The 2016 Menuhin Competition has announced its longlists.

Three quarters of the contestants are female.

Even more shocking, there is only one male in the senior section, out of 22 entrants.

The world is topsy turvy.

Press release:The world’s leading Competition for young violinists announces its 44 competitors who will come to London in April 2016 to compete in the MENUHIN COMPETITION LONDON 2016. 2016 also celebrates founder Yehudi Menuhin’s centenary, and true to his vision for the Competition, the 44 come from across the globe – BUT surprisingly a staggering 36 out of the 44 competitors are GIRLS! Out of the 22 Seniors (under 22s) there is only 1 boy who was selected, and only 7 boys will compete against 15 girls in the Junior (under 16s) section of the MENUHIN COMPETITION LONDON 2016.

Past prizewinner and 2016 juror Tasmin Little OBE says: “I celebrate the fact that gender is no longer an issue in the world of violinists. I know my mentor Menuhin would also be delighted as, for him, the most important thing was always the music and the musician, and never their gender, colour, creed or nationality.”

The host city of London will be filled with world class music over the eleven day festival (7-17 April 2016) with internationally renowned soloists, major concerts with some of London’s best orchestras, world premieres, exhibitions, family concerts, masterclasses and outreach programmes – with the Competition at its heart.

The youngest competitor in 2016 is 10 year-old Singaporean Samuel Tan, who only started playing the violin at the age of 5 when he saw Elmo playing the violin on Sesame Street! Exciting news for 2016’s host city of London is that there are three British competitors: Louisa Staples (15), Juliette Roos (20) and Mathilde Milwidsky (21). Mathilde is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music, the Competition’s host conservatoire in London 2016. Louisa currently studies at Surrey’s The Yehudi Menuhin School, of which Juliette is a graduate. The Yehudi Menuhin School also has a young Japanese student through to the Juniors, 13 year-old Coco Tomita. These entrants are especially poignant as the MENUHIN COMPETITION and The Yehudi Menuhin School are two legacies that Menuhin lovingly set up to nurture young violinists. See below the full list of the 44 competitors.

Artistic Director Gordon Back says: “London will be the capital of the violin world in April with a festival of excellence for all to enjoy, celebrating all things Menuhin. The applications for London 2016 broke the Competition’s own record and the overall standard was the highest ever. I know Menuhin would have been proud to see and hear these 44 prodigies, as they step out onto the world stage in his centenary year.”

The world class jurors, including five past MENUHIN COMPETITION prizewinners*, will judge these exceptionally talented young violinists as they play the challenging set repertoire**. Showcasing every aspect of their talent as they compete for the coveted prizes**, the programme demands an extraordinary mix of classical performance – and also improvisation; something new for the Competition introduced by Gordon, as even Menuhin himself found “improv” difficult!

As a charitable trust, the 44 competitors are all invited to stay with Host Families in London – something Menuhin had always championed, so that the young violinists would experience a warm home life in the host city.

Here’s to the MENUHIN COMPETITION LONDON 2016.

Link to all photography INCLUDING 2016 COMPETITORS: here

MENUHIN COMPETITION LONDON 2016 – 22 x JUNIOR COMPETITORS

MENUHIN COMPETITION LONDON 2016 – 22 x SENIOR COMPETITORS

*MENUHIN COMPETITION LONDON 2016 – JURORS

Five of 2016’s nine jurors are former Menuhin Competition prizewinners and internationally acclaimed performers; testament to the difference the Competition can make to a young musician’s life. The jury of world class soloists is chaired by American violinist Pamela Frank; and former laureates on the jury are Julia Fischer, Ray Chen (who will also be the youngest ever juror of the Competition), Tasmin Little, Ning Feng and Joji Hattori. Menuhin’s son and pianist Jeremy Menuhin, Korean violinist Dong-Suk Kang and director of the Verbier Festival Martin Engstroem complete the line-up.

Gianandrea would, in many respects, have been an ideal music director for the New York Philharmonic.

He’s Italian (tick), well liked in Israel (tick) and worked with a large Irish community in Manchester (triple tick).

He’s also personable, technically accomplished, efficient in rehearsal and commanding a wide repertoire, ancient and modern, familiar and obscure.

So why did the NY Phil not grab him before Washington nailed his hands to the contract?

No obvious answer. Except that New York probably doesn’t know what it wants and, after six Alan Gilbert years, has forgotten what it needs.

It’s tomorrow, and we haven’t bought him anything.

Quick lads, find a box.

Not that one, never going to be big enough.

Get a packing case. With his picture on it. Fill it with his recordings. All of them.

That’ll do.

Bloody hell, he’ll never be able to lift that on his own.

Call house management.

l-r: Paul Moseley, Managing Director, Decca Classics; Costa Pilavachi, SVP Artists and Repertoire Universal Global Classics; Barry Holden, VP Catalogue, Universal Global Classics

We hear that players in the National Symphony Orchestra have expressed a strong preference and the Kennedy Center president, Deborah Rutter, has got his signature on a contract.

The next music director, succeeding Christoph Eschenbach, will be… Gianandrea Noseda.

You read it here first.

The Italian is presently in New York, conducting Pearl Fishers at the Met. He is expected in Washington in the next few days to announce the appointment.

Noseda, 51, first made his mark as Gergiev’s house conductor at the Mariinsky in St Petersburg. He went on to the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester in 2002, adding the Teatro Regio Torino five years later.

He is principal guest conductor with the Israel Philharmonic and was a strong contender with the LSO, where he missed out to Simon Rattle. Over the past two years, his US reputation has risen fast and he was among the potential candidates for the New York Philharmonic.

Noseda is a terrific catch for DC: energetic, committed, smart and very experienced. Our informant says: ‘The orchestra couldn’t be more thrilled to know an exciting and probing conductor is going to lead them after chaotic, catastrophic, dull and messy period of Eschy……..’

Gesualdo and Dutilleux apart, 2016 is not a great year for composer centenaries.

So step up Max Reger (1873-1916), a musician who can lull any non-German audience into instant torpor.

In Germany, however, he’s one of the greats.

His facial expression makes a wet Wenesday in Margate look enticing.

As for the music, this is probably his greatest hit… and the one great theme in it is not his.

The most expensive conductor in America has flown into Seoul to take over three concerts left open by Myung Whun Chung’s departure as music director of the Seoul Philharmonic.

Seoul is desperate and Eschy’s ever willing to talk terms.

This is weird but rather wonderful. The centennial of a Gallic composer will kick off in les pays de Galles.

Cardiff University School of Music is collaborating with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales to mount a tribute to the internationally-acclaimed composer Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013).

A series of orchestral and chamber music concerts featuring Dutilleux’s music at St David’s Hall, Hoddinott Hall and Cardiff University Concert Hall starts on his centenary day of 22 January 2016 and continues into March.

Dr Caroline Rae, Reader at the School of Music, said: “Henri Dutilleux was among the greatest and most celebrated French composers of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Heir to the tradition of Debussy and Ravel, his music is characterised by that most French of attributes – magic of timbre.

“It is fitting that Dutilleux’s centenary will be celebrated in Cardiff as he had connections with the city. He was made an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University during his visit to the city in 2008 for the BBC Discovering Dutilleux Festival organised by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in collaboration with Cardiff University.”

Alongside the series of concerts, the School of Music will also host the Dutilleux Centenary Symposium and present a day of talks by eminent composers and scholars investigating Dutilleux’s music and legacy. Speakers include Eric Tanguy, Julian Anderson, Caroline Potter and Caroline Rae. The opening address will be presented by Her Excellency Madame Sylvie Bermann, Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom, will present the opening address. Admission to the Symposium is free.

Dutilleux’s music will also be featured daily on BBC Radio 3’s acclaimed Composer of the Week from 11 to 16 January 2016. Dutilleux scholars Caroline Rae and Caroline Potter join Donald Macleod in an investigation of his music.

Arts journalism was diminished today by Reuters’ decision to let Mike Roddy go.

Mike, whose title was Lifestyle and Entertainment Editor, gave serious coverage to the serious arts, interviewing composers, writers, conductors and directors – as well as the red-carpet run of celebs and starlets.

But the agency figured it doesn’t need such luxuries any more, and they can get the celeb stuff for free.

So Mike’s off home to Ireland and Reuters has declared itself brain dead.

The move follows Bloomberg’s decision to shut down its sophisticated arts section, Muse. Reuters’ other rivals, AP and AFP, do not employ an arts specialist.

Read Mike’s recent stories here.

The British baritone is dashing in to replace Alessio Arduini in the title role tomorrow and Friday.

There will be role debuts too for Adriana Kucerová as Rosina und Carole Wilson as Marzellina.

Dashing, right?

Charlie Peace was a Raffles-like character who gained admission to fashionable houses by day and returned at night to burgle them. The violin was an indispensable part of his pretence at culture and sophistication.

But Charlie, for all his charm, was also handy with a pistol. He shot and killed the husband of one of his mistresses and later put lead into two pursuing policemen. He was hanged at Leeds in 1878.

His violin has gone on display in a Crime Uncovered exhibition at the Museum of London.

Ali Rahbari, music director of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, has said there will be no more concerts until the players get paid. He cancelled two performances last week over ‘disorder and mismanagement’.

Rahbari said: ‘Unfortunately many musicians have quit due to disorder in pay over the past few months. He added: ‘I have not resigned because I have promised to stay in Iran to rebuild the orchestra by all means.’

In 1956 Gerhard Kramer founded one of the city’s first early-music groups, the Wiener Barockensemble. He went on to establish the Convivium Musicum Vindobonense, all the while conducting the boys choir at the Piaristenkirche and writing concert reviews for Die Presse and the Wiener Zeitung.

Gerhard died of cancer on Christmas Eve, aged 81.