicians are becoming routine in the escalating chaos fomented by the Maduro regime. Gustavo Dudamel spoke out last week, calling for an end to the bloodshed. This appears to be the regime’s instant response.

We have been informed of the sudden, unexpected death of Ernst Ottensamer, principal clarinet of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera. Ernst, who was 61, suffered a heart attack last night and could not be revived.

His loss will be felt across the summits of the orchestra world, and far beyond.

His eldest son Daniel Ottensamer is second principal clarinet with the Vienna Philharmonic.

His second son, Andreas, is principal clarinet with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Our sympathies to his grieving family, his colleagues and his students. Ernst Ottensamer was a named that commanded universal respect.

 

UPDATE: Dominique Meyer, director of the Staatsoper, writes: Ernst Ottensamer was a wonderful clarinetist, one that informed ears could recognize without seeing him, as we would do with a human voice. I can’t believe I’m never going to hear his Clemenza di Tito or his breakfast scene in Der Rosenkavalier again. Ernst was also a lovely person. He often helped me when I needed it.

UPDATE2: Statement from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra:

The Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera announce with deep sorrow the sudden death of long-time orchestra member Ernst Ottensamer, who has succumbed to a heart attack.

This loss leaves a deep personal and artistic void. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time. Ernst Ottensamer was born in Upper Austria in 1955 and studied clarinet at the University of Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna. In 1979 he joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and since 1983 he has made his artistic mark as principal clarinetist of the Vienna Philharmonic. He began his teaching career at the Vienna University of Music in 1986 and became a full professor in 2000.

Ernst Ottensamer formed several chamber music ensembles, foremost the Wiener Virtuosen, the Wiener Bläserensemble, the Wiener Solisten Trio and, together with his sons Daniel and Andreas, The Clarinotts. He has performed as chamber musician and soloist with the most prominent ensembles, orchestras and conductors.

 

The first Eurovision Choir of the Year contest ended last night with a victory for Carmen Manet from Slovenia (pop. 2m).

Second was Côr Merched Sir Gâr from a slightly larger nation, Wales (pop. 3m)

Third place went to Latvia’s Spīgo, cheered on by the host nation (pop. 1.96m).

John Rutter and Elīna Garanča were among the judges.

Did anyone watch?

And why does choral singing seem to thrive only in tiny nations?

Full list of finalists (alphabetically by nation):

  • Hardchor Linz (Austria)
  • Les Pastoreaux (Belgium)
  • Academic Choir of Aarhus (Denmark)
  • Estonian TV Girls’ Choir (Estonia)
  • Jazzchor Freiburg (Germany)
  • Spīgo (Latvia)
  • Carmen Manet (Slovenia)
  • Bela Bartok Male Choir (Hungary)
  • Côr Merched Sir Gâr (Wales)

The Russian president has been talking to students about his classical tastes.

‘I always listened with pleasure and to so-called popular classical music – Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart, of course. Maybe, first of all, Mozart, for me.

‘Of our own – Rachmaninov.  And Schubert/Liszt ‘Ständchen’ – wonderful, I really love this melody: Schubert in Liszt’s adaptation.’

On contemporary music: ‘Of course, it’s difficult for me to understand a composer such as Schnittke. Although he is very famous, and we are proud of him. But only a well-prepared listener understands all the variety and the depth of his works. I have not yet grown to this point, but I hope that I will continue to move in this direction.’

More on the event here.

The US composer made his dismissive comment in an interview with RAI. Watch here.

In an Austrian interview, he expresses appreciation for the Trump presidency: ‘It is wonderful: for the first time even children are getting politicised. Even my children, who used to be sunk in video games, now go to demonstrations and get involved politically. We should be grateful to Trump for having shaken us up.’

 

From Finfeed:

After selling his clarinet for $200, 10-year-old Jaddan Comerford became an investor,  putting the money into the stock market – specifically, shares in the National Australia Bank. That decision would turn out to have a major impact on his life and 23 years later, Comerford is the founder and CEO of UNIFIED Music Group, one of Australia’s fastest growing, privately owned independent music bodies. 

His business is worth $7 million.

Read on here.

A seminal lecture from the Deal Festival by Richard J. Hallam, past president of the Incorporated Society of Musicians.

Sample content:

Look at what is supposed to happen in primary school. Children in Key Stage 1 (5 to
7 year olds) should be taught to:
• use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking
chants and rhymes
• play tuned and untuned instruments musically
• listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and
recorded music
• experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related
dimensions of music.

And in Key Stage 2 (7 to 11 year olds): Pupils should be taught to sing and play
musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an
understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within
musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.
Pupils should be taught to:
• play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and
playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and
expression
• improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related
dimensions of music
• listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
• use and understand staff and other musical notations
• appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded
music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and
musicians
• develop an understanding of the history of music.
Is this a picture you recognise? Is this happening in the schools you know? Are
these the experiences young people are getting now? In some places the answer is
a resounding ‘yes’. This is why we have some of the best music education in the
world. But as report after report states, the situation is patchy. If, as I am proposing,
music education is vital to humans, what can we do about it? We can be clear who is
responsible and hold them to account. I don’t believe anyone sets out to do a poor
job. We have to find constructive and supportive ways to bring about change.

Read the full lecture here.

 

From the Lebrecht Album of the Week:

Walton is very much an on-off composer. What’s remarkable about this recording is that the performance transcends his shortcomings.

Read on here.

And here.

And here.

Federico Colli, 2012 Leeds Piano Competition winner, has signed on with Elisa Patria at Cami Europe.

He already has a record contract, with a debut release due on Chandos in the Spring.

From the BSO press office:

At the advice of his doctors, Maestro Christoph von Dohnányi regrets that he cannot appear with the Boston Symphony this summer at Tanglewood. He is continuing to heal from a fall he suffered earlier this year and looks forward to leading the BSO as scheduled in November.

His replacements are David Zinman and Juanjo Mena.