Two concerts at the Liceu in Barcelona, November 13 and 15, have been called off after conductor Riccardo Muti called in sick. We wish him a swift recovery.
Barcelona, 9 de novembre de 2015. Riccardo Muti cancel·la els dos concerts previstos al Liceu pel 13 i 15 de novembre per problemes de salut del mestre. El Teatre està buscant noves dates per reubicar aquests dos concerts tan esperats de Muti que congreguen sobre un mateix escenari a dues orquestres tan reputades com l’Orchestra Giovanile “Luigi Cherubini” -fundada per ell mateix el 2004-, i la pròpia Orquestra del Liceu. El pianista barcelonès Ignasi Cambra també forma part d’aquest concert que inclou peces de Beethoven, Schubert i Mozart.
El concert es posposa fins a nova data, que s’emplaçarà inicialment dins d’aquesta temporada -2015/16-. Les entrades adquirides o els abonaments que incloguin qualsevol dels dos dies de concert seran vàlids per a les noves dates que el Liceu plantegi properament. Si algun dels assistents té incompatibilitats amb aquest canvi, el Teatre retornarà íntegrament l’import de l’entrada –amb les despeses de gestió incloses-, que també es podrà bescanviar per a un nou espectacle. Tots els canvis s’efectuaran a les taquilles del Teatre. Els costos de qualsevol gestió fruit d’aquest canvi seran gratuïts.
Roy Harper, a guitarist and songwriter who has worked with Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin and Kate Bush, has seen all charges against him dropped by prosecutors at the start of a retrial today.
Harper, 74, has always proclaimed his innocence.
He said today: ‘The psychological and personal cost to my wife and myself has been enormous and the financial cost hugely unfair. I lost my livelihood and I spent my savings … and more, on my defence.’
Briot (pictured) has been swiped from Rayfield/Allied. Wilde and Berg are shared with HarrisonParrott.
Alex Ross has been running his eye down the candidates who are likely to succeed Alan Gilbert as New York’s music director, based on current guest trials. He doesn’t seem too excited. (Nor are we.)
+ Esa-Pekka Salonen has been there, done that, doesn’t seem too keen.
+ Manfred Honeck has enjoyed some success at Pittsburgh. Modest success.
+ Jaap Van Zweden is big in Dallas. Not big enough.
The question has to be: why is New York not trialling the names who might really make a difference? Such as:
+ Petrenko. Anyone called Petrenko.
+ Järvi. Ditto.
+ Jurowski. The older bro.
+ Chailly, who might have been interested up to a couple of months ago.
+ Lionel Bringuier, the Zurich whizzkid.
+ Antonio Pappano.
+ Jansons.
+ Noseda.
Each and every one would make a likelier difference than those on Alex’s shortlist.
Next question: why no women? (Very good question.)
But then, ever since Bernstein, NY Phil has always got it wrong.
Boulez was picked as Lenny’s polar opposite and lasted six years, leaving an unhappy band.
Zubin Mehta was brought in to apply balm and stayed six years too long.
Kurt Masur, hired to wake the orchestra from its stupor, retired when it got too rucous.
Alan Gilbert’s parents were members of the Philharmonic.
Get the picture?
This is an orchestra that has long forgotten what it wants in a chief conductor.
A terrible thing happened to British clarinettist Emma Johnson on her way to last Friday night’s concert. ‘My clarinet fell out of the back of the car,’ she told friends. ‘I arrived at the venue with no instrument…..nightmare.’
Emma had driven to Gatwick Airport to pick up the Engegard Quartet, her concert partners. The car boot was jam-packed full of the quartet’s instruments, with Emma’s clarinets on top. After driving about five minutes they realised the boot was not fully shut so they stopped to secure it. When they reached the venue, at Ringwood, in Hampshire, Emma realised that the case containing her clarinets had fallen out of the back of the car.
The quartet played the first half of the recital without Emma while Peter Eaton, her clarinet maker, raced in with a clarinet he had just finished. Peter arrived, saving the second half, but Emma was distraught at the loss of two clarinets (B flat and A) as well as her treasured mouthpiece and a box of reeds.
Late that night she drove back to Gatwick to look around – in vain. ‘Losing an instrument is like losing your voice!’ she says. Nothing doing.
On Saturday, she tried phoning Gatwick.
What do you know? The clarinets had been handed in to Lost Property.
‘Restores your faith in humanity!’ cries Emma.
For once, an airport story with a happy ending.
A little treat for a gloomy Monday: Marc-André Hamelin playing Eric Wild’s arrangement of Gershwin’s Liza, first release on Slipped Disc in Stewart French’s Fly on The Wall video series.
Enjoy.
Reversing the Edinburgh Festival recruitment trend from below the Equator, the Melbourne Festival has hired Kath Mainland as its new executive director.
Kath, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society for the past seven years, will work with artistic director Jonathan Holloway.
Guido Masanetz wrote an operetta, In Frisco ist der Teufel (the devil’s in Frisco) that greatly pleased the regime and was staged in almost all the country’s opera houses. He died on Thursday at a great age.
Looks like he’s switching brand.
From the Xinhua news agency:
GENEVA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) — Combining classical music with the luxury timepiece, the renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang has offered his talent to a Swiss watch maker.
Prior to delivering his solo concert to audiences here on Friday night, Lang first impressed Swiss watch experts with his ideas and innovation in watch design.
After intense discussions and an exchange of ideas, the young pianist and watch experts worked out the plans for two new watches, which highlight the musician’s signature and musical notes.
Asked about his design philosophy, the 33-year-old pianist said he hoped the watches would be distinguished by their musical elements, as well as be modern, fashionable and high-quality.
The special watches will be manufactured by Hublot, a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1980. Hublot expects the “Lang Lang watch” will hit the market in March 2016 after an unveiling at the annual Basel World Watch Exhibition.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is in Brisbane this week, investigating allegations of sexual abuse against a former music teacher at St Paul’s.
Vasily Petrenko has renewed with the Oslo Philharmonic until its centenary in 2020.
Vasily, who turns 40 next year, has been principal conductor in Oslo since 2013 and in Liverpool since 2006.
He is also in charge of the EU Youth Orchestra.
press release:
Vasily Petrenko, Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, has renewed his contract with the Oslo Philharmonic up to the end of the 2019/2020 season. This is the season the orchestra will celebrate its 100 year anniversary. It is hoped that 2020 might also be the year in which the orchestra realizes its plans for a new concert hall on the waterfront in Oslo.
39 year old Petrenko’s first two seasons with the Oslo Philharmonic have been very successful, and audience numbers are steadily increasing. Intense and inspiring, the dynamic partnership between Petrenko and the orchestra in Oslo has attracted critical acclaim and audience ovations at home and abroad. International highlights so far have been two concerts at the Proms in 2013, ten concerts inToshiba Grand Concert Series in Japan in March 2014 and two concerts at the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2015.
“The Oslo Philharmonic is one of Europe’s finest orchestras with a great tradition”, comments Vasily Petrenko. “After two seasons with me at the reins, I think we have freshened up the orchestra and introduced some great music that hasn’t been heard in Oslo for many years. The idea is that we should always embrace the audience and be embraced in return by the audience, to be part of one large family and break down the artificial barrier between musicians on stage and the public in the hall. Creating this special energy between orchestra and audience, I think, can play a vital role in society today.”
