I have been listening intently to the breakthrough recital of Ives sonatas by Hilary Hahn and Youtube hot favourite Valentina Lisitsa.
It’s my 5* CD of the Week . Read the review on www.scena.org. Watch the video here. Val calls it as ‘popular as apple pie’.
I returned from Spain to find an invitation on my desk from the Finnish Ambassador.
It’s to a book launch tomorrow with a little recital to follow – unfortunately, I cannot attend – but what struck me most was the esoteric nature of the book being launched. It amounts to the correspondence between a British music critic and a Finnish composer, Rosa Newmarch and Jean Sibelius.
Nothing intimate or improper passed between them. Mrs Newmarch was England’s foremost champion of Russian music. Sibelius fell within her realm as Finland’s beacon of independence from Russian rule. They wrote a lot to each other. People did in those days.
What I find remarkable is that the Embassy of Finland has dignified their correspondence as a public event. I cannot imagine that the French or German embassies would throw a reception for a book about an English critic and Claude Debussy or Richard Strauss. Or that the Russians would give a fig about Mrs Newmarch, who did almost as much for their man Tchaikovsky as his patron, Nadezhda von Meck.
But the Finns care about Sibelius, and the Finns do not forget. They are a very cultured corps of diplomats.
1 http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/10/how-to-buy-a-record-review.html
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3 http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/10/why-is-this-german-maestro-receiving-a-london-honour.html
5 http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/10/head-of-music-school-resigns-no-comment.html
He had been announced by the world’s media as the headline attraction of the Bolshoi’s reopening last night.Indeed, The Moscow Times and UPI actually reported that he had taken part.
But when the curtain went up last night PD was a no-show.
No explanation on his website, nor on any of his social-media pages. But a look at his diary indicates that he may have planned to squeeze midnight in Moscow between two Covent Garden galas on the 27th and 30th. That must have proved too tight even for a world-class traveller.
Domingo’s latest tweet from London, eight hours ago, reads: Performance was great ! Very emotional ! Resting for tomorrow’s show.
Here‘s a Voice of Russia report on the opening.
(c) Ria-Novosti/Lebrecht Music & Arts
In the absence of comment from the Purcell School, whose head has resigned without explanation in the middle of term, I have been reminded by readers of a spate of allegations that surfaced last year and were declared to be ‘unfounded’ after a local education authority investigation. The investigation centred on the way the head had dealt with the allegations.
The matter was reported in the excellent Watford Observer, but it continues to be discussed among parents and teaching staff. It has not gone away, even though the governors acted properly and did everything that was required in the circumstances.
Now, unless a credible reason is given for the head’s sudden departure, rumours will flourish and the school will remain unsettled. There are suspicions, voiced on this site, that Peter Crook, the departed head, was undermined by unprofessional members of his staff. Was he, perhaps, himself the victim of in-house bullying?
This is a time for firm, transparent leadership. A fuller statement is required from the school’s chairman, Roy Cervenka.
YLE, the Finnish broadcaster, has taken its viewers backstage at Helsinki’s new concert hall to show them the sauna reserved exclusively for members of the radio symphony orchestra (plus the occasional conductor).
You can watch it here, about two minutes into the news report.
Hey, guys, keep your shirts on….
(this is a simulated image)
Mikko, who sent me the clip, adds: The sauna is a tiny, windowless, electrically heated one that seats two at the most and is located deep in the underground backstage bowels of the building. A Finn would not be impressed. (A good sauna would be wood-burning, more spacious and have access to the outdoors, if not a view over a body of water). No wonder that the other orchestra housed at the Centre, the Helsinki Philharmonic, did not request this kind of a sauna-in-a-closet for their dressing rooms.
The major piano manufacturer has parted company with its chief executive, Dana Messina, after 15 years.
No-one’s saying why, but Mr Messina’s walking away with tears in his eyes and a $2.7 million payoff.
It sounds like a personality clash with the new chairman, who comes from Starbucks, a coffee that tastes like cardboard.
Anyone know more than what’s in the latest press release? (UPDATE below)
Steinway CEO Dana Messina Steps Down; Chairman Michael Sweeney Appointed Interim CEO For Immediate Release: WALTHAM, MA - October 24, 2011 - Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. (NYSE:LVB), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of musical instruments, today announced the resignation of CEO Dana Messina. Earlier this year, Steinway announced it was evaluating offers for Company assets and other strategic alternatives. Mr. Messina has agreed to step down as the Company's CEO, a position he has held since 1996, due to his involvement in developing several of the strategic alternatives which the Company is considering. He will remain on Steinway’s Board of Directors. Messina said, “Leading Steinway has been the job of a lifetime and I leave very proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last 15 years. It was a difficult decision to step down, but I know we have an extraordinary team of operating managers who will continue to lead this business to further success. I have no doubt that Steinway’s best days lie ahead.” Chairman Michael Sweeney will serve as Steinway’s CEO for an interim period. He became a director of the Company in April 2011 and was appointed Chairman in July. Mr. Sweeney is Chairman of the Board of Star Tribune Media Holdings. He previously served as the president of Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Ltd. Sweeney commented, “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Dana for his many years of service to both Steinway & Sons and Conn-Selmer. Today both companies are at the very top of the musical instrument industry and Dana has played an important role in the achievement of that success. We wish him well in all of his future endeavors.” In connection with Mr. Messina’s departure as CEO, the Company will recognize a severance charge of $2.7 million. About Steinway Musical Instruments Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc., through its Steinway and Conn-Selmer divisions, is a global leader in the design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of high quality musical instruments. These products include Bach Stradivarius trumpets, Selmer Paris saxophones, C.G. Conn French horns, Leblanc clarinets, King trombones, Ludwig snare drums and Steinway & Sons pianos. Through its online music retailer, ArkivMusic, the Company also produces and distributes classical music recordings. For more information about Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. please visit the Company’s website at www.steinwaymusical.com. Contact: Julie A. Theriault Telephone: 781-894-9770 Email: ir@steinwaymusical.com
UPDATE: It looks like Messina’s departure follows on from his failed attempt with the previous chairman to buy out part of the business earlier this year. Here’s an MMR story from July 6:
Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. announced that chairman Kyle Kirkland, CEO Dana Messina, Conn-Selmer president John Stoner, and certain members of management made an unsolicited proposal to acquire the Company’s band instrument and online music divisions. In connection with the proposal, Kirkland has agreed to step down as the Company’s chairman, a position he has held since 1995.
The board has appointed a Special Committee to consider this proposal and strategic alternatives. In addition, the board has appointed Michael Sweeney, one of the Company’s independent directors, to the position of chairman. Sweeney is currently chairman of the board of Star Tribune Media Holdings and previously served as the president of Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Ltd.
Today at 1 pm, arriving passengers at St Pancras International will be greeted by a pop-up performance of the finale of Beethoven’s ninth symphony. Those with a few extra minutes to spare, are invited to join in the singing.
It’s part of a BBC Radio 3/BBC4 exploration of the symphonic genre. Has it ever been sung in a rail terminus before?
Performing details:
Simon Russell Beale, who presents the Symphony series which begins on BBC Four the following night, will host the ‘Pop-Up’ event inviting people passing through St Pancras International to come and join in the singing. Passengers will be serenaded by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and massed choir, all led by the BBC SO Principal Guest Conductor David Robertson performing one of the greatest European anthems of all time – ‘Ode to Joy’. Ailish Tynan, Daniela Lehner, Allan Clayton and James Rutherford make up the quartet of soloists for this unique performance which heralds the most in-depth exploration of the Symphony ever undertaken by the BBC.
Two years of dither ended today when Katharina Wagner announced Frank Castorf as director of the 2013 Wagner bicentenary Ring. Frank’s a safe pair of hands, as we said on breaking the story three months ago. He’s not as exciting as first choice, Wim Wenders, but he’ll do.
No sooner were the words Frank and Castorf out of her mouth than Katie announced a rap project, inviting teenagers to give their impressions of old man Wagner in teutonised Afro-Caribbean-MTV style. Brainless, pathetic, demeaning. Ad lib away with adjectives of your own.
I have been sent a statement by the NPR ombudsman that fudges charges of capitulation to the political right by stating that Lisa Simeone, who has been dropped by the network for taking part in an anti-capitalist demo, is not an NPR employee. He then goes on to cite the NPR employee code:
“NPR journalists may not participate in marches and rallies involving causes or issues that NPR covers, nor should they sign petitions or otherwise lend their name to such causes, or contribute money to them.”
But, hey, Lisa’s not an employee so she was not subject to this strict code. Nor is she a journalist. She’s just an opera host. So why was Lisa dropped by NPR for taking a hike to the Occupy DC demo?
The ombudsman has taken the ostrich position.
The head teacher at the Purcell School in Bushey has resigned.
No reason was given. His deputy replaces him. Parents have been informed and a short notice was placed in the local newspaper:
Peter Crook stood down on Tuesday and Paul Elliott was installed by governors as acting headmaster at the Aldenham Road school.
What on earth is going on? No-one’s saying.
It is highly unusual for a head to resign in the middle of term and rumours have begun to circulate. A fuller statement is required from the governors if they don’t want the tabloids to come sniffing the Bushey air.
Fresh from his 40th anniversary songfest in London tonight, the indefatigable Placido Domingo flies to Moscow for tomorrow’s Bolshoi reopening.
Also on the bill are Natalie Dessay,
Angela Georghiu and Dmitri Hvorostovski.
The concert, attended by puppet-president Dmitri Medvedev (but without strongman Vladimir Putin) will be screened to crowds on the square outside and to audiences worldwide on Arte and other channels.
The Bolshoi closed in 2005. Its $800 million refit has overrun by three years.
