Tomorrow night sees a new ritual launched on German television, After the ineluctable Dinner for One, a 1920 British comedy skit that somehow feels traditional to Germans, the main channels split for a smackdown New Year’s ratings race.

ARD, the first channel, will carry a live concert from Simon Rattle’s orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. ZDF, the second channel, will transmit live from Dresden, with Christian Thielemann. Classical music, which rarely gets a main-channel look-in, will saturate the screens at high cost to both channels and no strategic benefit. This battle is all about bruised egos.
It used to be ZDF that carried the Berlin concert while ARD got on with public revelries. Last year, Berlin demanded more money for a contract renewal and ZDF pulled out – only for the premier channel to pay up and take over for three years. Rattle’s media managers rejoiced.  
That went down in Mainz, where ZDF lives, like a keg of stale beer. Barely was the ink dry on the Berlin-ARD deal than ZDF signed a five-year agreement with national hotshot Thielemann at his new post in Dresden. With one of those arm-twists by which TV schedulers earn their pay, Berlin kicks off at 5.15 pm, quarter of an hour ahead of Dresden. Which channel is paying most has not yet been disclosed.
Die Welt calls the contest absurd – the more so since both channels will lose out massively next morning to the Vienna Philharmonic, whose New Years Day concert is watched by 45 million people in 71 countries. There is an added frisson to this year’s Vienna event since it is conducted by the new Vienna Opera chief, Franz Welser-Möst. A fourth New Years concert will be beamed from Venice, conducted by Daniel Harding. By the time that glut is over, music lovers will be reaching for sugar-free Schoenberg and Xenakis.

The saxophone, a Paris invention of 1841, is a cuckoo in the classical nest, never accorded full membership of the symphony orchestra. The concertos it has acquired are oddities by the likes of Glazunov, Ibert, Villa Lobos – and a Rhapsody that Debussy left in piano score and never completed. 

Today’s free download is a sultry piece by Henri Tomasi (1901-71), a Marseilles musician of mystic disposition and a profound attachment to the Mediterranean. It is played, further down the beach, by Greek saxophonist, Theodore Kerzekos, accompanied by the LSO and Yuri Simonov. Lovely stuff.

http://www.onyxclassics.com/normanlebrecht/ONYX4065-4.mp3.zip

Tomasi: Concerto pour saxophone et orchestra – II Giration: Finale.
Allegro



The conductor Franz Welser-Möst has a busy weekend. Saturday morning he will be presiding over the annual Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Day concert. Sunday he will appear on WQXR’s Mad About Music, telling Gilbert Kaplan some of his darker secrets.

As well as airing his reflections on hostile music critics – a must-hear for misery hacks – the music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera gets to pick a wild-card record, one that you wouldn’t expect to appear among his personal favourites. What can I tell you? It’s not a Strauss waltz or a Bruckner dirge (Franz is from Linz, like Bruckner and the other famous Austrian, name escapes me). 

Pin your ears back, it’s a klezmer whirl.
He also gets to pick the music for his funeral. Simon Keenlyside, check your diary. He’s booking you for Schubert songs, date to be advised.

The conductor Franz Welser-Möst has a busy weekend. Saturday morning he will be presiding over the annual Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Day concert. Sunday he will appear on WQXR’s Mad About Music, telling Gilbert Kaplan some of his darker secrets.

As well as airing his reflections on hostile music critics – a must-hear for misery hacks – the music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera gets to pick a wild-card record, one that you wouldn’t expect to appear among his personal favourites. What can I tell you? It’s not a Strauss waltz or a Bruckner dirge (Franz is from Linz, like Bruckner and the other famous Austrian, name escapes me). 

Pin your ears back, it’s a klezmer whirl.
He also gets to pick the music for his funeral. Simon Keenlyside, check your diary. He’s booking you for Schubert songs, date to be advised.

Today’s free classical download is the opening of the first-ever recording of the tenth string quartet by David Matthews, a British composer steeped in Mahlerian language while developing a voice that is absolutely his own. The Lontano from his 10th quartet is one of the lovelist passages I have heard all year.

It comes courtesy of a new participant in the free downloads scheme. Toccata Classics is a one-man band invented by Martin Anderson, publisher, critic and sometime international economics official. Toccata pursues esoteric music with rare passion. Some of its composers   were pushed to the margins by political condictions in their country, others have simply failed to obtain the recognition they deserve. Toccata has high standards and produces few duds. Unusually, you can obtain its new recordings by subscription.
Here is the wonderful David Matthews work, played by the Kreutzer Quartet. You know now where you can find more.
Image: Kreutzer Quartet - Matthews: Complete String Quartets

To download Matthews: String Quartet No. 10, Op. 84 – I. Lontano
click the link below:
TOCC0058-09.mp3 

Kreutzer Quartet at work


Today’s free classical download is the opening of the first-ever recording of the tenth string quartet by David Matthews, a British composer steeped in Mahlerian language while developing a voice that is absolutely his own. The Lontano from his 10th quartet is one of the lovelist passages I have heard all year.

It comes courtesy of a new participant in the free downloads scheme. Toccata Classics is a one-man band invented by Martin Anderson, publisher, critic and sometime international economics official. Toccata pursues esoteric music with rare passion. Some of its composers   were pushed to the margins by political condictions in their country, others have simply failed to obtain the recognition they deserve. Toccata has high standards and produces few duds. Unusually, you can obtain its new recordings by subscription.
Here is the wonderful David Matthews work, played by the Kreutzer Quartet. You know now where you can find more.
Image: Kreutzer Quartet - Matthews: Complete String Quartets

To download Matthews: String Quartet No. 10, Op. 84 – I. Lontano
click the link below:
TOCC0058-09.mp3 

Kreutzer Quartet at work


Today’s exclusive free classical download on Slipped Disc is an extract from a future release on Somm Records – the Erwin Stein reduction of Mahler’s fourth symphony for solo voice and 12 players. The record will not be available until February but, in the spirit of the season, we thought you’d like an early taster.

Stein, a Viennese editor who later became Benjamin Britten’s publisher, made the edition for Arnold Schoenberg’s Society for Private Musical Performances – a members-only group from which professional critics and conservative spirits were sternly excluded.
It has been recorded before, but not very convincingly. This performance, by members of the Orchestra of the Swan, gives a much clearer picture of the essence that Stein (with Schoenberg’s blessing) was trying to extract from the hectic first movement.
Click here http://www.somm-recordings.com/somm/mp3/somm_mahler4.mp3 for the full experience, and enjoy.

(Picture of Schoenberg, Klemperer, Scherchen, Webern; Stein’s the little fellow on the right) 

Today’s exclusive free classical download on Slipped Disc is an extract from a future release on Somm Records – the Erwin Stein reduction of Mahler’s fourth symphony for solo voice and 12 players. The record will not be available until February but, in the spirit of the season, we thought you’d like an early taster.

Stein, a Viennese editor who later became Benjamin Britten’s publisher, made the edition for Arnold Schoenberg’s Society for Private Musical Performances – a members-only group from which professional critics and conservative spirits were sternly excluded.
It has been recorded before, but not very convincingly. This performance, by members of the Orchestra of the Swan, gives a much clearer picture of the essence that Stein (with Schoenberg’s blessing) was trying to extract from the hectic first movement.
Click here http://www.somm-recordings.com/somm/mp3/somm_mahler4.mp3 for the full experience, and enjoy.

(Picture of Schoenberg, Klemperer, Scherchen, Webern; Stein’s the little fellow on the right) 

Here are ten classical music stories broken by Slipped Disc in the past year, most of them hours and sometimes a full day ahead of the world’s mass media. Some are intrinsic to the music industry and of little interest outside the classical lily pond. Others have repercussions that are still running as the year ends.

Here’s the A list, with two stings in the tail:

1 Dudamel quits his agency – twice 
2 Tenor Philip Langridge dies
3 EMI loses two classical vice-presidents
4 Germany’s two top composers kiss and make up
5 Regime change at Deutsch Grammophon: crossover Roberts gets the push
6 Both main BBC orchestras lose their chief conductors
7 Linda Brava returns – fully clothed
8 Sony grabs pound of flesh from new signings
9 Rigged entries at the Solti Conducting Competition
10 Lang Lang’s lips are forcibly sealed
…. and the year’s most talked about classical music email
Much more to come in the year ahead

One of the most thought-provoking records of the year was a combination on the Onyx label, by the Israeli-born pianist Shai Wosner, of the late Fantasies, op 116, by Johannes Brahms with the Six Little Piano Pieces, op 19, by Arnold Schoenberg. 

This is no mismatch of old reactionary with bold revolutionary. On the contrary, taking the two in conjunction, as this dowload does, demonstrates just how progressive Brahms was in his tonality, and how conservative Schoenberg could be. I have always loved the two sets, separate and distinct. To hear them together is a great treat. 
Click here for your free download:

http://www.onyxclassics.com/normanlebrecht/ONYX4055-6_9.mp3.zip

Brahms/Schoenberg: 7 Fantasien op.116/6 kleine Klavierstücke op.19
(elision)
Shai Wosner










(Schoenberg, by his wife’s lover, Richard Gerstl)

One of the most thought-provoking records of the year was a combination on the Onyx label, by the Israeli-born pianist Shai Wosner, of the late Fantasies, op 116, by Johannes Brahms with the Six Little Piano Pieces, op 19, by Arnold Schoenberg. 

This is no mismatch of old reactionary with bold revolutionary. On the contrary, taking the two in conjunction, as this dowload does, demonstrates just how progressive Brahms was in his tonality, and how conservative Schoenberg could be. I have always loved the two sets, separate and distinct. To hear them together is a great treat. 
Click here for your free download:

http://www.onyxclassics.com/normanlebrecht/ONYX4055-6_9.mp3.zip

Brahms/Schoenberg: 7 Fantasien op.116/6 kleine Klavierstücke op.19
(elision)
Shai Wosner










(Schoenberg, by his wife’s lover, Richard Gerstl)

An awful lot of junk communication crosses my screen each day, but nothing made me scream at the insensitivity of the PR industry as much as the following mailshot, in support of a brand of disability aids. The release somehow combines celebrity, personal misfortune (divorce), personal tragedy (fall from a window), medical drama and high art (opera) in a bizarre bid to get more coverage for small scooters. You couldn’t make this up, I thought on first sight. But someone did, and here it is.

If you have received a clunkier press release this year – or this century – do let me know.

                                                                                                                        

11.10.2010

PRESS RELEASE

FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Disabled Lady
Jill McIntyre retains independence
with TGA scooter despite divorcing
celebrated operatic bass-baritone Sir Donald
McIntyre OBE

 

 

Lady
Jill McIntyre is a remarkable lady who has managed to battle through severe
trauma following a high profile accident and subsequent disability, however is
now to divorce her husband of 48 years and will only remain independent thanks
to a mobility scooter from
TGA Electric.

 

Now
living on the family 107-acre farm in Kent, Lady Jill McIntyre has experienced
a life filled with both celebrity status and dramatic trauma. Lady Jill’s
husband, New Zealand born Sir Donald McIntyre OBE is renowned worldwide for his
operatic talent and debuted as
Zaccaria in Nabucco, at the Welsh National Opera, in 1959. His career went from strength-to-strength with
appearances across the globe performing alongside stars such as Dame
Kiri Te Kanawa and Dame Gwyneth Jones whilst always accompanied by his
beloved wife backstage.

 

However
their youngest daughter became seriously ill with meningitis in the early
nineties and with the combination of this and Jill’s Mother dying suddenly,
Jill became deeply depressed. This depression led to a horrendous tragedy when
in New Zealand, under heavy medication, she fell 65ft off a 6th floor window
and landed on a car park below. This left Jill in a coma for five weeks, with
severe life threatening injuries and a bleak prognosis. Covered in the National
Press, she was flown back to the UK and over the coming months managed to pull
through this ordeal even though undergoing amputation of her shattered right
leg 10 months after the accident. 18 months passed before Jill was well enough
to return home permanently and ever since has fought to regain her speech and
improve her well-being. This was made easier by the support of Sir Donald who
took a whole year off from performances to help his wife’s recovery however
with Jill’s recent decision to divorce her celebrity husband, she will now no
longer have assistance with daily living.

 

 

 

Soon
to be living with considerably less daily support, Jill will be even more
dependent on her Supersport mobility scooter from TGA. The extensive McIntyre
family farm is based in the rolling Kent countryside which could have posed a
challenge to remain mobile outdoors, however the rugged Supersport will
continue to allow Jill to negotiate farm tracks and off-road terrain. She has
to regularly travel up a one-mile steep hill to the village and often assists
at the local nursery school having been a qualified teacher. Being house bound
would have been a distinct possibility without the ownership of a mobility
scooter from TGA; especially now she is divorcing Sir Donald.

 

Jill
explains, ‘I read once that 90% of marriages break up when one person becomes
disabled and I can understand why – it puts a lot of strain on a relationship.
Over the past 15 years since my accident my husband has supported me closely
for which I am eternally grateful, however I feel the time has come for us to
go our separate ways. Obviously the prospect of more time alone makes me a
little apprehensive, however I intend to remain independent and continue my
outdoor activities such as swimming in the lake, gardening, teaching at Keston
County Primary School and tending the farm, all thanks to my robust TGA
Supersport. Before I purchased it, I thoroughly investigated the marketplace to
ensure I obtained a mobility scooter that had the power, performance and
manoeuvrability to cope in a rural environment. I can independently and with
peace of mind, travel into my local woods up to a range of 20 miles whilst
appreciating the surroundings I am lucky enough to live within. Only the
popular TGA Supersport met all my needs and without this marvellous machine I
would be lost I’m sure.’

 

Jill
continues to remain positive even though the next few months promise to be a
testing time for her and the McIntyre family. Her inspirational attitude to
life has recently been given a boost by her grandson, Luke Jackson-Clark. With
her connections in the world of theatre and the arts, Jill is currently
supporting him as he performs in Billy Elliot at The Palace Theatre Victoria,
London, following a recent role in Oliver Twist.

 

*
ENDS *

 

 

Follow TGA on Twitter:
tgaelectric

 

TGA Electric Leisure Limited

TGA is based in Sudbury, Suffolk and has been a respected
designer, manufacturer and provider of mobility products for 25 years with a
speciality in scooters. TGA is renowned for its high quality, diverse range
that includes the ever-popular Eclipse car boot scooter through to the

 

funky cutting edge Vita and market-leading wheelchair
Powerpack. As a family run business, TGA is dedicated to quality, innovation
and service with all of its products undergoing rigorous testing before
delivery ensuring peace of mind and trouble free ownership. 

 

 

For further information please
contact:                Issued on behalf
of:

Jon Nock                                                                     Tim
Ross

Director                                                                       National Sales Manager

iDIS Creative
Marketing                                             
TGA Electric Leisure Limited

6-7 Treadaway Tech
Centre                                     
Woodhall Business Park

Email: jon@idiscreativemarketing.co.uk                    Email: timross@tga-electric.com

www.idiscreativemarketing.co.uk                               www.tga-electric.com

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