The Cliburn organisation has announced the sad death of Jose Feghali, the Brazilian pianist who won in 1985.

His death appears to be a suicide.

Feghali never achieved a great international career in the manner of other competition winners. He received dates at major orchestras but did not become a seasonal fixture, nor a record star. He gave around 1,000 concerts in 30 years.

He was artist in residence at Texas Christian University, where he was much loved.

UPDATE: Cause of death here.

Rumours have abounded for a while that Alan Rusbridger, pianophile editor of the Guardian,, was interested in running a music organisation.  Well, from next summer the Shostakovich-loolalike editor will be shot of the newspaper and free to run…. the BBC Proms?

And half of the money will go to endow the position of president and CEO, held by Deborah Borda since the turn of the century. Deborah and tech pioneer David Bohnett were a class act. Now, they have laid the foundations of a healthy future for the Philharmonic.

Class.

Press release; Los Angeles (December 10, 2014) – Diane B. Paul, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, today announced that David C. Bohnett, Chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation, has pledged a $20 million gift to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This gift will create the David C. Bohnett Presidential Fund for Discovery and Innovation and will also provide for the naming of the David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair, which endows the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in perpetuity (the position held by Deborah Borda since 2000).

This gift is made in honor of Deborah Borda’s continuing accomplishments with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Bohnett is a former Board Chair of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and currently serves on the Board and the ExecutiveCommittee. One of the largest donations in the history of the LA Phil, this new gift will be divided into two equal parts: $10 million to endow the David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair, and $10 million to launch the David C. Bohnett Presidential Fund for Discovery and Innovation. While the naming of a chair is common practice in major academic institutions, the endowment of a CEO position is rare in artistic organizations.

The Fund for Discovery and Innovation will be distributed at the discretion of th President for programs that continue to shape the Los Angeles Philharmonic as an international model of an orchestra of the 21st century – through investments in new audience development and initiatives tha t enhance the institution’s mission of innovative programming and social responsibility to the community.

Deborah Borda stated, “David Bohnett has again demonstrated not only hisincredibl e generosity and commitment to the Philharmonic, but also his profound belief that musical institutions have an important role to play in civic life. He truly sees the arts and education as an essential human service. I am deeply grateful to David for his support and friendship over the years and now for this transformative gift. His visionary philanthropy will allow the LA Phil to continue to expand the programmatic boundaries of the American symphony orchestra as a pioneer of innovation and excellence. I am honored to occupy a position that bears his name.”

Alain Lanceron, Paris-based president of Warner Classics, has appointed another Frenchman, Patrick Lemanski, to run Warner Classics UK, thereby delivering a coup de grace to what once was true-Brit EMI Classics.

Lemanski arrives from Harmonia Mundi, another French label.

Lanceron also announced the signing of a harpsichordist, Jean Rondeau – French, of course.

The orch issued a statement today, accusing the Italian Ministry of Culture of failing to pay a cent of its three million Euro subsidy this year. ‘The existence of the orchestra is gravely tested by the chronic absence of government funds,’ its says.

Text below:

Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica
e Coro Sinfonico di Milano
Giuseppe Verdi
Via Clerici, 3
20121 Milano
www.laverdi.org
T 02 83389.331/238
F 02 83389310
abbonati@laverdi.org
Milano, 10 dicembre 2014
L’esistenza de laVerdi è messa a dura prova dalla cronica mancanza di
contributi pubblici, in particolare, statali.
Il Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo non ha
erogato nel 2014 neppure un centesimo del finanziamento di 3.000.000 di
euro. Né è stato ancora versato un milione del contributo concordato per il
2013.
Fin dal 2008 il Ministero aveva assunto l’impegno di erogare
annualmente tre milioni per l’attività de laVerdi, cifra comunque ben inferiore a
quanto versato ad altre istituzioni, le quali peraltro realizzano programmi meno
ampi e impegnativi di quelli de laVerdi. Nei primi undici mesi del corrente anno,
vale a dire fino al 30 novembre scorso, infatti, laVerdi ha offerto al pubblico
450 iniziative, con ben 200 concerti di grande musica eseguita dall’Orchestra
sinfonica e da laBarocca, a volte con la partecipazione del Coro, e 250 altre
manifestazioni musicali spesso rivolte a bambini e ragazzi.
Del resto, l’entità del finanziamento pubblico non è mai stata adeguata
alla dimensione nazionale e internazionale della nostra Fondazione: nel corso
dei vent’anni di vita de laVerdi, tale finanziamento è stato pari al 26% dei ricavi
complessivi, mentre per le Fondazioni lirico-sinfoniche esso è stato pari al 66%
e quello alle orchestre in genere è stato pari all’83%.
Nel 2014, la Regione Lombardia ha stanziato 30.000 euro, la Provincia di
Milano 4.500 euro. Dal canto suo, e viceversa, il Comune di Milano si appresta
a dare un contributo di 500.000 euro. In totale, tuttavia, i contributi pubblici
sarebbero nel 2014 pari al 15% dei ricavi complessivi. In queste condizioni è
praticamente impossibile proseguire nell’azione meritoria fino qui svolta tra
mille difficoltà, ma con indubbio successo.
D’altra parte, è opinione diffusa che la vita e l’attività della Fondazione
sono importanti per il valore culturale, artistico e sociale che rappresentano,
non solo per la città di Milano, ma per tutto il Paese, nonché per la diffusione
della cultura musicale, in Italia e nel mondo.
Per questi motivi vi chiediamo di far sentire la vostra opinione al
Ministro con lettere, fax ed email e firmando la petizione messa a disposizione
in Auditorium e sul sito de laVerdi.Né vogliamo cedere all’ineluttabile proprio nell’anno di Expo 2015, per
la quale laVerdi è impegnata con una importante programmazione, cosicché,
accanto all’opportuna e giusta iniziativa, volta a far sentire la nostra voce alle
Autorità responsabili, facciamo appello ai cittadini e alle aziende perché
sostengano laVerdi, aderendo alla sottoscrizione straordinaria “Con laVERDI
per Milano”. A tale proposito, di seguito i riferimenti per aderire
immediatamente. Per ulteriori informazioni consultate il sito www.laverdi.org o
chiedete in Auditorium.
Una diffusa partecipazione a questa sottoscrizione sarà anche un
elemento di stimolo verso le istituzioni pubbliche, che in tal modo dovranno
capire che laVerdi è una istituzione culturale importante per Milano, attorno
alla quale si manifesta un vasto consenso, morale e materiale dei cittadini.
Il Presidente
CAUSALE: Nome, Cognome, Con laVERDI per Milano
Bonifico bancario
Intestazione: Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
Via Clerici 3 20121 Milano
BANCA POPOLARE DI MILANO – Agenzia 502
IBAN IT15 U 05584 01702 000000018100
Conto Corrente Postale
Intestazione: Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
Via Clerici 3 20121 Milano
c/c postale 31776255
Il pagamento in contanti o per mezzo di assegno può avvenire
presso gli uffici e le biglietterie.
E’ possibile inviare il pagamento anche per posta al seguente indirizzo:
Fondazione laVerdi – Ufficio Soci e Abbonati – Via Clerici 3, 20121 Milano

The violinist has published a curious, PR-spun response to the furore aroused by her rebuke to a child who coughed in her concert. She admits to being astonished at the international outcry caused by her remarks and makes no apology.

After almost two minutes, as I was about to resume playing, my focus was stolen by a restless, coughing young child, directly in my line of vision. That this cough, and my surprised reaction, should go on to gather global headlines, is something of a revelation, and it has raised a number of interesting issues on conduct in a concert hall.

She goes on to demand a lower age limit for concert, saying that the very young should be confined to kiddies shows.

I have always welcomed children to my concerts, and indeed think it is a vital part of music education that they experience and discover the joys of live performance. However, I think it is also important that the very youngest children are taken to appropriate events, where they can feel comfortable to move, whisper and react animatedly. The concept of “children’s concerts”, which foster much more relaxed environments in which small children are actively encouraged to engage with music on a physical level, is the perfect example of this. It should never become an ordeal for the child to sit attentively – many adults struggle to manage this themselves!

So should adults be tested for fidgets before they are admitted to the concert hall?

Kyung Wha’s attempt at damage limitation leaves a bad taste.

This just in from an international soloist:

I am playing at Carnegie Hall in January and trying to book flights this morning. BA offer the best fare to New York, only £352 return from Copenhagen with a change in London.
Of that, most is taxes, the actual ticket price is only 63 pounds. Until now, the extra seat has paid the ticket price and no taxes, therefore the cello should travel for 63 pounds, and myself for 352 pounds.

BA have now CHANGED the rules, so any cello in the cabin has a minimum fee of £300 long haul. So now the cello is paying almost the same as I am, with no meal, no baggage allowance, no airmiles, no online checkin, no upgrades possible etc.
Here’s the official statement BA have sent me:

“From Wednesday 03 September 2014, British Airways is making changes to the way extra seat pricing is charged. We are introducing a minimum charge of £40 on Short Haul and £300 on Long Haul for all extra seat requests.”

Cellists, beware.

There is one in St Petersburg, in the middle of an unsightly housing estate.

The city of Moscow has commissioned a new statue, to be installed in the House of Music next May for the 40th anniversary of the composer’s death.

We have been informed of the death, last night from cancer, of the formidable violinist Lydia Mordkovitch, at the age of 70.

A student of David Oistrakh and later his assistant, Lydia lived in Israel in the 1970s. In 1980 she moved to England, where she recorded vast amounts of violin music – much of it by UK composers – on the Chandos label.Many regard her account of the Shostakovich concertos as second only to her teacher’s. As a concert artist she suffered from poor dress sense and a fidgety stage presence. She never achieved the eminence that her playing deserved.

In 1995, Lydia was appointed professor at the Royal Academy of Music, where her teaching was highly prized.

We shared a mutual friend and I attended quite a few of her performances. Lydia was always matter-of-fact about her artistry, nothing showy, the music came first. She will be widely missed.

The chief executive of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Park Hyun Jung, is refusing to resign. She has been accused by staff of bullying and sexual harrassment. Park has hit back, claiming the music director Myung Whun Chung is trying to depose her. Chung is rumoured to have threatened resignation. Meanwhile, rehearsals continued today. You canl almost feel the tension in this picture.

In an Italian interview, Bunita Marcus accuses her mentor Morton Feldman of sexually molesting her and other women, wrecking her marriage and stealing her ideas. The two composers worked closely together for seven years until Feldman’s early death in 1987. Feldman’s work is widely performed, Marcus’s less so.

Marcus has previously spoken about sexual abuse within her family.

The opera in Montpellier is in deep deficit. To keep it alive, up to 30 players in the orchestra have agreed ‘voluntarily’ to resign with immmediate effect, lightening the wage bill and enabling performances to continue.