21Oct

When Jews had to form their own orchestras

Michael Haas has written a fascinating paper on the Kulturbund, the cultural organisation that arose in Hitler’s Germany when Jews were banned from general musical activity. Some of the recordings here are sensational. Read and listen here.

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17Oct

Raffles violinist escapes jail again

Victoria Yellop was given a suspended sentence in July after a judge was persuaded that she had been bullied by a violent boyfriend into burgling a house she was looking after. Yesterday, she was given another suspended sentence in Kent for causing serious injuries to a motorcyclist while driving under the influence of drugs. She […]

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17Oct

St Louis posts first surplus this century

The St Louis Symphony Orchestra is in a good place. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2017, the SLSO reported its first operating surplus of the 21st century. On an operating budget of $30.3 million, there was a surplus of $18,000. The endowment reached $214 million. There’s a new five-year contract with the musicians. Stéphane […]

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17Oct

Who got this cellist to play 140 concerts a year?

The American cellist Alisa Weilerstein, now based in Berlin, gives a typically forthright account of her life and thoughts in the latest episode of Living the Classical Life (first broadcast on Slipped Disc). She is playing Carnegie Hall tonight (Tuesday) and she tells Zsolt Bognar that she remembers every performance. ‘I could talk about each […]

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17Oct

Death of a well-travelled Russian conductor, 73

The death is reported in Moscow of Fedor Glushchenko, an accomplished conductor who worked with many UK and European orchestras and made recordings for Hyperion and Chandos, among other labels.   In the 1990s he was head of the Arturo Toscanini orchestra in Italy and the RTVE Symphony in Madrid. Latterly he was principal guest […]

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17Oct

Scottish vocal coach is arrested over sexual messages to child

A lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is due to appear in court in Glasgow charged with sharing sexual images with a child, aged 13 to 15. The man’s name has been removed from the RCS website. The incident was reported in the Sunday Mail, but there is no trace of it online. Presumptions […]

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17Oct

One in 5 cancels concert subscriptions

Zurich’s Tonhalle is undergoing a three-year renovation. The orchestra has moved out to an industrial estate in the burbs. One in five concertgoers has cancelled their subscriptions. Read here.

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17Oct

London studio is saved after £200,000 neighbours war

Air Studios in Hampstead has fought off an attempt by rich neighbours to dig a swimming pool in their basement, an excavation that would have put the studio out of action for several months. Thousands of musicians rallied to support the studio, which spent £200,000 in legal fees to fight the neighbours. Story here.     […]

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16Oct

Hvorostovsky, 55 today, receives greetings from Putin

The Russian president has posted birthday wishes on the Kremlin website to the celebrated baritone. Putin writes: ‘Let me heartily congratulate you on your birthday and express my sincere admiration for your talent, strength of mind and firmness.’ Dmitri Hvorostovsky is receiving treatment for brain cancer.

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16Oct

A leading organist reaches 100

Congratulations to Dr Francis Jackson, master of music at York Minster from 1946 to 1982 and former president of the Royal College of Organists. He turned 100 on October 2nd and continues to compose.

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16Oct

Musicians are ‘three times more likely to suffer from depression’

Help Musicians UK has set up a task force to address high levels of mental illness in the music professions. A new study identifies four contributory factors: – Money worries – A career in music is often precarious and unpredictable. Many musicians have several different jobs as part of a portfolio career, and as a result […]

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