Russian media are carrying reportsthis week that Anna Netrebko is planning to marry the Azeri tenor, Yusif Eivazov.

Her partner has been posting pictures of himself with Anna and her son, Tiago.

eyvazov netrebko

 

Vladislav Monastyrsky, who represents Netrebko in Russia, said: ‘The romance of the two stars is not a secret anymore, even though the couple didn’t announce their engagement. Anna asks for her private life to be respected. We hope that the beautiful romance will end with a wedding.’

A German tabloid has reported she may be pregnant.

Friends of the singer are discounting both sets of suggestions.

eyvazov netrebko2

pictures: Eivazov Fb page

It has been a long-established fact of American musical life that the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic is the highest paid orchestral player in the land.

 

 

 

dicterow bernstein

 

That may no longer be the case.

Figures obtained by Drew McManus from orchestra tax returns for 2011/12 show that Glenn Dicterow’s salary shot up from $517,432 (2010/11) to $654,679 in what will have been his penultimate season. He has just retired.

But Glenn’s successor has yet to be named and it’s unlikely he or she will be paid at that rate.

Meantime, other concertmasters are creeping up.

Alexander Barantschik in San Francisco shot from 507,063 (2010/11) to $560,010.

And changes in IRS procedures mean that a concertmaster’s  pay no longer needs to be published if it is below $100,000.

So for the moment, the top three are:

1 Dicterow  (NY) $654,679

2 Barantschik (SF) $560,010

3 William Preucil (Cleveland) $519,857

No-one else above half a mill.

For full list and analysis, click here.

For music directors pay click here.

 

Some will consider it the music bargain of the century, others a sale of desperation.

The Berlin Phil cannot sell records any more, nor can it attract many visitors to its Digital Concert Hall DCH).

So it is selling a 38-CD box of prime Herbert von Karajan recordings for £39.50 (or $67), and throwing in a free voucher, to boot.

Link here.

SinfinienEditionNL2-EN

The Hollywood  Bowl has been hit by a double cancellation next Tuesday. Esa Pekka Salonen can’t make it for personal reasons and Yefim Bronfman has to undergo a medical procedure.

Flying in for Bronfman is Decca’s young Uzbek wonder, Behzod Abduraimov. Salonen is replaced by James Gaffigan.

 

bezhod

Zoe Keating, the US-based electronic cellist who found a million-strong following on Twitter, has called time out on her playing career to care for her husband, who is battling a pernicious cancer. To their horror, the insurance refused to pay for treatment. Zoe reluctantly turned to her global following. Heart-warmingly, they have responded.

Read her latest post here. Do what you can to spread the word and help.

zoe keating strad

 

The establishment of a UK judicial inquiry into long-running rumours of child abuse by powerful men is one of those rare initiatives that restores faith in due process. A distinguished judge will, we are assured, get to the bottom of hundreds of complaints that politicians and public figures were given access to vulnerable boys and girls in social care homes. Some good may yet come of the odious life and crimes of Jimmy Savile.

There is a risk, however, of further suppression. Hysteria in high places will occupy the headlines in the coming months and occlude other occurrences of abuse in certain schools, notably in music schools. One man, Mike Brewer, was jailed last year for crimes he committed at Chetham’s in Manchester, another has pleaded guilty and a third has been charged.

chethams-school-of-music

A leading figure in the early music world, Philip Pickett, will face trial in January on charges that relate to the Guildhall School in London.

Police have live inquiries into half a dozen further cases, cut back from thirty in aftermath of the Brewer trial.

What is regrettable is that no action was taken against teachers and governors in Manchester who knew of Brewer’s crimes and covered up for him. Measures have been put in places to detect abuse, but past stains persist in several school and they will not be purged without a proper inquiry. Nigel Kennedy has drawn attention to past abuses at the Yehudi Menuhin School. The Purcell School exists in a state of denial about fairly recent events, reported on this site. Music schools are fertile places for child abuse. They need to be covered by the judicial inquiry.

 

 

Apparently, the watch comes free with a Classical Brit.

milos raymond weil1

But the brand promotion is worth a lot more.

milos raymond weil2

h/t: Guy Traviss

This was last night in Ashdod. Click on ‘Post’ to run video.

The inquest into the death of the violinist Frances Andrade has heard that the police detectives told her not to seek therapy before testifying against her rapist, Chetham’s ex-music director Mike Brewer, in case the counselling affected her memory.

Her GP put her on Prozac instead. Dr Alastair Bint said: ‘I remember feeling very concerned about her mental and now her physical health. I remember again raising psychiatry but she was resolute against it.’

It has emerged that Mrs Andrade took several overdoses and was hospitalised eight times in the months before her death.

‘I felt her mental health was more important than the criminal case, but she was not persuaded,’ said the doctor.

The inquest, which continues, has exposed serious failing in police and social care of rape victims. Anrade left a husband and four children.

Mike Brewer was jailed for six years.

frances andrade

Japan’s most successful composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, announced today on his website that he is suffering from pharyngeal cancer and is canceling all professional commitments. Sakamoto, 62, said he was diagnosed last month after noticing an unusual feeling in his throat.

A lifelong anti-nuclear campaigner, he is refusing radiation treatment.

He said: I know my decision will cause trouble to a lot of people, but I had to make this tough decision because I can’t do this job without full health.’

We wish Ryuichi a full recovery.

 

ryuichi sakamoto

You learn something every day.

Here are the basics from a new course for conductor branding by Mette Hojen, MA in Rhetorics and an expert in executive performance:

Mette-Hojen

 

 

Find a pen and paper. Give yourself 5 minutes and write down the words that come to your mind when you pose this question to yourself: 

What words or terms do I want musicians to describe me as?

For example, that could be: 
Engouraging
Good at writing press releases
Inspiring
Good at PR
Humorous
Variation in rehearsals – always! 
Expert in arranging music for brass ensembles 
Warm 
Respectable
Good networker

When your list is made, take a close look and pick three you want to work with. 

Then, design you own personal brand pitch. You might find help by placing them in these opening sentences: 
 
My name is (…)
I’m (…)
In my work I focus on (…) 
I’m an expert in (…)
It’s important for me to (…) 
I’m passionate about (…)

When your three phrases are linked together, you must read them out loud and practice. 

 Let’s try it:

My name is Herbert von Karajan
I’m Ruler of the Universe
In my work I focus on Control 
I’m an expert in Everything
It’s important for me to Be in Control 
I’m passionate about … Oh, I’ve forgotten about all that foolishness years ago.

The orch is offering 100 free tickets to all 18 Friday night subscription concerts during the 2014-15 season to applicants aged 13 to 26.

The intelligent gift is being financed by an anonymous donor. Details here.

 

bernstein children

Back to the future?