John Patitucci is a Grammy-winning virtuoso bass player, presently travelling with the Wayne Shorter Quartet.

This is what happened to his instrument at the hands of the US transport Security Administration.

We’re not sure where. John posted: Look what the TSA did to my bass today and how I had to play on it at tonight’s concert!

 

doublebass

 

1 Antonii Baryshevskyi (Ukraine)

 

BARYSHEVKYI Antonii

2 Steven Lin (USA)

3 Seong Jin Cho (S Korea)

The results are in.

First is Sumi Hwang. Second Jodie Devos. Third. Sarah Laulan.

sumi hwang

 

sumi hwang2

This is Leonard Bernstein’s legendary performance of the finale of Haydn 88 with the Vienna Philharmonic, in which he never lifts a finger. The musicians have learned how to read his facial expressions and the audience in the front rows – just watch those faces – sit there wondering what the maestro gets paid for and expecting the performance to collapse.

It’s a magical human transaction, rooted far back in the history of conducting – it was a party trick of Arthur Nikisch – and achievable only with an orchestra of the highest sensitivity.

Lenny knew his Wieners. Would he ever have tried this in New York?

bernstein arms

These are four guys from Uganda and pianist Andy Staples on the Eurostar platform at King’s Cross.

They’re part of a group called Sauti ya Africa, working with Opera for Change.
sauti ya africa
Quote: We are going to stage a major cross-arts festival in Nairobi in 2015 with a team of international artists and partners from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Europe, Australia, the United States of America and beyond. The festival will be based around a fully staged, world-class production of Mozart’s Opera “The Magic Flute”.

Literally, too good to be true.

dudley moore

For all lovers and loathers of the big beast.

POWER_OF_THE_ORGAN

David McGill, who is stepping down after 17 years as principal bassoon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has explained why he’s walking away from one of the best seats in the musical world. It’s his duty, he says.

“I was very lucky to have studied with what might be considered the very last of the old guard of music teachers in Philadelphia. So I feel like it’s on my shoulders to carry on what they gave to me, and after 30 years of performing in an orchestra, I felt like, well, it’s time.”

Read more here.

david mcgill

 

Yundi prefers kebabs.

 

yundi kebab

According to his latest selfie.

Police in the Italian regions of Lazio, Liguria and Umbria have found extensive labelling frauds, upgrading cheap wines and delivering them for sale at up to ten times their value, La Repubblica reports.

Among 30,000 bottles seized are some from Bocelli’s family winery near Pisa, which yields an exclusive 300 bottles a year.

Be careful what you drink.

bocelli_wine

 

William Mason, former general director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, has been recruited as artistic advisor to the San Diego Opera, which has come back from the dead after being shut down by its former board and management.

Mason, 72, comes out of retirement. He spent 29 years at the Lyric and knows the opera business inside out.

Good call, San Diego. Kudos, Carol Lazier.

william mason

 

The outgoing Philharmonic conductor has told Richard Morrison in a Times paywalled video that, come what may, when his time is up with the orchestra he will remain in Berlin. ‘Our plan is that we would remain living in Berlin,’ he says. ‘I’ve been doing an opera every year in the Staatsoper in Berlin. I’ve just done the Ring for the first time with the Deutsche Oper. There are many possibilities at home…’

He emphasises ‘at home’. Home is Berlin.

If he were to join the LSO (as Morrison has reported), it would be as a fly-in on Air Berlin.

simon rattle1