The city of Rio de Janeiro is doubling its culture budget from $33 to $66 million, challenging the capital Brasilia for creative leadership.

The plans include a renewal of the Cidade da Musica, abandoned in mid-construction.

But who will play there if the Brazil Symphony Orchestra cannot resolve its dispute with the musicians it sacked and leading soloists maintain their boycott?

Here’s a report in The Arts Newspaper.

Robert Vijay Gupta has been playing violin in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra for the past four years and, while he talks of it as ‘a dream come true’ , is looking to upgrade to solo.

Oh, and to play a 1716 Stradivarius, the one Nathan Milstein used to play. And to include new music from east and west on his debut album, some of it written by himself.

He’s not alone in those ambitions,  but he seems to be going about them in an original way.

Take a look at the start-up video he has made, and how he’s raising $20,000 for his debut album.

The death has been announced by Keshet Eilon of the violinist Matan Givol. He was 29 and a founding member of the Tel Aviv Trio.

More details later. Here’s the announcement.

Here’s some bio from the Jerusalem Music Centre:

Born in Israel in 1982, Matan Givol has been awarded the America-Israel Cultural Foundation grants since the age of twelve. He has won the Wieniawski International Competition, the Clairmont Competition, the Israeli Radio Young Artist Competition and the Taschner Prize. He has performed as a soloist with Israel’s leading orchestras and has played as a soloist with world-renowned artists Shlomo Mintz, Ida Haendel and Itamar Golan. He has recently recorded a CD with The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
Matan was a student of Nava Milo, Zakhar Bron and Prof. Ilan Gronich in the UDK Berlin. He is currently a student of Prof. Donald Weilerstein at the New-England Conservatory in Boston.