We have been informed of the death, early on Saturday, of Ronald Wilford, chairman and owner of Columbia Artists Management (CAMI).

Ronald, who was 87, had been on top of his business to the last, coming into the office most days of the week.

Known as the Silver Fox, he personally represented many of the world’s leading conductors – 111 of them at one time – but in recent years focussed on a core group consisting of James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Daniele Gatti, Riccardo Chailly and Christian Thielemann.

His death brings the era of big agents to an end in the classical music world.

CAMI have issued a statement, saying ‘the normal operation of the company will continue under the leadership of our ongoing executive structure’.

I will comment further on Ronald’s death in the days ahead. Although he and I were long-time adversaries, our relationship was generally tinged with mutual respect.

picture: Lebrecht Music&Arts

An uncertain future here.

photo Chris Slaughter

This is the piano as it was left by Rui Urayama after she played a Bartok sonata at the Cincinnati World Piano Competition this week. You’ll be relieved to hear that Rui got through to the semi-finals.

The piano was sent for treatment.

Sir Neville Marriner, 91, is appointed to one of the highest honours in the Queen’s gift, the Companion of Honour.

There are knighthoods for the Welsh composer Karl Jenkins and the pro-union Scot, James MacMillan.

Max Hole, chairman and CEO of UMGI (international division of Universal Music Group) is appointed CBE,

as is the composer Mark Anthony Turnage and the chorus conductor Simon Halsey.

The gloriously unretiring Sally Groves, champion of living composers, is made MBE,

along with the clarinettist Michael Collins.

David Whelton, manager of the Philharmonia Orchestra for the past 30 years, becomes OBE.

Our congratulations to them all.

Michael Haas has come up with the extraordinary story of Hans Winterberg, a Prague Jew who was held in Terezín by the Nazis and kept there afterwards by the Czech as a Sudeten German. In 1947, he was resettled in Bavaria.

On his death in 1991 Winterberg’s heir, the son of his fourth wife, gave his estate to a German state archive on the unusual condition that all enquiries were to be answered in the negative, especially to any living relatives, until the year 2031. The music was effectively silenced.

Now a grandson has turned up who is trying to overturn the ban on access to Winterberg’s music, some of which is of high quality.

Read Michael Haas’s research here. There are some music clips embedded in the piece.