I’ve made an exception this once because (a) the request came from someone who was in my class at school and (b) I agreed with every word he had written.
So did J K Rowling, Hilary Mantel, Melvyn Bragg and others of greater or lesser celebrity (Rachel Weisz, where are you?).
Here’s the letter (below) and here‘s the Guardian link:
In February 2015 you published a letter from UK artists announcing their intention to culturally boycott Israel.
We do not believe cultural boycotts are acceptable or that the letter you published accurately represents opinion in the cultural world in the UK.
Therefore we are writing to declare our support for the launch and aims of Culture for Coexistence – an independent UK network representing a cross-section from the cultural world.
We will be seeking to inform and encourage dialogue about Israel and the Palestinians in the wider cultural and creative community. While we may not all share the same views on the policies of the Israeli government, we all share a desire for peaceful coexistence.
Cultural boycotts singling out Israel are divisive and discriminatory, and will not further peace. Open dialogue and interaction promote greater understanding and mutual acceptance, and it is through such understanding and acceptance that movement can be made towards a resolution of the conflict.
Ultimately we all believe in a two-state solution so that the national self-determination of both peoples is realised, with the state of Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security.
Cultural engagement builds bridges, nurtures freedom and positive movement for change. We wholly endorse encouraging such a powerful tool for change rather than boycotting its use. Naomi Alderman Shay Alkalay Bennett Arron Jonathan Aycliffe Daniel Battsek John Battsek Guto Bebb MP Gina Bellman Michael Berg Josh Berger Bob Blackman MP Neil Blair Iwona Blazwick Elli Bobrovizki Gabi Bobrovizki Melvyn Bragg David Burrowes MP Teresa Cahill Colin Callender Simon Chinn Danny Cohen Frank Cohen Prof Susan Collins Wendy Cope Loraine da Costa Marcus Davey Oliver Dowden MP Daniel Easterman Ruth Dudley Edwards Michael Dugher MP Brian Elias Yigal Elstein Allie Esiri Michael Etherton Moris Farhi MBE Niall Ferguson Stanley Fink Larry Finlay Amanda Foreman Michael Foster Andrew Franklin Nick Fraser Mike Freer MP Julian Friedman Sonia Friedman Jonny Geller Adèle Geras David Glick Taryn Gold Amanda Goldman Richard Goldstein Michael Grade Maurice Gran Linda Grant Miriam Gross Tom Gross Stephen Grosz Peter & Martine Halban Jan Harlan Ronald Harwood Noreena Hertz John Heyman Lilian Hochhauser Tom Holland John Howell MP Judy Ironside David Japp Andrea Jenkyns MP Zygi Kamasa Jack Kirkland Evgeny Kissin Michael Kuhn David Kustow Norman Lebrecht Sam Leifer Teddy Leifer Camilla Lewis David Levy John Levy Maureen Lipman Andrew Macdonald Hilary Mantel Stephen Margolis Dan Marks Laurence Marks Denis MacEoin Charlotte Mendelson Yael Mer Ivan Moscovich Maajid Nawaz Anthony Newman Gavin Newman Hayley Newstead Paula Noble Tracy-Ann Oberman Matthew Offord MP Cosh Omar Martin Paisner Robin Pauley Leo Pearlman Daniel Peltz Andrew Percy MP Eric Pickles MP Stuart Polak Monica Porter Gail Rebuck Charlie Redmayne Andrew Roberts JK Rowling Paul Ruddock Prof Carol Rumens Marc Samuelson Charles Robert Saumarez Smith Prof Robert Saxton Joanna Scanlan Kenny Schachter Simon Schama Simon Sebag Montefiore Francesca Segal Anthony Seldon Rick Senat Zaab Sethna Jonathan Shalit Bernard Shapero David Shelley Clive Sinclair Daniel Silver Lucy Silver Dan Silverston Chloe Smith MP Karen Smith Mark Smith Prof Ashley Solomon Claire Speller Rob Suss George Szirtes Paul Trijbits Kevin Tsjiuhara Gabe Turner Moni Varma Rebecca Wallersteiner Minette Walters Zoë Wanamaker Angela Watkinson MP George Weidenfeld Fay Weldon Heather Wheeler MP Robert Winston Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg David Young Toby Young
The First Lady of the People’s Republic of China, Madame Peng Liyuan, was awarded a facsimile of Mozart’s manuscript of the C Minor piano concerto, K 491, when she visited the Royal College of Music today. The original has been lodged at the College for more than a century.
Madame Peng Liyuan is a renowned traditional singer in China.
photo (c) Chris Christodoulou/Lebrecht Music&Arts
Trouble with London’s new Orpheus.
Mary Bevan who was due to star in Luigi Rossi’s opera, which opens tomorrow, has a throat infection and can’t sing.
So they are flying in the Australian coloratura soprano Siobhan Stagg, whom Christa Ludwig has the loveliest voice around.
Siobhan, 27, will sing from the gallery for the first two performances and on stage for the next four.
She hasn’t got that far to fly: she’s a member of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin.
We wish Mary a swift recovery.
Vladimir Fedoseyev, who walked out of Iolanta rehearsals this week, has agreed to conduct the opera next January. The veteran conductor has been unwell, says Bolshoi boss, Vladimir Urin.
The Liceu in Barcelona is being picketed by its musicians over unpaid wages from 2013
The company, which has been severely reduced in the Spanish economic crisis, faces threats of privatisation.
CONVOCADA HUELGA EN EL LICEU Y CANTADA EN LA PUERTA DEL TEATRO. Esta tarde a las 19:30, todos los trabajadores del Gran Teatre del Liceu (orquesta, coro, personal de escenario y administración) cantarán “Va Pensiero” en la puerta del teatro, antes de la última función de “Nabucco”, en defensa de salarios y convenios, y contra la privatización de la Cultura.
Salarios atrasados desde 2013 son causa de una convocatoria de huelga que prevé paros en todas las funciones de “Benvenuto Cellini”.
In a gift that leaves every small hall in the world with its tongue hanging out, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is cashing a check for $4 million left by a lady who used to attend its concerts.
She was Jane Kitselman, a passionate cellist. She died in March, aged 87.
Born Jane White in Muncie, Jane graduated Indiana University in music and art history, and set off to study cello in Salzburg and Vienna. Befriended by the Budapest String Quartet, she played at the Prades Festival that Pau Casals founded in France. She married Richard Kitselman, was widowed in her early thirties, and is survived by her companion Anne Dunn Moynihan.
Adriana Ferreira, of the Orchestra National de France, has been named principal flute in the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Adriana, who is Portuguese, came second at last year’s Geneva Flute Competition,
Good call.
Now the Tchaikovsky and Chopin contests are over, the results can be assessed in cool comparison.
In Moscow, where judges fell out publicly over the result and President Putin acclaimed the competition as ‘the pride of Russia’, a reliable Russian was given the gold medal ahead of more exciting candidates.
In Warsaw, there was no nationalist fervour. A Korean and French-Canadian toughed it out for first place and several other finalists showed genuine individuality.
Time will tell which has yielded the greater talents but, on balance, we think Warsaw has won.
The premiere of Tristan, for instance, is dated to 1845. Mahler’s Klagende Lied is not a opera. Nothing happened in opera between 1878 and 1900. An ‘electronic libretto system’ is supposed to have ‘revolutionised’ opera in 1983.
Oxford University Press calls itself ‘a leading music publisher’. On this evidence it knows nothing about opera.
Nothing.
h/t: Mark Berry
The Israeli Symphony Orchestra, based in Rishon LeZion, is is deep trouble. Years of underfunding, yoked to an under-performing Israel Opera and abandoned by philistine right-wing governments, have left the orchestra on the brink of insolvency.
Today, the music director James Judd took matters in his own hands.
Here’s his letter:
20 October 2015
To the Members of the Board, the General Director, and the musicians of the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion
I am shocked to hear of the financial situation in which the orchestra finds itself due to persistent situation of insufficient government budgeting, cuts of productions of the Israeli Opera, fees that haven’t been updated for years, and difficulty to raise sufficient funds within a (too) short period. All these threaten the very existence of this fine orchestra and the livelihoods of its dedicated musicians.
It was my proud honour to accept the position of Music Director of the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion in September 2014 and to dedicate myself to the continued growth and excellence of this fine ensemble. Since then I have been closely involved in the activities of the orchestra, its programming and planning. I had the pleasure of taking the orchestra to China in November 2014, where we were described in the media as great 0ambassadors of Israel and brilliant interpreters of the Chinese music which we performed. The music of Israeli composers has featured at home and abroad in our programming, our outreach to young people is exemplary.
It is sad that budgetary starvation is pushing this cultural treasure to the brink of extinction in a country so renowned for musicians and orchestras of such high quality with a public so appreciative of the music making.
At this critical time, I dedicate myself to the survival of our wonderful orchestra by foregoing with immediate effect my Music Director fee while nonetheless carrying on the many functions and duties which my position demands, and I urge the authorities involved in budgeting the orchestra to rethink the budgetary restrictions on the magnificent cultural heritage of the City of Rishon LeZion and the State of Israel.
With my greatest respect
James Judd
Last night’s episode of Law and Order: SVU (season 17, episode 6) came with the following synopsis:
A violinist is raped by her colleague, who doesn’t remember committing the crime and claims he was drugged and robbed by a hired escort.
Remember Stefan? He’s still awaiting due process in New York.
There’s a fine article by Peter G. Davis in the new Opera News about the quality of Maria Callas – the quality that grates on the ear, the quality that sets her apart from every other soprano before or since.
Attempts to communicate the Callas phenomenon have always posed a challenge, even to her most devoted admirers. Music critics struggle to find analytical terms that can describe any singing voice; the vocabulary of similes never seems sufficiently precise. And the Callas soprano is particularly elusive.
Peter is probably the best writer on voice in America. Read the full article here.