Just when you thought classical music was trying to go straight, I look at the Carnegie Hall board and this is what I find, fresh off the fashion shows. Almost 1.5 million people have watched this promo vid; they cannot all be wrong.
Meanwhile, over on CBS News, here’s a very good player, Charlie Siem, selling himself as a fashion mannekin.
There is a warning here from history band I offer it free of consultancy fee: Lola, Charley, the last soloist who came off the fashion walk is now married to an agent, a convicted fraudster. Be careful out there.
The campaign to Save Gaby’s Deli in the heart of London’s theatreland is taking a huge stride upmarket. On Jan 30th at 1745 gifted students of the Yehudi Menuhin School will play a classical recital for unsuspecting deli patrons. Yehudi used to eat at the Deli and his signed picture is on the wall.
Among the performers are Gabriel Ng, barely 17 and preparing for the finals of the Menuhin Competition in Beijing this spring, and Louisa Staples who is even younger and already duets with Tasmin Little.
Then on February 8th, stars from the English National Opera perform the food aria (rewritten for the occasion) from Don Giovanni and other pieces. Expect copious libretto references to chickpea balls.
The campaign is to save a traditional, family-owned venue from becoming another Starshit or Zero. See SGD’s Facebook page here.
The funeral of the Lion of Early Music will be at the Westerkerk in Amsterdam on Tuesday the 24th at 3pm (condolences from 1pm).
Unfortunately, this is not the church where Leonhardt prayed and played. That was the French Reformed (Walloon) Church, where he was organist, and also at the Nieuwe Kerk. So why the switch? The Westerkerk has a recently restotred organ – probably louder than the other two, I’m told.
A hysterical column in the Boston Globe stops just short of arguing that Benjamin Zander should be garrotted for hiring a long-rehabilitated sex offender.
It ignores the fact that Zander was fired by president Tony Woodcock long before this employment matter came to light. The case of the videographer withy a murky past was only dug out to justify Zander’s dismissal.
The questions that need to be answered begin with another matter of natural justice – why did the NEC sack a good teacher after 40 years’ service. Was it a case of age discrimination?
We await answers to those questions and neither Woodcock nor his expensive crisis-management flak are doing anything except puffing smoke clouds and praying the scandal will go away. It won’t.
A few days back, I reported on a concerto that was being written in memory of Wallace Hartley, the heroic leader of the Titanic orchestra who went down with the ship.
Now we read of another fine violinist who was drowned on the Costa Concordia. His name was Sandor Feher. He came from Budapest, was 38 years old and he loved nothing better than to teach children how to play an instrument.
It ignores the fact that Zander was fired by president Tony Woodcock long before this employment matter came to light. The case of the videographer withy a murky past was only dug out to justify Zander’s dismissal.