The composer Philip Glass in his forthcoming memoirs, writes about his early days on the road:

I traveled without any money whatsoever for promotion and advertising, but I had LPs with me and not just to sell at concerts (though we did that, too). There was, I soon discovered, especially in the States, a network of college radio stations operating everywhere. There was always some bleary-eyed college kid with an all-night radio program. It was dead easy to get on the program, especially with a new LP, which they were happy to play in its entirety. One such young man I met in that way was [ … ….] who had an all-night radio program on Columbia University’s WKCR.

OK, so for no prize money at all, name the bleary-eyed kid who spun the Columbia turntables around 1972.

 

philip glass first lp

He went on to greater things.

UPDATE: For those of you who haven’t guessed his identity, here’s a non-bleary-eyed pic from the time.

 

tim page

The most private person on the violin has made the most public personal announcement on her Facebook page:

Dear Facebook Fans and Friends,

What a year this has been so far! And now there is another announcement: my husband and I are expecting our first baby mid-summer! I am usually very private about my personal life, because it is important to me to have a quiet space in which to develop my thoughts and reflect on all that happens. But this is such a different kind of news that I wanted to share it directly. My husband and I are thrilled and feel fortunate to experience this major life event.

For the time being, I’m resting, prepping upcoming recitals and concerti and the release of the new Mozart-Vieuxtemps recording (another point on the continuum of good news), taking walks, and staying healthy. I expect to complete my 2014-15 concert season as planned and am looking forward to the musical adventures awaiting me in the next few months.

For your entertainment, here are toddler pics of my husband (right) and me (left).

Wishing all of you happiness and good health,
Hilary

 

With maximum discretion Hilary, 35, avoids naming the husband. We wish the young family well.

hilary hahn latest

The famous hall puts on 385 concerts a year, many of the highest calibre. But the city has decided to slash its subsidy from 475,000 Euros to 200,000 as part of a general budget trim.

‘Don’t ask me about consequences,’ said a grim-faced Intendant, Thomas Angyan.

Details here.

vienna phil pose

New York cellist Dale Henderson has been running an initiative for the past five years to play J S Bach in public spaces on the big man’s birthday (he’s going to be 330).

Already, events have been logged in 122 cities around the world.

Get out. Join in.Announce your venue on Slipped Disc and send us post-performance video. It could change someone’s life.

Here’s Dale:

Who’s next?

bach in the subways

The music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has been sharing memories on WFMT radio of our friend, the critic and broadcaster, Andrew Patner, who died suddenly and tragically last month. ‘Andrew, in a way, was like my brother. He was a man of great soul.’

Click here to listen. Such deep affection and candour almost brings Andrew back to life.

patner muti

Neat new film from the Detroit Symphony.

joseph becker detroit percussion

Maybe these guys should get out more?

Max Bassinson never set his sights on a glittering solo career.

He was a working musician, working hard at college in Minneapolis to improve his skills, working harder all the time to overcome a longterm addiction to hard drugs.

He was due to accompany the college choir at Carnegie Hall next weekend.

One morning his girlfriend woke up to find Max dead. Arterial blockage, the autopsy found.

Full story here. Our sympathies to Max Bassinson’s family and friends.

max bassington

Last year, the 50,000 Euro prize was awarded by the Baden-Baden Festpielhaus, amid expressions of mutual esteem, to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Ah wie schoen…

Before that, the prize went to Gruberova, Bartoli, Rilling, Barenboim, Quasthoff, Brendel… all the usual suspects.

This year, it’s a less familiar name.

hengelbrock

 

 

Thomas Hengelbrock.

The violinist and conductor, 50, has confined his career to Austria and Germany. He has been a fixture at Baden-Baden with his Balthasar-Neumann chorus and ensemble and is presently music director of the NDR symphony orchetra.

Good to see a new name on the winners’ board.

The town hall of the 4th district of Paris has denied permission for a plaque on the outer wall of an apartment in the Ile S-Louis, where the composer Henri Dutilleux lived for most of his long life.

dutilleux

 

 

The reason for the refusal, given by Christophe Girard, Mayor of the 4th arrondissement, and Karen Taieb, a Paris councillor, is that Dutilleux was suspected of collaboration with the Nazi occupation.

This accusation has not been raised before. Dutilleux lived in Paris under the occupation as a teacher and musician. In 1942 he was named chorus director at the Paris Opéra. From 1945 he was head of music production at Radio France.

Among his many works are The Shadows of Time, a haunting memoir of the children deported by the Nazis, as well as concertos for a pair of resolutely anti-Nazi friends, Mstislav Rostropovich and Isaac Stern.

Eminent French musicians, led by the pianist Philippe Cassard and the composer Edith Canat de Chizy, have denounced the anti-Dutilleux decision, which seems to be based on party politics and historical illiteracy. They have launched a petition against the calumny here.

UPDATE: Dutilleux was, in fact, a member of the Résistance. Read here.

You couldn’t make it up, episode 1,103:

As part of some ‘bridge over troubled waters’ dialogue, Mahler’s opera house is engaging leading opera singers in conversation with Conchita Wurst (pictured) and other pop ephemera. The last line of the press release (below) is irony-proof. Herbie would have been thrilled.

 

eurovision2014

“Pop meets Opera” matinée at the Vienna State Opera on Sunday, May 17th on the occasion of the Eurovision Song Contest

Staying true to the motto “Building Bridges” of the 60th Eurovision Song Contest taking place in Vienna in May 2015, the Vienna State Opera is opening its doors to a matinée on Sunday, May 17th (12.00 to 1.15 pm), during which numerous artists will put different musical cultures into a dialogue, in order to build bridges on stage by bringing classical and pop music closer to one another: “Pop meets Opera”. World stars like Plácido Domingo, Juan Diego Flórez, The Philharmonics (ensemble consisting of musicians of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) and Conchita Wurst will be on stage, as well as further artists of the Vienna State Opera and ESC-candidates from various countries. Moderation: Barbara Rett.

All further details concerning the participants and the programme will be announced separately in April 2015. Tickets in the value of €7 to €60 are available as of now at the box offices of the Austrian Federal Theatres, as well as on www.wiener-staatsoper.at. There will be a time-shifted broadcast of “Pop meets Opera” at 8.15 on ORF III, as well as worldwide for free through the streaming-portal www.staatsoperlive.com. “Pop meets opera” is part of the “Wiener Staatsoper Live Outdoors” programme and will be streamed live outdoors at the Herbert von Karajan-Platz.

 

placido-domingo curtain