The International Classical Music Awards have given their first trophy for Lifetime Achievement to… the utterly wonderful and universally beloved Menahem Pressler.
Menahem, 86, was the pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio. He is now the most demanding and in-demand performance teacher anywhere on the classical circuit.
Arte, the European culture channel, will screen a film about him on March 14. On the 20th, he will speak about his life at the Cité de la Musique in Paris and three days later he will give a recital there. Don’t even think of missing it.
The ICMA awards are decided by editors of music magazines across Europe, excluding the British sheets. Their judgement, in this instance, is infallible.
Abbey Road had a whitewash last week. Since then, I have seen a bridge, groom and four best men stand in the Beatles pose, a party of Japanese schoolkids attempt hara-kiri beneath an approaching 189 bus… and more. It’s never dull in London NW8.
Passing by this morning, the perfect graffito caught my eye at the bottom left-hand corner of the wall, a slogan that perfectly sums up our troubled times:
Check it out live on the Abbey Road webcam.
Abbey Road had a whitewash last week. Since then, I have seen a bridge, groom and four best men stand in the Beatles pose, a party of Japanese schoolkids attempt hara-kiri beneath an approaching 189 bus… and more. It’s never dull in London NW8.
Passing by this morning, the perfect graffito caught my eye at the bottom left-hand corner of the wall, a slogan that perfectly sums up our troubled times:
Check it out live on the Abbey Road webcam.
Eugene Fodor, the first American violinist to win the Tchaikovsky Competition, has died aged 60. Such was the shock among Soviet stooges at his 1974 vistory that he was not declared the winner. Instead, an announcement went out that he had won ‘top prize’, a trophy shared with the local candidates Ruben Agranyan and Rusudan Gvasaliya.
Fodor, daunted by overnight fame, succumbed to substance abuse. In 1989, he was arrested for possession in Martha’s Vineyard and concert halls slammed their doors in his face. His
website lists no new engagements for the past ten years. He died in Fairfax, Virginia, on Saturday, according to a statement by his sister to
violinist.com, confirmed by his wiki entry.
Fodor liked to describe himself as a Heifetz pupil, though exactly how much he studied with the reclusive master is uncertain. His main teachers were Ivan Galamian and Josef Gingold.
This personal reminiscence has just come in from Margaret Yakimoff DeAngelis:
On February 10, 1979, just before he turned 29, Eugene Fodor played the Sibelius with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. I was a 32-year-old member of the first violin section, where I shared fourth stand with my father.
My mother, second chair second violins, was completely enchanted by Fodor. So was I — he was young, hip, brought the sensibility to the fairly stodgy HSO that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hoped James Franco would bring to the Oscars.
Fodor’s efforts were more successful, I think, than Franco’s, at least for that one night
Eugene Fodor, the first American violinist to win the Tchaikovsky Competition, has died aged 60. Such was the shock among Soviet stooges at his 1974 vistory that he was not declared the winner. Instead, an announcement went out that he had won ‘top prize’, a trophy shared with the local candidates Ruben Agranyan and Rusudan Gvasaliya.
Fodor, daunted by overnight fame, succumbed to substance abuse. In 1989, he was arrested for possession in Martha’s Vineyard and concert halls slammed their doors in his face. His
website lists no new engagements for the past ten years. He died in Fairfax, Virginia, on Saturday, according to a statement by his sister to
violinist.com, confirmed by his wiki entry.
Fodor liked to describe himself as a Heifetz pupil, though exactly how much he studied with the reclusive master is uncertain. His main teachers were Ivan Galamian and Josef Gingold.
This personal reminiscence has just come in from Margaret Yakimoff DeAngelis:
On February 10, 1979, just before he turned 29, Eugene Fodor played the Sibelius with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. I was a 32-year-old member of the first violin section, where I shared fourth stand with my father.
My mother, second chair second violins, was completely enchanted by Fodor. So was I — he was young, hip, brought the sensibility to the fairly stodgy HSO that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hoped James Franco would bring to the Oscars.
Fodor’s efforts were more successful, I think, than Franco’s, at least for that one night
