Remarkable that an icon of Nazi industry should have staged a Holocaust memorial ceremony this week (report here).
Even more remarkable:
Musicians from the Philharmonic Volkswagen Orchestra then performed the Third String Quartet by Jewish composer Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944), who was murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The piece was written in the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1943, and was first performed at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg.
Volkswagen has a phiharmonic orchestra which performs works by murdered composers…
The music world awoke in sadness today to reports of the death of Christine Jackson, a livewire of the orchestral scene in Britain and far beyond.
Christine played principal cello in the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Ballet, Halle and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestras. Latterly she played for Welsh National Opera.
Then she moved to Australia, where she was dubbed the Barefoot Cellist, playing with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and such pop musicians as Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. She also worked with a didgeridoo artist.
But a brain aneurysm in June 2009 left her disabled down one side and her life since then was a struggle.
As a teenager, Christine was regarded as one of Britain’s most promising soloists since Jacqueline Du Pre.
In an ABC interview, she said: ‘I can still remember my first concert, with a tiny chair, and a tiny cello. I was six and I never knew the meaning of the word ‘nerves’. I just played and I loved it. It’s opened up a whole world to me…
‘Through music I’ve managed to see more places in the world than most people ever dream of … we’re always on the road. It’s given me the opportunity to meet people from many different cultural backgrounds.’
May she rest in peace.
Immortality assured.
Reginald Hill was principal second violin in the London Philharmonic Orchestra when he moved to Los Angeles, around 1980, to follow his dream.
He wound up playing in the string ensemble in a Michael Jackson hit.
Now, after a prolonged struggle, Reginald’s widow has begun to earn royalties. Story here.
photo (c) Elizabeth Hill
Michael Pletnev’s Russian national orchestra will visit 16 U.S. cities next month in California, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Florida, culminating at Carnegie Hall in New York. The tour dates are February 19 to March 9, 2016.
Pletnev will yield the baton on the second half of the tour to Kirill Karabits, a loyal Ukrainian national who has returned to Kiev to perform on Independence Day.
Looks like there’s some delicate cultural diplomacy going on.
The RNO on Kremlin duty:
Oxford Univeristy has appointed the cellist Natalie Clein to be Director of Musical Performance for the next four years.
Natalie says: ‘Ever since I first visited Oxford as a student and then later as a professional cellist performing at the Sheldonian, Holywell and Jacqueline du Pré, it has occupied a place of great significance in my consciousness, both intellectually and artistically. So it is with great excitement that I take on this newly created position. My ambition over the next four years is to bring students, international artists and academics from across the cultural spectrum together in dialogue and a spirit of discovery.
Music Faculty Chairman Michael Burden said: ‘Natalie brings with her a wealth of experience and has already inspired an unprecedented response among the students. The integrity of her playing speaks for itself. Her time at the University has already been artistically productive for everyone who has the opportunity to work with her.’
photo: Sussie Ahlburg, 2011
From Slipped Disc reader, Jennivine Doo:
Here’s our experience with United with purchasing a cello seat:
Purchase your cello seat separately from passenger seat with United, you may end up paying 6 times more than what you were quoted over the phone, but won’t find out till you receive your credit card statement because United does not send an email receipt of the cello seat within the 24 hour cancellation period. In fact, after more than one month of request, I have NEVER received a receipt.
After we booked our daughter flight for the 2 week Christmas break, she wanted to know if she can bring her cello back home to record her audition….
