The Basque National Orchestra went on strike yesterday over various failings of its management.

The timing was unfortunate, coinciding with the opening night of Don Pasquale at Bilbao Opera.

Instead of cancelling the performance, the opera house engaged an American pianist, James Vaughan, to play the score in a performance conducted by Roberto Abbado.

The orchestra players were meeting meanwhile in San Sebastian.

Sometimes, life can be stranger than opera.

 

Here’s what happened this week when the Danish Radio Symphony played Mahler’s 8th symphony with Fabio Luisi. The DR techs have helpfully offered a slow-mo replay to show how the cymbal shatters towards the end of the first movement.

Watch here.

 

The presenter has withdrawn from appearances on the BBC following  report in the Sun newspaper that an allegation had been made of ‘inappropriate messages and contact with a female member of staff’.

The former boy star, 46, has apologised ‘for any upset caused.’ He denies any wrongdoing and continues to broadcast for Classic FM.

 

The Hartford Courant has decided not to review the Hartford Symphony any more.

Editor’s Note: The Courant has shifted the direction of its coverage of the symphony to focus more on advance stories and information to better serve those interested in attending these events who might need more time to make arrangements.  

This seems to be a growing trend, and some readers are livid:

It is unconscionable that The Courant will no longer review the major concerts of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Whether this decision was made for financial reasons or because a suitable critic could not be found, it is unacceptable to music lovers of central Connecticut….

Ignoring the performances of New England’s second largest orchestra with nearly 4,500 subscribers and 2,000 donors is an affront to its musicians and their patrons. A logical corollary would be to ask if the newspaper would ever think of eliminating the daily Sports Section…

Read on here.  

 

If you are a musician working in the US, you’ll probably need to read this analysis of what the new tax bill means for you.

It’s by Scott Stratton, financial adviser and trombone player, married to the Dallas Symphony’s principal oboe:

 

Musicians have been asking me if the new tax bill passed by the House yesterday will have any impact on us. Yes, the legislation, if passed in the Senate, will greatly reduce the ability of professional musicians to deduct many of the expenses we incur in our work.

I should state right at the outset that it is possible that your taxes may be lower under the current proposal. That’s because the plan will increase the standard deduction from $6,350 (single) and $12,700 (married) in 2017 to $12,000 and $24,000 in 2018. As a result, it is believed that instead of 33%, the number of taxpayers who itemize will fall to only 10%. But it also means that if you have itemized deductions below $12,000 (single)/$24,000 (married), you will no longer receive any benefit from those expenses in 2018….

Read on here.

Nicholas Kitchen of the Borromeo String Quartet has found an 1816 arrangement for viola quintet of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and gave its first modern performance this summer at the Heifetz Institute – rearranged for two violas, two violins and cello.

It’s weirdly effective.

Watch.

Here are the reviews, in order of their arrival online:

Theartsdesk.com has the first review, by Bernard Hughes, of last night’s English National Opera world premiere of Nico Muly’s new work.

The headline is ‘Marnie, English National Opera review – hyped new opera doesn’t hit the heights’.

The closing line is: ‘So while there were many good things to enjoy, the whole thing did not offer as engaging a theatrical experience as Benjamin’s Written on Skin, for me the benchmark for 21st century opera. This was an enjoyable evening, but not the hoped-for modern classic.’

Read the full review here.

More to follow as they come online.

George Hall in The Stage disagrees: ‘…Much of this is down to a score that shows a significant development in Muhly’s art, both in terms of technical skill and expressive power; he handles his forces with increased command as well as discretion, revealing the interiors of his complex characters. The result is an outstanding achievement.’

Other opinions?

Rupert Christiansen in the Telegraph endorses the first verdict: ‘…’ anyone who remembers how brilliantly Hitchcock moulded and coloured Graham’s tale of a compulsively lying kleptomaniac suffering from a childhood trauma into a subtly woven narrative will be bitterly disappointed at what replaces it: something without a dramatic focus that loses rather than gathers steam and never rises above the anodyne and obvious.’

The Telegraph headline: ‘If you’ve seen Hitchcock’s Marnie then this ENO adaptation will only disappoint you’

Broadway World: ‘This is a production that is beautiful to look at, but disappointingly, it lacks the necessary engagement and thrill to make it a classic.’

Zachary Woolfe, New York Times: ‘If Marnie never comes theatrically to life like those two very different women (Emilia Marty and Melisande), it may be because Debussy and Janacek’s works are true music dramas, in which the characters develop and the plots advance through the music, not parallel to it. “Marnie,” with a libretto by the dramatist Nicholas Wright, too often feels like a play with noirish underscoring. The music isn’t unrelated to what’s happening on stage, but it feels supplementary rather than integral — decoration and mood setting rather than buttress.’

Tim Ashley in the Guardian: ‘…there is a major flaw, which is primarily one of tone. Muhly’s approach is essentially reflective and there’s too little menace and tension throughout. The crucial figure of Marnie’s abusive mother strikes me as under-characterised. This psychological thriller doesn’t always thrill as it should.’

Richard Morrison in the Times: ‘Does the world need another opera in which an entirely male creative team attempt to dissect the mind of an “unhinged” woman? There are thousands already, a handful even psychologically perceptive — but the long, dreary new example premiered by English National Opera isn’t one of them.’

It has emerged that the FSB unit which poisoned the Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006 almost took the life of a pianist at the London hotel where they met their prey.

Derek Conlon, 51, later drank from the same coffee cup. Although it had been through the dishwasher, it was still contaminated with the polonium-210 that killed Litvinenko.

He has written about the experience in a new book, Sea’s the Moment.

Read here.

 

This is the new UK classical chart.

All 10 entrants are from Decca.

 

Top 10 Classical Artist Albums Chart

  1. ALED JONES: ONE VOICE – BELIEVE
  2. LUDOVICO EINAUDI: ISLANDS – ESSENTIAL EINAUDI
  3. CECILIA BARTOLI & SOL GABETTA: DOLCE DUELLO
  4. THE AYOUB SISTERS: THE AYOUB SISTERS
  5. ANDRE RIEU: BEST OF CHRISTMAS
  6. ALED JONES: ONE VOICE AT CHRISTMAS
  7. ANDRE RIEU: DECEMBER LIGHTS
  8. LUDOVICO EINAUDI: ELEMENTS
  9. GARETH MALONE: A GREAT BRITISH CHRISTMAS
  10. KARL JENKINS: SYMPHONIC ADIEMUS

A dozen years ago, only one of these records would have classified as classical.

Malcolm Young, co-founder of the Australian rock band AC/DC with his brother Angus Young, died today.

He was 64 and had been struggling with dementia.

The group sold 200 million records.

Guardian obituary.

In the late Soviet era, Nikolai Kapustin looked like a route to the future – a composer who ignored party norms and wrote in an idiom that, while rooted in Bach, is easily mistaken for jazz.

He turns 80 this week, on November 22.

Let’s give him a shout-out.

From the Korea Herald:

A child violinist battling leukemia had the chance of a lifetime when his musical hero Itzhak Perlman gave him a special one-on-one master class.

Cha Hee-su, 8, was greeted at the waiting room where Perlman was resting after his concert at Seoul Arts Center on Sunday.

Cha played “Humoresque,” a piece he had been practicing 20 minutes a day the last three days, which require great effort given his weak physical conditions. Perlman carefully listened to him playing and offered advice on his posture and playing style.

 

Read on here.