It’s bells, bells, bells today for Ksenija, soon to be Ksenija Sidorova Arizaga when she ties the knot  with Jose Luis Arizaga Lobeto. Much happiness to them both.

Abbigail (sic) Cunkelman, of Blairsville, Pa., said she used the Swiss army knife to trim hairs on her bow. Her parents, who received a letter from the school in the vacation saying she would not be allowed back, are taking her case to court.  Is the school being over-zealous? ignorant? safe?

After more than a year of political wrangling, Myung Whun Chung has announced he will step down next year as artistic director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

His statement is slightly ambiguous in that it suggests he will continue to fulfil contracted concerts beyond the date of his departure and may return as a guest conductor.

But the definitive element of his resignation is that it will end one of the world’s most prosperous conductor-orchestra partnerships, a relationship that earned the Seoul  Phil a 10-album DG contract and unprecendented international recognition.

These gains have been sacrificed to the ambitions of the ruling Park dynasty and other local oligarchs, who have meddled incessantly with the orchestra. When Chung leaves, the music dies in Seoul.

From the great soprano’s archived interview with Bruce Duffie.

BD:    Is it good now that all the operas are done in the original language, with the text above so the people can follow exactly?

AS:    No.  [Laughs]

BD:    [Genuinely surprised]  No???

AS:    No.  I don’t like it.  It’s important for so many opera-goers who never saw that opera, but I believe that they should come prepared, which is obviously not possible.  They should come prepared, and if not, they should just have first the feeling and the idea about what’s going on.  Then later on they can learn and go again, which is also a problem.  I know that, but looking up all the time takes so much of their attention.  Also for us, especially for me.  I’m very far-sighted, and if the lights are not directly in my face then I see very far, and I see the public looking up, and that distracts me terribly.  So it also takes my concentration a little bit away because I always think they are not interested.  But of course they are.  They’re just looking and reading.

Read the full interview here.