Roger Wright, head of the BBC Proms, announced tonight that, as part of next summer’s cultural Olympics, Daniel Barenboim will conduct a complete Beethoven cycle at the 2012 Proms – culminating in a Ninth Symphony on the  night the Games begin.

The orchestra, symbolically for the goodwill element of the Games, will be the West-East Diwan.

Three Paris judges agreed that he had abused people in several incidents with antisemitic taunts.

Galliano, saying he was drunk and drugged, had no recollection.

The judges ruled he needed treatment more than censure. They fined him a piffling six thousand Euros, about half of the prosecution’s demand – much of it, for some reason, suspended.

Galliano did not bother to turn up for sentencing. The only apology he offered was ‘for the sadness this whole affair has caused.’

To himself mostly, is what it sounds like. He has finished drug rehab and is ready for career relaunch.

Justice done, or dodged?

Tributes have begun to trickle in for the tenor Salvatore Licitra, who died after a road accident, aged 43.

The conductor Riccardo Muti told Corriere della sera: La notizia della prematura scomparsa di Salvatore Licitra mi lascia costernato. […] Era un artista a cui mi legava una affettuosa amicizia maturata in moltissime collaborazioni in teatro e in disco (I am deeply dismayed by his untimely death. This was an artist with whom I had an affectionate friendship that matured through many collaborations on stage and disc”.

His colleague Zubin Mehta was more fulsome:

“I’m just devastated,” said Mehta. “He was pure pleasure for conductors. He was an excellent singer, an intelligent musician and a wonderful actor on stage. ..  I’m so sorry, I can’t express in words how much it hurts…. (He had) a very beautiful voice and musical intelligence, which comes naturally to him. His pronunciation was similar to that of Pavarotti. I say Pavarotti because beyond everything else, he had an unusual pronunciation of the Italian language. Salvatore had it too, very similarly. He had great dictation, a wonderful sense of music. For me, as a friend and conductor, I feel it’s a very big loss.”

 

The way ahead was laid out by Max Hole, chief operating officer of Universal Music, at a party celebrating the market-leading label’s move to Berlin.

Here’s what Max said:

“Since I took responsibility for Universal’s global classical music operations, we have renewed our commitment to developing classical music and our artists around the world.  We have put classical music back into the centre of our business. I believe that music matters – it’s not just an economic imperative.  Music is important, both culturally and emotionally.  Music is the soundtrack to people’s lives.  We need to protect it.  The move back to Berlin is another step in our total commitment to Deutsche Grammophon, to its artists and to music.”

That’s the biggest vote of confidence any classical label has received in 15 years. It deserves universal applause.

Myself, I would join in with both hands, if only DG had not just sent me a cafe-music release titled Cigala&Tango and an Indian-pop compilation by Anoushka Shankar. Neither fulfils any conceivable definition of classical music. DG has some way to go to rid itself of Chris Roberts habits.

Max, just say no to this stuff.

Max Hole with a recovering tenor

 

Andrew Balio has sent me pictures from the time he spent with Licitra as assistant conductor to Fabio Mastrangelo during a 2009 production of Aida in Taormina.

Andrew, who is principal trumpet at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, describes Salvatore as ‘a great guy to be around, hilarious….more of a brass player personality. Just really down to earth and funny. ‘

The unnamed girlfriend is the one who rode pillion with Salvatore the night he crashed his Vespa. She wore a helmet and came off unharmed.

 

The death has been announced of Harold Lawrence, the only American to manage a London orchestra (so far as I’m aware).

He was appointed to the London Symphony Orchestra in 1967, at Neville Marriner’s suggestion, after Ernest Fleishmann departed in a players’ bust-up. He lasted six years in the job, which was good going in those swingdoor days. His main coup was securing Andre Previn as chief conductor, which seemed a trendy thing to do at the time until Andre outstayed his welcome.

Harold went back to the US in 1973 to become manager of the New York Philharmonic for two years, before taking up the same role at Buffalo, where he gave Michael Tilson Thomas his breakthrough as principal conductor.

He died in Oakland on August 22, aged 88.

Harold (on the right) with Mercury Records chiefs Robert Fine and Wilma Cozart

Harold, between Rubinstein and Previn. Images from http://www.btstack.com/HaroldLawrence.html

Howard Mandel has sent mea private link to Ukraine’s finest, titled CountPoint.

It’s not as sleek or icy chic as Norway’s Klassisk, and you have to scroll down rather than across to follow page by page, but it’s a whole lightbox brighter than I expected to be seeing from a publishing venture in Kiev. Well done, those guys.