A Connecticut instrument specialist has talked himself out of eight years behind bars by agreeing to repay $379,000 to customers he had robbed. Charles Magby pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree larceny.

Musicians would leave their instruments with Magby for repair, restoration, assessment and, sometimes, sale. When elderly people came back for their violin or cello, Magby would make excuses or deny receiving the object.

After the plea deal, Magby has been placed on probation but will continue to do business in Guilford, Ct., trading as C. H. Magby Jr. Fine Violins Ltd..

You have been warned.

charlesmagbyfineviolins_violins1

 

 

 

Carbonvioline gewinnt Deutschen Musikinstrumentenpreis 2015

Eat your heart out, Antonio.

This little beauty from Westphalia has won the Deutscher Musikinstrumentenpreis 2015. It’s the first time a non-wood stringed instrument has been entered.

carbon-fibre violin

The ‘Design Line’ carbon violin is made by Werther, of Nordrhein-Westfalen.

A Philadelphia reader has shared this comment on a New York Times report on the Germanwings disaster:

Submitted by E.Dougherty Philadelphia, PA

Attended a remarkable recital here in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening by the bass-baritone Eric Owens that featured Schubert’s Fahrt zum Hades, and Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, and the almost awkward sight (until explained) of tears streaming down Mr. Owens’ cheeks during the performance. After intermission, when Mr. Owens returned, he paused to explained to the audience that the reason for his overcomed and bereft manner was that he had learned, only an hour or so before he walked on stage, that his colleague, Maria Radner, was indeed on the manifest of the doomed plane and had indeed perished (along with her husband and infant son). If ever there was a moment when the distant meanings of these distant songs was made real in the present (‘When will these tortures finish? When?’), it was in Mr. Owens’s explanation of why he was so earlier bereft, of the fusing of Schubert’s music with this very contemporary and lacerating intrusion. It all made his entire presentation – his performance, his utter, convulsed devastation – one of the most memorable and poignant tributes to a fallen colleague I’ve ever witnessed.

maria radner

In a swift response to AFM leader Ray Hair’s concerns about the classical label’s streaming deal with Pandora, the Naxos founder Klaus Heymann has circulated the following rebuttal:

naxos
Since its foundation more than 25 years ago the mission of Naxos has been to make classical music accessible and affordable. More than any other record company, Naxos has invested in music education and in recording a wider range of repertoire than any other company, major or independent. At the same time, Naxos has promoted many new and young artists and performing arts groups. Its catalogue of American classical music is second to none, built at substantial cost over time.

It is both absurd and offensive for AFM President Ray Hair to insinuate in his recent Billboard op-ed that Naxos was motivated by greed and profiteering in its recent deal with Pandora.  Writing these comments without any attempt to contact Naxos is irresponsible and reckless, and does not serve musicians well.

Naxos remains committed to its artists and is committed to ensuring that all amounts owed for plays on Pandora are reported and paid to them in a timely and concise manner.  This deal was done for the benefit of musicians worldwide.

The current US statutory licensing system for non-interactive digital transmissions does not serve artists, especially classical artists, well. While it allows Sound Exchange to withhold 50% on behalf of artists and musicians, it does not oblige Sound Exchange to actively​ search for and identify artists entitled to receive payments. Nor does it oblige Sound Exchange to provide the artists with meaningful reports.

Featured artist payments are accompanied by meaningless reports omitting composer names and work titles. Here is what a Senior Customer Service Agent told a Naxos artist who complained about the absence of work titles and composer names:  “We don’t actually pay royalties for composing, so that is nothing that gets reported to us.  Sound Exchange is not set up in the way you are explaining. The composer is just not something that [our licensees] are required to report. It’s just not something that Sound Exchange has control over.”

Actually, Sound Exchange does not even report work titles. Artists receive reports specifying simply “Allegro”, without the name of the work to which the Allegro belongs or the name of the composer. There are literally tens of thousands of “Allegros” in classical music.  Mistakes are not corrected. The same artist keeps receiving statements specifying:  “Allegro from String” (possibly referring to the Allegro from the Spring Concerto of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons), even though the mistake was pointed out to the Senior Customer Service Agent.

By concluding direct license agreements with partners such as Pandora, Naxos not only builds a stronger relationship with important discovery and promotional services, but it also ensures that the amounts owed to both Naxos and its artists are reported and ​actually ​paid​ accurately.​ Naxos will be able to identify and pay the hundreds of artists who have not been receiving any payments at all from Sound Exchange.

Rest assured, Naxos is committed to growing the classical-listening community through promotion, support, education and continued investment in recordings and platforms.  This is, and always has been a passion project for Klaus Heymann, founder and chairman of Naxos.  Naxos relies on and is intent on supporting the artist community every way it can.

Gustavo Dudamel has committed himself to the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a further three years, taking him to 2022 and sending a clear signal to Berlin (as Yannick Nézet-Seguin has done) that he’s not interested in the once-glittering prize.

Dude has a difficult divorce on his hands and may need to stay put for personal reasons.

Press announcement follows.

dude in shanghai

pictured yesterday in Shanghai, l-r: Mark Newbanks (Dude’s agent), Borda, Dudamel

Los Angeles, CA (March 27, 2015) – Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Board Chair Diane B. Paul and President/Chief Executive Officer Deborah Borda today announced a contract extension for Gustavo Dudamel through the 2021/22 season. In recognition of Dudamel’s deepened commitment to the institution, Artistic Director is being added to his current title, making him Music Director & Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, effective immediately.  His original contract as Music Director commenced in the 2009/10 season for a 5-year term and was extended in March 2011 to run through the 2018/19 centennial season. Today’s announcement was made from Tokyo during the orchestra’s first tour of Asia under Dudamel.

 

Diane Paul commented, “In Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has a great treasure.  In addition to his dynamic artistic leadership, he continues to expand YOLA, one of the great hallmarks of his tenure, modeled on the inspirational work of Jose Antonio Abreu. On behalf of the Board, it gives me enormous joy to know that we will continue to share the treasure we have in Gustavo with Los Angeles and beyond for at least the next seven years.”

 

Los Angeles Philharmonic Association President and Chief Executive Officer, David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair Deborah Borda added, “Gustavo’s passionate leadership has instilled a new sense of possibility among our musicians, our audiences, and our community.  His all-embracing vision propels us forward to the LA Phil’s centenary celebration and beyond, and exemplifies the institution’s commitment to innovation and access for all.”

 

Chairman of the Orchestra Committee Barry Gold stated, “We are absolutely thrilled that he will be our Music Director & Artistic Director through the 2021/22 season. The immediate camaraderie and respect from the beginning between Gustavo and the musicians has continued to grow over our years together, resulting in incredible music making. This is great news for all of us at the LA Phil.”

Dudamel observed, “It has been ten years now since my debut in Los Angeles with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and my love for both orchestra and city has grown in depth and in intensity over this decade. We have an unparalleled situation in the world of classical music today: great musicians, a strong community base, a healthy organization with amazing administrative leadership, a hugely supportive board, innovative and game-changing educational programs, two iconic venues, and a growing shared history of musical performances. Conducting in the ‘City of Angels’ is a magical experience, and I owe so much to so many Angels and Angelenos.  As I look to the future and how I want to focus my work, it’s become clear that it is about a deepening of commitments to my two musical families – my beloved El Sistema, and this great orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic.”

Ray Hair, president of the American Federation of Musicians, argues in a Billboard bulletin that the licensing deal between record label Naxos and the streaming service Pandora is unfair to artists. ‘This is just the latest example of exploitation toward artists and musicians that Congress and AFM seek to prevent,’ he writes. Read his full argument below.

ray hair

 

Guest Post: Is Pandora’s Licensing Deal With Classical Label

Naxos Unfair to Professional Artists?

BY RAY HAIR, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS

Members of the American Federation of Musicians (“AFM”) continue to be deeply

concerned about greed and profiteering in the music industry, at the expense of those who

create music. Professional musicians deserve to be treated better. We make all the music,

but it seems like everyone else makes all the money.

We are alarmed by the agreement recently reached between Pandora and Naxos, the

world’s leading classical music label, on a multi-year US license for the entire Naxos

catalog. We were concerned when their joint announcement was notably silent on any

mention of fair and direct payment of royalties to artists. As AFM members who record

classical music are keenly aware, professional musicians receive royalties directly

and immediately when Pandora uses the statutory license. Pandora has repeatedly and

publicly boasted about the supposed benefit it provides to artists, including in their sworn

testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee, just a few months ago. They praised the

statutory licensing process as an efficient, transparent solution that “must be preserved,”

and specifically applauded the fact that the statutory license ensures that artists and

musicians “actually receive their fair share of the hundreds of millions of dollars in

royalties that services like Pandora pay each year.”

Indeed, direct pay to artists and musicians was supposedly a significant part of Pandora’s

agreement with Merlin, an independent consortium of record labels — there was an entire

paragraph in the Billboard article on the agreement about the fact that artists would still

be paid directly, even if they were on a label subject to that agreement. But nothing in the

Naxos announcement mentions anything about SoundExchange administering payment to

the artists.

Under the law, 50 percent of performance royalties are paid to featured artists, session

musicians and background singers. The other 50 percent of the performance royalties are

paid to the owner of the sound recording (i.e., the owner of the “master”), which can be

a record label or an artist who owns their own masters. So when it comes to orchestral/

classical recordings, the revenue at stake in the Pandora/Naxos deal affects a far greater

number of musicians than what flows from traditional artist recordings, featuring a solo

artist or a group.

That’s why we ask: Where is the commitment from Pandora and Naxos to compensate

the artists and musicians who performed the music in the Naxos library? Have Pandora

and Naxos decided to dump the statutory license to hide the ball and cheat hardworking

artists and musicians out of royalties they’ve rightfully earned?

If so, it appears that Pandora and Naxos want the benefit of a statutory model only when

it suits them — except when they can make an extra buck at the expense of those who

actually make the music.

If Pandora and Naxos executives want to ensure that musicians receive their fair share of

payments, they should require that any direct deals be contingent on labels agreeing that

SoundExchange will continue to administer the artist payments according to the statutory

process.

Unfortunately, this is just the latest example of exploitation toward artists and musicians

that Congress and AFM seek to prevent. When labels and music services deliberately

avoid the statutory license, they erode the value of everyartist. These dark deals hurt the

very people who perform the music that Pandora’s business depends on.

These are hardly the actions of an industry partner seeking to earn the trust and support of

hard working musicians. It sounds more like the same old song, second verse.

Professional musicians and our industry deserve better.

Ray Hair is president of the American Federation of Musicians.

© 2015 Billboard

Svetlana Lunkina, a prima ballerina who moved to Canada in 2012 after death threats were made against her film-producer husband, has officially severed her ties with the company. For the past two years, she has been on indefinite personal leave. She told Izvestia today that she was subjected to intrigues’ by the leadership. Previously, she alleged that the Bolshoi was ‘a giant brothel‘ where dancers were made to sleep with oligarchs in order to secure good roles.

lunkina

We have been informed that Nicolas Sluss-Rodionov, chorus manager of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and a talented singer and organist, died last night at the age of 33. He was in a car crash on March 20 and had been in intensive care ever since.

Nic’s title was Production Assistant and Chorus Manager. He was scheduled to be the bass soloist in this weekend’s MSO Chorus concert.
sluss rodionov

UPDATE: Obit here.

 

In the April issue of Standpoint magazine, I have a stab at assessing who actually needs a new concert hall in the second decade of the 21st century. Paris has just built one, amid ongoing controversy. Munich has baulked. Warsaw has green-lit a project. And London has got a ‘feasibility study’.

But a good orchestral hall costs half a billion in hard currency and public support for a declining art form is getting harder to rally.

All agree, for instance, that Nouvel has built Paris a modern marvel (even if the architect removed his name from the building over its over-hasty completion). The questions are whether the new Philharmonie is worth the money—does it represent £300 million of added value?—and whether it is needed at all. Paris took a political decision to stop orchestral music at the Pleyel because its audience was ageing and bourgeois. The Philharmonie is meant to attract young couples who live around the city’s periphery. But can they afford the tickets? Will tourists find it? In an age when people access concerts online, regardless of acoustic distinction, can a new concert hall be justified at the expense of a children’s hospital or an old-age home?

Read the full essay here.

Paris Philharmonie04

The Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill has just posted a beautiful tribute in the Guardian to her beloved friend, whom she met in December 2011, while working together on the Metropolitan Opera Ring.

Maria was an incredible musician who you felt spoke directly to you – she was a true communicator. Her voice had a beautiful bronzed hue, full and round; the warmth of her personality always shone through. She loved singing, it was who she was. A more elegant and poised woman you couldn’t hope to find and yet underneath was someone whose laughter was deep, guttural and contagious, who loved cheesy pop music and had the stamina to dance all night.

Full article here.

maria radner1

Heidi Melton, the third friend in their group, remembers Maria on CNN here.

 

We hear from a very well-placed source that the New Yorker is refusing to publish a letter from the Metropolitan Opera that claims alleged inaccuracies in its recent feature on the company. The New Yorker is backing its reporter, as it should. The letter is signed by officers of the Board, but its language belongs identifiably to Gelb.

Since some readers couldn’t read the small print in our original offprint of the letter, here’s the full text:

Wagners Das Rheingold Metropolitan Opera 2010

 

To the Editor:

Although the New Yorker is highly regarded for the integrity of its reporting, James Stewart’s piece about the Met is seriously lacking in a number of ways. In the 72 hours prior to the closing of the piece, several hundred facts were checked for accuracy with the Met’s staff. Most were wrong. While many mistakes were corrected, the article still has numerous errors and misleading statements.

For example, Stewart cites various sources to confirm that opera ticket sales are generally up, except at the Met, which is denying reality. There have been numerous surveys, such as the 2014 LaPlaca Cohen study, that show tickets sales for opera and classical music have been flagging across the United States in recent years.

Stewart says the FY13 salary figures the Met cited during union negotiations for the orchestra were inflated by a season with unusually long operas when in fact average orchestra pay was at basically the same level as in the prior season: $196,000 in FY12 and $133,000 (sic) in FY13. While the unions and the Met struggled during last summer’s negotiations, they ultimately reached an agreement that have (sic) significantly lowered costs and that will enable the Met to wipe out its previous $22 million deficit. Stewart fails to make this connection.

Stewart’s article inaccurately states that the unions now have “oversight” over the Met, which is not the case. Rather, there is a contractual mechanism for verification that cost cutting and equality of sacrifice between unionised employees and administrative staff has been achieved.

Stewart quotes an honorary Met Board member who says that at Board meetings, ‘Now you just listen to Mr Gelb.’ Since the honorary Board member in question hasn’t attended a Board meeting in person since Mr Gelb became General Manager nine years ago, it seems unlikely that he would know.

Stewart attempts to give the impression that the Board is divided. In fact, the Board solidly supports Gelb and is united in its commitment to securing the future of grand opera, the Met and its employees.

Sincerely

Kevin Kennedy

President

Ann Ziff

Chairman

William G. Morris

Chairman, Executive Committee

JudithAnn Corrente

Secretary

The Liceu in Barecelona has released video of Maria Radner as Erda, and Oleg Bryjak as Alberich, the roles they last sang in Siegfried on Saturday, before their tragic deaths in the Germanwings crash.

maria radner