Shira Banki, who died yesterday from wounds inflicted by an anti-gay Orthodox fanatic, was just 16 years old. A passionate and talented musician, she played this concerto at the Bet Hakerem music school six years ago.

No words can express humanity’s contempt for her murderer.

shira banki

We are delighted to report the weekend wedding of John Summers, chief executive of the Halle Orchestra, to Hilary Boulding, principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

We wish them much harmony and happiness.

john summershilary boulding

The jury at thewell-endowed  international Paloma O’Shea piano competition have announced a homogenous set of finalists: all male, and all but one of them Asian. Here‘s the pack:

Jinhyung Park (Korea, 18) Juan Perez Floristán (Spain, 22), Kazuya Saito (Japan, 25), Akihiro Sakiya (Japan, 26), David Jae-Weon Huh (Korea, 28) and Jianing Kong (China, 29).

kong

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced a successor to its retiring executive director, Gary Hanson. Gary, a Canadian,  is a Cleveland lifer – almost 30 years inside during which time he has won the orch unprecedented residencies at the European high spots.

He’s to be succeeded by André Gremillet, a Quebecois who has previously managed the symphony orchestras of New Jersey and Melbourne, Australia.

He is the second Melbourne manager in succession to win a Big Five US orch, the previous one being Matthew Van Besien, now at the New York Philharmonic. Press release follows.

André Gremillet

Cleveland – The President of the Board of Trustees of the Musical Arts Association Dennis W. LaBarre today announced that Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Managing Director André Gremillet will succeed current Cleveland Orchestra Executive Director Gary Hanson. At the time of his retirement, Mr. Hanson will have served the institution for more than 27 years, with almost 12 years in his current position.

Dennis W. LaBarre said, “André Gremillet has an impressive artistic background, corporate leadership experience and has successfully enhanced the fiscal health of two symphony orchestras. Our international search firm, Spencer Stuart produced a strong group of potential candidates, several of whom were interviewed extensively, by our Trustee Search Committee. Franz Welser-Möst, Senior Staff and the Orchestra Committee met with André and all had positive reactions. Following those meetings, the Search Committee was unanimous in its decision to offer Gremillet the position. I am delighted that André has accepted our offer and I look forward to working with him to extend The Cleveland Orchestra’s strong record of achievement. Beginning in October 2015, Hanson and Gremillet will work together on transitional matters until Gremillet assumes his full time responsibilities.”

“André’s leadership qualities together with his artistic sensibilities are a great match for The Cleveland Orchestra. I spent a substantial amount of time getting to know André and I’m very enthusiastic about our choice,” stated Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. “Combining the long-term partnership that the musicians and I already have developed, together with André’s international experience along with the extraordinary support and commitment of the Board of Trustees, will help further develop innovative and thoughtful programming as we look to our centennial in 2018 and build into the Orchestra’s second century.”

“I can think of no individual better suited to take the executive reins of The Cleveland Orchestra,” stated Gary Hanson. “I’m confident that André will feel, as I do, that serving this great Orchestra is a true privilege. With his broad experience and record of achievement, André is an ideal leader to pursue ever-greater institutional goals in a time of immense change and challenge for symphony orchestras.”

“The Cleveland Orchestra represents the brightest example of what a great orchestra should be in the 21st century,” stated André Gremillet. “It truly is an honor to be appointed its next Executive Director and to succeed Gary Hanson, who has had a remarkable tenure. I look forward to working with the superb artists that are Franz Welser-Möst and the Musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as with a Board and Staff who are leaders in the orchestra world to extend the Orchestra’s achievement in musical excellence, commitment to community, and financial strength.”

 

About André Gremillet

André Gremillet has been Managing Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since November 2012.  During his tenure, the MSO greatly deepened its engagement with the Melbourne community, resulting in a significant increase in ticket sales and fundraising, and completed a highly successful European Tour with performances at the BBC Proms in London, the Edinburgh Festival, and the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, among others. Under his leadership, the MSO recently extended the contract of its Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis, with whom it has made several critically-acclaimed recordings including the first installment of a Charles Ives orchestral works cycle on Chandos. Other highlights under Gremillet’s tenure also feature initiatives such as the MSO’s Chinese New Year concerts and the introduction of MSO Connect, a partnership between the Orchestra and several of Melbourne’s secondary schools.

 

From 2007 to 2012, André Gremillet was President and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) where his tenure marked a financial turnaround for the organization. Under Gremillet’s leadership, the NJSO appointed Jacques Lacombe as Music Director, strengthened its Board of Trustees, and greatly increased its national visibility and artistic reputation.

 

Prior to joining the NJSO, Mr. Gremillet served for four years as President of the internationally-renowned pipe organ building company Casavant Frères. A native of Québec, Canada, and a conservatory-trained pianist, André Gremillet holds a Master’s degree from the Mannes College of Music and an MBA from McGill University.

 

 

 

Andris Nelsons may have waited until the Berlin Philharmonic post was finally sorted out before agreeing, this weekend, to a three year extension to his Boston Symphony contract.

Press release below.

nelsons nobel

Boston, August 4, 2015: The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons have reached an agreement to extend Mr. Nelsons’ contract as BSO Music Director through the 2021-22 season, following his extraordinary first year in that role, having received virtually unanimous praise and universal enthusiasm for his work with the orchestra from critics and audiences alike. Mr. Nelsons’ initial five-year contract with the BSO will be replaced with an eight-year contract, with an evergreen clause in place reflecting a mutual desire for a long-term commitment between the BSO and Mr. Nelsons well beyond the eight years of the new contract.

 

This news about Andris Nelsons’ contract extension with the BSO takes place just as Mr. Nelsons returns to Tanglewood to lead six programs, including a performance and webcast of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the BSO’s acclaimed summer music academy; Mr. Nelsons also embarks on his first tour with the BSO as its music director to Europe’s major summer music festivals and concert halls, August 22-September 5.

“I am so very honoured and incredibly excited by this new chapter in my musical life with the Boston Symphony Orchestra,” said BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons. “This is a significant opportunity for me and the orchestra to work together on deeper levels, artistically and musically. And it is particularly through this kind of closeness in our work together that we will be able to go much further in our growth, in the hope to realize inspirational performances and embrace new audiences with wonderful music. The fact I am so thrilled over furthering our future together is tied with our passionate commitment to our wonderful patrons, generous donors and supporters, dedicated staff and management team and of course our fantastic audiences. I so look forward to sharing the remarkable beauty of this orchestra with music fans in Boston, throughout the country, and around the globe, and we extend our warmest invitation for you to come and hear us soon.”

Lilly Jørstad, a student at the La Scala Academy, made her debut this weekend in Barber of Seville opposite Leo Nucci and Ruggero Raimondi. Graham Spicer tells s all about it here.

But nota bene: Lilly is 29. Leo and Ruggero are both 73, with a lifetime’s experience behind them.

The beauty of opera is that age need not matter at all.

lilly jorstad

 

A transformation has been wrought in deepest Hampshire. Read here.

pigsty

Before.

pigsty2

After.

 

The last music store on the block of 48th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues has announced it’s closing down.

The strip used to be a mecca where you went to buy, upgrade or repair and instrument, not to mention meet musicians of every calibre from all corners of the world. But rising rents, typically tripled to $12,000 a month, have put the music stores out of business. New York is killing another part of its character.

rudy's music shop

More here.

Joey Alexander, all of 12 years old, has been given a prime slot at Newport.

The Bali-born pianist has an album on release and eight million views on Youtube.

See what you think.

joey alexander
photo: Rebecca Meek

It escaped our attention in a busy month that the Welsh mezzo-soprano – popularly described as an opera singer though she has never performed in opera – will sing Carmen next summer at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

Or perhaps not.

Ms Jenkins, who is expecting a baby in the autumn, has agreed to sing ‘all the arias from Carmen’ but without the acting or the talky bits in between.

She said: ‘I’m really excited as it something I always wanted to do. I studied Carmen at the Royal Academy of Music before I graduated. It’s special as it was written for a mezzo soprano.

‘I’ve always talked about doing this and it will be the first time fans will be able to hear all the arias in one evening.

‘I do usually include several operatic arias in my concerts but I have never condensed and performed all the arias from a single opera into one concert.’

katherine jenkins horses
Almost a bullfight

From Tim Smith:

guitar smashed

I am not happy with Easyjet after my custom-built guitar was smashed when it was refused space in the overhead lockers and had to go in the hold on a flight to Nice last week. Although I had it safely stowed overhead, and despite my explanations as to why it needed to be there, the cabin crew refused to listen and took it away from me. Inevitably it arrived on the luggage belt in Nice broken into two pieces, despite being in a Hiscox hard case.

As I had to play a gig the next evening I had to rush out of the airport in a panic and find a music shop in the hope of getting it repaired. That proved impossible in the time I had, so I had to buy a new guitar. I didn’t realise that failure to log the damage in the arrivals hall means any attempt to complain afterwards will be met by a complete blank from the Easyjet staff. No one in Nice was prepared to help when I checked in for the return flight, same again when I landed in Bristol.

I queued on the phone to customer services for half an hour earlier today only to be told they couldn’t deal with it, then they gave me another number to call – which turned out to not be in use at weekends. Easyjet – great when everything is going well, appalling if something goes wrong.

The sickening this is, myself and my companion had no other hand luggage and the guitar took up much less room that most couple’s two suitcases. Why this discrimination against musicians? I will never fly Easyjet again and strongly urge other musicians to do the same. A cheap flight is not worth it if it means the destruction of a £2,000 guitar.

BBC statement: ‘We are sorry to announce the David Garrett will no longer be available to appear at Proms in the Park, Hyde Park.’

No explanation, not even an excuse of being ‘indisposed’.

Bad conduct by the would-be Paganini.

david garrett paganini2